Since taking the job as Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has made his fair share of dire signings.
The likes of Pablo Mari, Willian, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira are some examples of players who either failed to live up to expectations or were just poor when they played.
However, for all the bad, Arteta has also overseen plenty of sensational signings, with Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and David Raya and perhaps the best of the lot, Declan Rice, joining the club under his stewardship.
The former West Ham United captain has been sensational for the Gunners since his club-record move in the summer of 2023, and now it would probably be fair to say one of the manager’s signings from last summer has proven to be his best since the Englishman.
How Arsenal's summer signings are getting on
So, it would be fair to say that overall, the campaign has been a mixed one for the signings made last summer, so before we get to the player in question, it’s worth going over how the others have fared, starting with the worst of the lot: Raheem Sterling.
The Kingston-born star joined the club on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day, and while he told the fans they would “see the best” of him, the complete opposite has been true so far.
For example, in 24 appearances, the former Manchester City monster has scored just a single goal, which came against League One Bolton Wanderers, and provided five assists, meaning he’s averaging a goal involvement every four games.
Appearances
13
6
1
4
Minutes
352′
297′
80′
270′
Goals
0
0
0
1
Assists
2
2
0
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.15
0.33
0.00
0.50
Minutes per Goal Involvement
176′
148.5′
N/A
135′
It’s been a more positive year for fellow summer signing Riccardo Calafiori, who joined the club from Bologna for around £42m, as when he’s played, he’s looked good and has an impressive tally – for a defender – of three goals and two assists in 26 appearances so far.
However, there has been one significant problem, which is his fitness.
So far, the Roma-born international has missed a whopping 24 games for club and country thanks to three knee injuries, one muscle injury and one calf injury, allowing Myles Lewis-Skelly to come in and make the left-back position his own.
Aside from David Raya, who initially joined the club on loan in 2023, and Neto, who barely played, there was one more senior signing made in the summer, a signing that might be Arteta’s best since Rice.
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Arsenal's best signing since Rice
So, with all the other signings from last summer covered above, it should be no surprise that Mikel Merino is the addition in question.
The Spanish international joined Arsenal for around £31.6m in late August after what felt like a particularly protracted transfer saga, but things did not start out well.
In cosmically poor luck, the European champion fractured his shoulder in his first training session with the club and remained out of action until the Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on the first of October.
Unfortunately, his luck didn’t improve much over the coming months as he struggled to assert himself in the team and, as a result, found himself constantly in and out of the starting lineup, which understandably made it hard for him to establish any sort of rhythm or consistency.
However, things took a turn for the unexpected in February, as injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus left the Gunners without a recognized number nine, so after a rather paltry first 70 minutes of goalless action away to Leicester City, the Spaniard was thrown on to lead the line.
Somehow, even though he had admitted to never playing there before, the former Real Sociedad ace looked right at home, scoring a brilliant header and then slotting home another to secure the North Londoners all three points.
Since then, the 28-year-old “mentality monster,” as dubbed by podcaster Matt Kendala, has scored another four goals to add to his two assists, and following his exceptional strike against Real Madrid, it’s hard to imagine that the club are still officially without a fit centre-forward in the team.
The Pamplona-born game-changer has been hearing his song sung by the fans more and more in recent weeks, and if he keeps on producing in the way he is, Kendala’s claim that he’s “approaching cult status” will undoubtedly be proven correct.
Ultimately, while he’s not on the same level as the Englishman, it would be hard to deny that, thanks to his performances of late, Merino is unquestionably Arteta’s best signing since Rice in 2023.
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