Arsenal transfer window ranked as Arteta now boasts Premier League’s best midfield but striker failure sparks worry

ARSENAL ended the transfer window in underwhelming fashion after spending much of the summer pining after superstar additions. Mikel Arteta was hoping to level up his squad this summer in a bid to make the champions even stronger and cement them as firm favourites for another title. Mikel Arteta spent over £160m improving squad this summer Credit: Getty Bruno Guimaraes was Arsenal’s most expensive addition, costing £75m Credit: Getty But despite bringing in some top quality signings, Arsenal failed to improve their forward line after failed moves for the likes of Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez. The Gunners still splashed over £160m on Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie, Ezri Konsa and Illan Meslier. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! They also made Piero Hincapie’s loan signing permanent after the versatile defender impressed at the Emirates last season. Here, SunSport Arsenal reporter Joshua Hall rates each signing Arsenal made this summer, as well as the window overall. BRUNO GUIMARAES – 9/10 £75m from Newcastle The arrival of Guimaraes in North London cements Arsenal as having the strongest midfield in the Premier League. The Brazilian is a Premier League plug-and-play star and should immediately make the Gunners a better team. Arteta can now rotate between Guimaraes, Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Martin Zubimendi at the base of his midfield. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Guimaraes cements Arsenal as having the best midfield in the Premier League Credit: Getty That is in addition to a wealth of talent ahead of those deep-lying players, like Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Ebere Eze and Max Dowman. At 28 years old, £75m may be a slight overpayment for Guimaraes, but it seems to be good value for money when compared to the rest of the market. CHRISTOS TZOLIS – 7/10 £34m from Club Brugge When Arsenal first announced the signing of Tzolis it seemed like he would be a rotation option off the left wing and a like-for-like replacement for Leandro Trossard. Now, though, the Greek ace will probably have to act as Arsenal’s first choice left winger for the majority of the season. His numbers at Club Brugge last season (51 goal involvements in 52 games) are extremely promising. But his underwhelming performance against Aston Villa left a lot to be desired. If Arsenal have unearthed a gem for cheap, this could be one of the signings of the summer, but given their lack of alternative options off the left, it is a huge gamble from the Gunners hierarchy. Christos Tzolis will likely be Arsenal’s first-choice left winger this season after a host of attacking departures Credit: Getty EZRI KONSA – 8/10 £51m + £4m add-ons from Aston Villa Arsenal already had the best defence in the Premier League last season and they have improved it further by adding Konsa. The England international will be crucial for Arsenal in the opening stages of the season as Arteta adapts to life without injured ace William Saliba. His experience and quality will add more depth and competition to the Gunners’ backline when Saliba does return from his back issue. Arsenal had to fork out more than they would have liked for a 28-year-old, but Konsa is among the most reliable defenders in the league and could prove invaluable this season. ILLAN MESLIER – 5/10 Free from Leeds United Arsenal needed a new goalkeeper to provide cover for David Raya, who is always going to be the number one off the back of a third consecutive Golden Glove. Meslier is a cost effective option that has also allowed highly-rated youngster Tommy Setford to join Stevenage on loan for the season. However, the fact he has been left out of the matchday squad for Kepa Arrizabalaga in Arsenal’s opening two league games shows that he is not a level-raiser. If Raya suffers an injury this season, Arteta would have every right to be concerned about his backup options in Kepa and Meslier. Ezri Konsa adds even more depth to Arsenal’s brilliant back line Credit: Reuters Illan Meslier will likely act as third-choice goalkeeper for Arsenal this season Credit: Sportsfile PIERO HINCAPIE – 9/10 £34.5m from Bayer Leverkusen Hincapie showed last season that he is good enough to compete for a starting spot in Arteta’s back line. The Ecuadorian made 39 appearances across all competitions as he helped the Gunners win their first league title in 22 years. At just £34.5m, Hincapie represents incredible value for money and is a fantastic addition to Arsenal’s permanent squad list. OVERALL RATING – 7/10 Although Arsenal have brought in some exciting talent and necessary additions, there is a gaping hole in their front line. The Gunners had to capitalise on their position as champions by improving their attack. The departures of Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri leave Arsenal light up top. In Trossard, Martinelli and Jesus alone, Arsenal have lost over 6,000 minutes and 45 goal contributions from last season – without truly replacing them. Arsenal are losing Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal in a deal worth £60m Credit: PA Leandro Trossard joined Besiktas for £15m this summer Credit: Getty Chasing stars like Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez proved to be a waste of time for Arsenal, when they could have been working on getting more realistic deals over the line that raised the quality of their squad. The flip side is that Arsenal are fishing in a very small pond of players that are truly good enough to raise their level. Perhaps keeping their powder dry for when that world class opportunity arises makes more sense than spending big money on a player that does little to improve Arteta’s attack. Crucially, Arsenal’s arrivals in midfield and defence should still go a long way to ensuring they fight for another title this season. But there will be plenty of understandably disgruntled fans if the goals dry up and Arsenal are unable to compete with their rivals as a result. Comment now