Arsenal, one of England’s top soccer clubs, home to great players, such as Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey and many more, has made some big deals in this years January transfer window. Currently rank six in the Premier League, the clubs expectations towards the newly signed players, are as high, as their expenditures.
Having spent £56.0 million, equivalent to $77.7 million, on Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, one of the worlds most highly-rated strikers, Arsenal landed the biggest deadline day and second biggest deal of January’s transfer window, beaten only by Liverpool’s transfer fee of £75.0 million ($103m) for Virgil van Dijk.
However, with Aubameyang joining on a long-term contract, Arsenal’s club-record high fee might seem minor in comparison to his expected contribution on the field. The 28-year-old scored over 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga games for Dortmund and had a hand in 172 goals in 213 matches in all competitions for his former club, making the Gabonese, one of the best forwards in the world.
Furthermore, Arsenal managed to get their hands on two other players as well, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, in a player exchange with Manchester United, and Konstantinos Mavropanos, a young defender from the Greek Super League club PAS Giannina, for £1.8 million ($2.5m). With Arsenal’s struggling defensively, Mavropanos could secure himself a place on the bench, but will most likely be loaned out due to his inexperience.
Mkhitaryans exchange made Arsène Wenger, manager of the club since 1996, seemingly very happy. “Henrikh is a very complete player.”, he said, “He creates chances, he defends well, he can absorb distances and he’s very committed as well. I must say he’s a player who has all the attributes.”
The Armenian midfielder is known for his versatile playstyle and is excited to join the club.
“It’s a dream come true because I’ve always dreamed of playing for Arsenal.”, he said, “Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best for this club to create history.” This history may have already begun and can be tracked on the Gunners webpage, social media and live on TV.
