It is not uncommon for Arsenal fans to feel as if their club is under constant attack by pundits, statistic sites and commentators. The high standard to which the club is held by so many has not been met over the last decade and a half.
The regression from a once regular title challenger to back-to-back eighth-place finishes has seen Arsenal become an easy target for questioning and criticism. The direction of the club has not been good, and much can be pointed towards the individuals making the big decisions.
However, things have looked to change of late. Despite spending over a billion on players since Stan Kroenke’s involvement with the club in 2007, Arsenal have been overtaken by its so-called big 6 rivals and even some from outside such as Leicester City and West Ham United.
Edu was appointed as technical director in 2019 but didn’t see his influence unleashed until then head of football Raul Sanllehi left the club the following year.
In the previous two summer windows, the Brazilian has moved to change how the club approaches its recruitment. Whilst some mistakes have been made in the form of Willian and Alex Runarsson, overall, the work to bring quality in and move on surplus players has been good.
The performances of the six signings made this summer, in particular, have been great. They have all got time in the team after the opening three defeats, and directly contributed to the now six-game unbeaten run in the league.
It is therefore pleasing to look back on comments made by doubters after the window closed to see how they have been proved wrong since.
talkSPORT’s Jamie O’Hara described the players brought in by Arsenal as a ‘B team’ before watching them batter Tottenham in the North London Derby last month 3-1.
“[Martin] Odegaard, [Aaron] Ramsdale, Ben White, [Sambi] Lokonga and [Nuno] Tavares. They’ve spent £135 million on a B team,” said the ex-Spurs midfielder.“
He couldn’t have been more inaccurate it turns out.
Furthermore, Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville spoke of his inability to understand the strategy Edu was putting into place.
“I'm not sure what Arsenal's transfer strategy is. It seems a bit over the place. Maybe there is one, but it's not clear,” he said.
“Sometimes you can see a left field signing and think you can see where it comes from, but there's quite a few of them at Arsenal.”
Manchester United meanwhile have regressed in competitiveness since Cristiano Ronaldo’s acquisition allowing Arsenal to catch them and sit level on points in the league table.
Jadon Sancho has struggled to impress, and existing players such as Mason Greenwood have suffered due to a lack of chemistry with the new signings.
There is still a long season ahead and Arsenal have seen their midfield look thin in quality without Granit Xhaka, something Edu may need to address having not done so significantly in the summer.
The signings still need to prove themselves consistently in the long-term, but presently the words of the critics are not standing true and Arsenal fans are loving it.
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