Summer Transfer Score: Rating Arsenal’s New Signings

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Overview

The transfer window certainly ended on a high with the signing of Ozil, but that perhaps shouldn’t mean overlooking the fact that Arsenal failed to strengthen so many key areas of their team. The fact remains that a better goalkeeper was probably required, and the fact that Viviano only joins on loan means Wenger will have to re-adress this issue again next year.

As well as that, Arsenal definitely needed a centre-back, with Thomas Vermaelen’s inexplicable loss of form leaving only Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny as options in that position. The club were linked with the likes of Ashley Williams and Adil Rami, both of whom would have been available for quite cheap, and certainly could have added something to an often shaky backline.

Elsewhere, Flamini could well prove to be an astute signing on a free, but it remains a big risk by Wenger, in that there is not necessarily any evidence that the 29-year-old was anything more than a one-season wonder with the club in his first spell, and there must have been a good reason for Milan choosing not to keep him. Missing out on Luiz Gustavo to a club of Wolsburg’s size will also be a concern, after the Brazilian was made available by his former club Bayern Munich. Youngster Geoffrey Kondogbia could also have been a more long-term solution in that position, but Arsenal’s failure to move quickly for him saw Monaco snap him up.

Arsenal are also clearly short of depth upfront, with a lot of pressure on Olivier Giroud to stay fit and continue his fine current form. Sanogo could adapt quickly and surprise people, but a youngster of his inexperience at the top level doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez were known to be targets for the Gunners, and that shows that Wenger himself has considered this problem, but the failure to land Higuain in particular has shown there is still improvement to be made by the north London side in terms of landing the players they need.

Ozil is a great positive though, and as already mentioned, the ambition it signals alone can lift the club to new levels, and perhaps provide optimism for more big-name signings to come in the near future.

Total spending: £42.5m

Overall score: 6.5/10

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