Arteta's spending nears £200m as Odegaard joins Arsenal

Since taking over at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has spent £200m on transfers as the gunners complete the signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid

Martin Odegaard joins Arsenal on a permanent basis, taking Mikel Arteta's spending close to £200m. (photo credit: @Arsenal)

Arsenal finally announced the signing of Real Madrid’s youth prodigy Martin Odegaard on Thursday in what is Mikel Arteta’s first attacking signing on a permanent basis and with Aaron Ramsdale in line for an announcement as well, it’s safe to say that’s that for Arsenal’s summer window.

When the announcement of Ramsdale is done, Arsenal would have spent close to £200m in backing Arteta if you factor in loan fees as well.

This technically means Arsenal fans can’t complain about the club owners’ investment, rather it’s time to ask the men at the helm what they have done with funds.

Not many would understand the signing of Ramsdale, everything he touches turns into relegation.

What you make of that is up to you really and regardless of how much saves you can record for him, he has a reputation that a sliding club should be wary of.

Odegaard will improve Arsenal, his numbers when he arrived on loan last winter tell an encouraging story.

His role will be so crucial to the team that he might be the most important name on the team sheet but is he really what Arsenal need?

Arsenal struggled in front of goal last season, the football was a pain to watch for the best part of the first half of the season.

Though things improved when Emile Smith-Rowe was integrated into the first team, Odegaard’s inclusion opened up the final third, a big plus to him.

The front men at Arsenal have been largely lacerated, the clouds around their strange omission from the first game at Brentford led to more side talks but the club has come out to say they were out on COVID grounds.

When they return, will they have enough supply from the talented Norwegian?

What does the acquisition of Odegaard mean to Emile Smith Rowe? 

Well in fairness to the manager, the two are different in style so they can play together.

Emile Smith Rowe isn’t as creative as people think but he has the energy and trickery to occupy spaces and drift to the flanks, he can effectively take up the Willian role.

Odegaard will be in the hole, the bridge between the defensive midfield and the strike force, he is very useful when opponents set up with a low block and he can also hit it from a distance as we can recall from the game at Slavia in early April.

Arsenal however need one more body in the middle, Houssem Aouar was rumoured for long and James Maddison was also discussed but with how terrible Arsenal’s communication is, you really can’t tell what they’re up to.

Make no mistakes, it’s okay to keep your cards to your chest but oftentimes, Arsenal’s cards are always uninspiring which sparks unrest among fans.

A little thought for Ramsdale, he is probably the long term option to take over from Bernd Leno but he is not going to do that this season.

He will most likely fill in for cups for now but the big German has the number one glove for now, that’s that.

Defensively, Arsenal fans are eagerly waiting for what Ben White will bring, the audition at Brentford didn’t go well but what many didn’t know is that the England defender isn’t the best aerially, jury however is out on him…

To be continued…