Arsenal have signed two of the best players on the summer 2024 transfer market in center/left back Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna and Real Sociedad’s center midfielder Mikel Merino.
Both Calafiori and Merino were among the best in their respective leagues and will be counted on as immediate starters for an Arsenal side looking to finally win the Premier League over manager Mikel Arteta’s previous employers, Manchester City.
The summer 2024 transfer window hasn’t just been about blockbuster arrivals, however, as Arsenal have also made – or been in the process of making – a couple of significant sales.
As Eddie Nketiah prepares for a big-money move within the Premier League, the Gunners already sold another talented attacking academy product in Emile Smith-Rowe.
“ESR” joined Fulham for about 32 million euros, as the Cottagers have high hopes that they can help the attacking midfielder fulfill his potential as one of the top playmakers in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta recently spoke about the sale of Smith-Rowe and struck a somber tone, showing signs of already regretting the fact that Arsenal had to sell Smith-Rowe in order to generate funds and clear squad space.
The talented Spanish manager said, via Fabrizio Romano, “I was sad when Smith-Rowe left us. When I had the talk with Emile, I really felt it. I think he was the player that made our supporters and the team click, in a way. I have a feeling like ‘argh’, that I have not got the best out of him”.
Due to circumstance, Emile Smith-Rowe never got to truly make it at Arsenal, and fans will always have a special place in their hearts for the midfield talent, who is a homegrown Gunner through and through.
Smith-Rowe arrived at Arsenal at six years of age, and, as Arteta notes, he was someone the fanbase quickly fell in love with and was rooting for to succeed, even as they realized last season the opportunity would never come.
In the end, Smith-Rowe gets to leave the club on positive terms and begin a new adventure with a side that is capable of fostering an attacker’s development. Meanwhile, Arsenal got a more than fair transfer fee that reflects Smith-Rowe’s future potential at Fulham.
