In recent years, clubs were reluctant to go anywhere near Arsenal’s players as a result of their age, lacklustre performances or questionable attitudes. Sometimes it was even a combination of all three. They were some of the main reasons why technical director Edu had little choice but to terminate several contracts in order to reduce the wage bill.
However, fast forward to today and the situation couldn’t be more different. Last year, Arsenal’s recruitment strategy underwent a thorough review and a noticeable, refreshing change has been implemented since. Spending more than £150million in the summer of 2021, the Gunners brought in six new players aged 23 or younger.
In a message sent to staff at the time, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said: “Our strategy is to fill our squad with some of Europe’s most exciting young talent, with players from both our academy and further afield, that can grow and develop together under Mikel to take us where we want to get to.”
