Arsenal were getting to a stage in the transfer market where they were effectively giving their players away. A combination of poor recruitment and the impacts of the pandemic made selling players immensely difficult.
Players were leaving Arsenal for significantly less than the club paid for them and others were stuck with little in regard to interest that tempted them away from giving up their Arsenal wage. Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos cost the club a combined figure exceeding £80m, but they left for nothing.
Things are changing, however. Arsenal’s recruitment has experienced an overhaul and in 2021 and to a lesser extent 2020, the club made some serious signings of younger players. Six players came in last summer aged 23 and under.
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Gabriel Magalhaes joined the club as a 22-year-old and has become an immediate hit with the fans. He is considered one of the keystones of this young side pushing to return to the Champions League. In the past couple of weeks, he has also been the subject of interest from some major clubs. Both Barcelona and Juventus have reportedly enquired about the player. However, he has turned down the interest and claimed he is happy at the club.
“Well in my first season I certainly learnt a lot,” Gabriel told Premier League Productions via the Evening Standard . “It’s been a real challenge here and I am more and more settled every day. I feel better and better with each passing game. At the same time, we know we all can’t be perfect in every match. We do make mistakes. But I feel good, I feel at home at Arsenal. It’s a great squad to be a part of and together I am sure we can achieve a lot. I am very happy here.”
Kieran Tierney too was a subject of interest from Real Madrid. £50m price tags were being suggested but football.london understands that the Scotland international is committed to Arsenal, having signed a new deal in June of last year and has no intention of leaving.
This interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world may be concerning, but it is a sign that things at Arsenal regarding their team building is improving. Interest from the likes of Real Madrid show the club is signing players good enough to play for the la Liga giants.
Arsenal want to be back amongst these European elite clubs and instead of settling for meagre fees and contract terminations, the club are now fighting to keep these talents. These are indications of the progression that is being made by Arsenal with their squad.
Now, not only do they need to keep hold of their best players, but they also need to upgrade those that are deemed not of the level required. This will require continued investment. However, the club appear to be prepared for what will hopefully be a big summer ahead.
