From Nicolas Pepe to David Luiz: Grading Arsenal’s transfer window

Arsenal went into this summer transfer window with no hope but came out with six new signings…

Well, well, well. The papers were proven wrong regarding Arsenal yet again. Going into the transfer window, nobody gave Arsenal any real chance since they were rumoured to have a low budget. However, here is how their transfer window panned out…

Just under £150m spent is very good by Arsenal’s standards. However, were the calibre of players bought good enough for Unai Emery? Let’s discuss…

Gabriel Martinelli: D

I hope I’m proven wrong but I cannot see any future for Martinelli at Arsenal. I predict the 18-year-old will be sent out on a few loan spells and he’ll never be able to make it into the Arsenal first team on a regular basis.

However, he will be helped by Arsenal’s involvement in the Europa League. Given that he has the ability to play on any position in a front three, he could accompany the likes of Reiss Nelson and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the competition.

I wouldn’t write him off completely, however, breaking into what is now one of the strongest attacks in England is going to be a difficult task. Still, it was worth the risk from Arsenal’s point of view.

David Luiz: C+

Signing David Luiz was a positive move by Raul Sanllehi and company. The Chelsea defender has experience of playing at the top level and he is just what Emery’s men need as they seek to get back into the top four.

He will come in and directly replace Laurent Koscielny, hopefully keeping Shkodran Mustafi from the XI. Luiz is a brute defender who also has the ability to score a handful of goals each season. Sometimes he can be a liability, however, any deal which strengthens a team while weakening their rivals is worthy of applaud.