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

William Saliba:  C+

William Saliba will not spend this season in North London since he will return to Saint-Etienne on a season-long loan. Still, this is the perfect opportunity for the Gunners to assess the way in which he plays.

Saliba is like a younger version of Laurent Koscielny. He has an excellent reading of the game and the ability to intercept any oncoming attacks. He is only young, so he has plenty of time to flourish. Working with the experienced David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos upon his return will do the Frenchman a world of good.

Dani Ceballos (loan): B-

Dani Ceballos will join the North London side for one season on loan from Real Madrid. Unfortunately, there is no option to buy. However, my prediction is that the Spaniard will perform so well that Arsenal will want to pay full price for him in the summer.

Ceballos is one of the most promising youngsters around and he was one of the best players at the recent U-21 European championships. He is a box-to-box, energetic midfielder who thrives the most in the final third. He is an excellent dribbler of the ball and always has an eye for his teammates in space.

Ceballos is a goal-scoring midfielder too. This will benefit Arsenal since they became accustomed to this with Aaron Ramsey. It may take a few weeks to settle in but Ceballos will probably become Arsenal’s free-kick taker since this is one of his stronger assets. I mean, even Granit Xhaka could learn a thing or two from the youngster…