Reviewing the Signings: Analyzing Arsenal, Chelsea, and Man United’s Performance in the Summer Transfer Window

The Premier League summer transfer window closed on Aug. 30, and it ended with England’s top division posting its lowest net spend for a decade and a drop of almost £400 million in spending from the previous year.

The business climate has changed, with clubs losing an aggregate of nearly $1 billion last season, five times as much as 2018-19, the last pre-pandemic campaign. This has led them to adopt profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), which in turn has dampened spending. But the leading clubs have still been busy, either recruiting or offloading players, so it is time to review just how they have performed their transfer business.

At the end of last season, Gab Marcotti and Mark Ogden performed the role of sporting directors by prescribing what Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United needed to do during the summer window. The Keep or Dump series assessed each club’s needs, not only in terms of ins and outs, but also contractual issues with players and managers, while working within their unique financial restraints.

So with their business now done until January at the earliest, here is Keep or Dump: The Verdict.

ARSENAL

WHAT WE SAID: Arsenal’s biggest issue to address was in central midfield and the need for additional personnel …