Arsenal have finally waved goodbye to the last of their eight Sven Mislintat signings as Lucas Torreira departed for Galatasaray.
Transfer chief Mislintat was with the Gunners for less than 18 months. However, during that period, he oversaw £129million-worth of spending on eight senior players, few of whom made a significant impact, with the club making a loss of around £100m in all.
"I am very happy and excited to be a new Galatasaray player," Torreira said upon joining Turkish giants Galtasaray just a few million pounds. "I am convinced that this is the beginning of a long and successful history together. Thank you for trusting me and I promise to leave everything for these colours."
Now that the last of the eight signings has moved on, Mirror Football has taken a look at what the group are up to now. It is, it's safe to say, a mixed bag.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Mavropanos was the first of the eight signings and one of three to arrive during Arsene Wenger's time as manager. When the Greek defender arrived from PAS Giannina, Wenger confirmed the youngster wasn't yet ready for first-team football in London.
The centre-back played three times under Wenger and eight in total for the Gunners. Loan spells followed, first at Nurnberg and then at Stuttgart, and the latter opted to sign him permanently after confirming a third straight season in the Bundesliga.
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"I have always done my best and will continue to do my best for this great club," Mavropanos said upon extending his stay until 2025. "The trust of those responsible and the affection of the fans in Stuttgart are a great motivation for me."
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal in a swap deal which saw Alexis Sanchez join Manchester United. While Arsenal will have been happy to get Alexis off their books, the Armenian's spell with the club was hardly a roaring success.
He managed a season and a half with Arsenal before joining Roma on loan and subsequently joined the Giallorossi permanently. His final game for the club came in the 2022 Europa Conference League final before he joined Inter Milan this summer.
The move has seen him reunited with Romelu Lukaku and Matteo Darmian, two of his teammates at Old Trafford. "We had six good months at Manchester United, we understood each other well on the pitch and it will happen here too. I found him again stronger,” he told DAZN (via SempreInter ) when asked about Lukaku.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang arrived at Arsenal as a club-record signing, with the January 2018 deal reuniting him with former Borussia Dortmund teammate Mkhitaryan. The striker went on to become club captain, but things eventually turned sour.
The Gabon international scored 68 times for the Gunners in 128 league games,and ended with 92 goals in all competitions. However, after a falling out with Mikel Arteta, he joined Barcelona on a free transfer last season.
Since joining Barca, he has rediscovered the scoring form which deserted him in the final few months of his Arsenal career. There has been interest from Chelsea, who may look to capitalise on the addition of Robert Lewandowski to Xavi's squad, but the La Liga side are in no hurry to sell.
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Lichtsteiner didn't arrive at great cost, but was already on the way down when he joined on a free from Juventus. After one year, he left for Germany - and he retired just 12 months after that.
After ending his playing career with Augsburg, the Swiss international moved into coaching. He spent time as an assistant coach for his country's under-18 side and has since taken over as head coach of FC Basel's under-15s.
"In Stephan, we were able to bring a passionate leader with an incredible amount of football experience to the FCB youth team," Basel head of youth development Remo Gaugler said. "He was an absolute mentality player who could sweep entire teams along. He can give our talents this important element on their career path."
Bernd Leno
Signed as a first-choice goalkeeper during Unai Emery's first summer, Leno was just that for a while. With the exception of a spell on the sidelines which allowed Emiliano Martinez to impress, the German was a constant presence for three years.
That ended in the second half of 2021, though, when Aaron Ramsdale took his spot. With Leno unable to reclaim his status as a starter, he moved to Fulham this summer.
"Hey Arsenal fans, it’s time to move on for me," the former Bayer Leverkusen man said upon leaving. "It’s been a pleasure to be part of this great football club for 4 amazing years. Thank you very much for your support. Also a big thank you to my team mates and the staff behind the team. I‘m looking forward to see you soon!"
Sokratis
A starter for Borussia Dortmund for several years, Sokratis joined Arsenal for just shy of £20m in 2018. He looked like a solid addition during Emery's tenure, but the arrival of Mikel Arteta as manager changed things.
After the signings of Pablo Mari and Gabriel, the Greek defender's time was clearly up. He spent time training with the reserves before eventually leaving in January 2021 as one of several players allowed to move on for nothing.
The Kalamata-born defender is back in Greece, playing his club football for Olympiacos. He helped Pedro Martins' team win the league last season but was an unused substitute as the club's Champions League group-stage hopes ended at the hands of Maccabi Haifa.
Lucas Torreira
Torreira showed plenty of positive signs after arriving from Sampdoria. The £26m fee wasn't cheap but the Uruguayan made a promising start under Emery.
Injuries hindered his chances of impressing under Arteta, though, and he eventually left on loan, first to Atletico Madrid and then to Fiorentina.
Neither were prepared to pay what it took for a permanent move, though, hence his subsequent move to Galatasaray, though a return to Sampdoria was also mooted before the Turkey switch was completed.
Matteo Guendouzi
Signed not long after Torreira, Guendouzi was similarly impressive in patches during his first season. However, after an incident in a 2020 game against Brighton, the writing was on the wall.
The 23-year-old was sent out on loan to Hertha Berlin for the 2020-21 season but didn't do enough to impress in a struggling Bundesliga side. It was a different story last term, though, with eye-catching form at Marseille earning him a permanent move to Stade Velodrome.
"We really made the best decision all together," Guendouzi told RMC Sport (via talkSPORT ) when discussing the move. "For me, it’s the best choice I’ve made in many years."
