Who are Arsenal's greatest late signings?
Who are Arsenal's greatest late signings?
By Peter White
It barely seems five minutes since Arsenal rounded off a disappointing 2020/21 campaign with a 2-0 win at home to Brighton in May, but today marks the Gunners' return to Premier League action.
Boss Mikel Arteta will be vying to improve on a miserly eighth-place finish last time out, that saw the 13-time English champions fail to qualify for European competition for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
But a fresh start paves the way for fresh hope, and an away clash at newly-promoted Brentford under the Friday night lights will offer a glimmer of what to expect from the north Londoners in the Spaniard’s second full season in charge.
Arsenal’s cause this year will be aided by the recruitment of new signings Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares, but with over two weeks to go until the August 31 transfer window deadline, the Emirates faithful are hopeful of further additions being made.
Earlier this week Arteta himself suggested more business could be on the cards, with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Tammy Abraham and James Maddison all linked with a move to the capital.
“Anything is possible and there are still a lot of things to be done and a lot of clubs involved,” said Arteta.
“You can see that the ball starts to roll at a different speed in the last week or so. It's been a really difficult transfer window and probably a lot of things will happen in the last week or so.”
While club hierarchies tend to prefer completing their transfer dealings as soon as possible history tells us that plenty of moves go right to the wire, so what can we expect to happen if players are brought in towards the end of the month?
While deadline day signings such as Andre Santos are perhaps better forgotten about, we’ve taken a look back at a handful of late signings that came good for the Gunners in years gone by.
Mikel Arteta - Everton to Arsenal, August 2011 (£10m)
The boss himself is definitely worthy of recognition, having helped the Gunners - and an under-pressure Arsene Wenger - to two FA Cup wins, while also going on to captain the club until his retirement in 2016.
The now 39-year-old was one of five players to join the Arsenal ranks in a chaotic final two days of the summer 2011 window - alongside Yossi Benayoun, Park Chu-young, Santos and Per Mertesacker - and it’s safe to say he provided a longer-lasting impact than most.
As a player Arteta scored 16 goals and contributed eight assists in 150 appearances for the Gunners, before re-joining the club as head coach in December 2019.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal, January 2018 (£56m)
From the manager to the skipper, it would appear that some of Arsenal’s best business has taken place when they’ve been cutting it fine.
Arsenal had two bids rejected for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before finally reaching an agreement with German giants Borussia Dortmund for the purchase of the 2015 African Footballer of the Year.
The striker has since gone on to establish himself as a Gunners great, despite managing just ten Premier League goals last season.
There are rumours that the Gabon international could leave Arsenal before this summer's deadline day, but with a return of 22 goals in each of the 2019/20 and 2018/2019 seasons he will surely be remembered fondly no matter what happens.
Kieran Tierney - Celtic to Arsenal, August 2019 (£25m)
Scotland international Kieran Tierney has emerged as one of the first names on Arteta’s teamsheet since his hotly-anticipated move down south two years ago, despite injury restricting him to just 15 top-flight appearances in his first campaign.
The 24-year-old played 38 games in all competitions for Arsenal during the 2020/21 season, and was one of the only members of the squad to emerge from a forgettable year with his reputation enhanced.
His exploits over the summer opened the door for new admirers too, as he starred for Steve Clarke’s Scotsmen during his two appearances at Euro 2020.
Honourable mentions
Three other players are also worth being thrown into the conversation about late-signing success.
Towering centre-half Mertesacker joined at a similar time to Arteta and made 156 appearances for the club over seven years, playing a part in those two FA Cup wins before going on to be appointed academy manager.
Mesut Ozil was subject to much controversy towards the end of his Arsenal career, but his 44 goals in 254 appearances, and playmaking quality, won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
And finally full-back Nacho Monreal endeared himself to Arsenal supporters during his six-and-a-half-year spell with Arsenal, scoring ten goals in 250 games.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
