Arsenal’s record in the transfer market under Mikel Arteta could be described as a mixed bag.
While some fine signings have helped the Gunners become challengers for the Premier League and Champions League, others have arguably held the Gunners back.
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Indeed, since taking over in December 2019, the manager has had his fair share of transfer flops over the years.
With this in mind, we have examined the 10 worst signings made by Arteta during his spell in charge of the club…
10 Raheem Sterling Loan from Chelsea (2024)
When Raheem Sterling joined the Gunners from Chelsea last summer on a season-long loan deal, it appeared to be a smart move by Arteta. Not only was he adding a player who had enjoyed plenty of success in the Premier League, but he wasn’t even paying a penny for his signature.
The winger had scored 10 goals while providing eight assists for the Blues during the 2023/24 season, becoming one of Mauricio Pochettino’s key attacking threats.
Thus, Sterling would be able to chip in consistently for the Gunners this term, perhaps even earning a recall to the England squad in the process.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone to plan for the 30-year-old so far, managing to score just once for the club in a Carabao Cup rout of Bolton Wanderers. And with both Bukayo Saka and Jesus out injured, the jury is still out over whether he will be able to step up or go down as one of Arteta’s worst signings.
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ByHenry JacksonDec 20, 2024 9 Oleksandr Zinchenko £32m from Manchester City (2022)
Not only did Jesus join from City in 2022, but Oleksandr Zinchenko also made the move, costing the Gunners around £32m.
His positional flexibility – being able to play in midfield and at left-back – was seen as a positive, allowing the Ukrainian to fill in across a range of positions for the Gunners on and off the ball.
Over his first two seasons, Zinchenko made 68 appearances in all competitions, but he has struggled this term, playing just 11 matches, suffering from a succession of injury problems and falling down the pecking order.
During his limited time on the pitch in the league, the defender has failed to create a big chance, averaging just 0.1 key passes per game while winning 37% of his total duels per match.
Zinchenko is one of Arsenal’s most expensive players of all time, but he has yet to fully demonstrate his true talents at the Emirates, and may even already be past his best.
8 Fabio Vieira £34m from Porto (2022)
Alongside Jesus and Zinchenko, Arsenal’s other major signing in 2022 was midfielder Fabio Vieira. The midfielder joined for £34m, but it didn’t take long for him to fail to live up to this lavish fee.
Eight goal contributions in 35 games during his maiden season was decent, if unspectacular, but last term, he failed to kick on. A groin injury meant he played only 17 games as he struggled to make an impact, before being sent back to Porto on loan.
It is clear his signing, at least so far, has been a massive waste of money by Arteta.
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ByDominic LundJan 17, 2025 7 Albert Sambi Lokonga £18m from Anderlecht (2021)
Albert Sambi Lokonga joined four years ago for £18m as Arteta was looking to build for the future, with the highly rated midfielder only 21 at the time of his arrival.
24 appearances were made in his first season, yet he failed to score or grab an assist in those games. He dropped further down the pecking order during 2022/23, playing 15 times before joining Crystal Palace on loan in January.
Since then, he has been sent out on loan to Luton Town and Sevilla, failing to live up to his early billing as a potential future star in the Arsenal midfield.
With 18 months left on his deal, it seems as though the Gunners will struggle to recoup the £18m spent on him in 2021.
6 Gabriel Jesus £45m from Manchester City (2022)
Eyebrows were raised when Arteta spent £45m on Gabriel Jesus in 2022. Of course, he had played a part in City’s dominance of the Premier League between 2017 and 2022, scoring 95 goals in the process.
It was certainly seen as a major coup for the Gunners, but Jesus hasn’t really become the talisman that many of the supporters had expected at the time of his arrival.
In 96 games, the Brazilian has netted just 26 goals. However, his lack of firepower in the final third is not the main concern, with his injury record rather alarming.
He had missed 35 games until suffering his recent ACL injury, which will see him miss the rest of the campaign. In terms of value for money, Arteta has endured a howler over Jesus.
5 Marquinhos £3m from São Paulo (2022)
The success of Gabriel Martinelli at Arsenal convinced Arteta to dip back into the Brazilian market in 2022, signing Marquinhos for just £3m.
It was very much a signing for the future, but he did make six appearances in his maiden season – even scoring on debut – before being loaned to Norwich City.
He is now on his fourth loan spell since joining Arsenal, signing for Cruzeiro in his homeland. It seems as if the move to the Gunners perhaps happened too quickly, as he looks even further away from making it in the senior Arsenal side under Arteta.
£3m wasn’t a massive amount of money, but the Marquinhos gamble failed to pay off.
4 Nuno Tavares £8m from Benfica (2021)
“He is a young player with great promise who has developed very well,” said Arteta after signing Nuno Tavares in 2021 for £8m.
Capped for Portugal U21 and playing 25 times for Benfica, the deal looked like a real bargain, but Tavares has ended up playing just 28 times for Arsenal, all coming during his first season.
Loan spells at Marseille and Nottingham Forest over the previous two seasons have seen him develop into a solid defender, but it is at current loan club Lazio where he is finally showcasing his skills.
Is there a chance he could make it at Arsenal? Only time will tell, but with Arteta famously berating him on multiple occasions, the defender certainly has a lot of work to do.
3 Matt Turner £7m from New England Revolution (2022)
Arteta spent £7m on goalkeeper Matt Turner from MLS side New England Revolution in 2022.
Despite his status as the United States’ No 1 ‘keeper, Turner struggled to make much of an impression at the Emirates, featuring just seven times for the club throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
The move obviously didn’t work out, and he was swiftly sold to Nottingham Forest in 2023 for around £10m, ensuring the club made a decent profit. The move was certainly one of Arteta’s worst decisions in the transfer market.
2 Alex Runarsson £1.8m from Dijon (2020)
The £1.8m fee paid to sign Alex Rúnarsson in 2020 is up there as one of the worst transfers made by Arteta during his time in charge of the club.
As backup to Bernd Leno, the Icelandic goalkeeper wasn’t expected to get many chances in the side, making just one Premier League appearance during the 2020/21 campaign.
His contract was terminated in 2024 after spending the majority of his time in London out on various loan spells, as his underwhelming performances saw his time at Arsenal fall flat.
1 Willian Free transfer (2020)
On the surface, signing Willian on a free ahead of the 2020/21 season was looked upon as a very clever transfer by Arteta. This was a player who had played nearly 350 matches for Chelsea, scoring 63 goals while registering 57 assists during his spell at Stamford Bridge.
Bringing in this sort of experience was vital, especially as Arsenal was trying to build a side that could return to the Champions League before challenging the likes of Man City and Liverpool for the league title, but the Brazilian failed to shine for the Gunners.
He lasted just a solitary season in north London, making a total of 37 appearances, registering just eight goal contributions in the process, with only one of those being a goal.
He dazzled on debut against Fulham (ironically where he enjoyed a brief career renaissance), but thereafter flattered to deceive, disappointing on several occasions. According to Sofascore, he created just 5 big chances in 25 Premier League outings, while he won barely half of his duels in the top flight.
Despite the Gunners not paying a penny to bring him to the Emirates, Willian earned £100k per week during his spell with the club.
With just one goal scored, the move didn’t work out as expected, and he left England to join Corinthians, sacrificing a massive chunk of money to make the move happen.
His lack of impact and massive wages means he is the worst signing made by Arteta since taking charge of the club, and supporters will be hoping that mistakes like this are not repeated in the future.