Arteta's Jaw on the Floor: Arsenal Boss Shocked by £100M+ Transfer Frenzy
Arsenal's Mikel Arteta has seen just about everything in football — but even he's been left scratching his head at this summer's money madness. With FOUR players already moving for £100 million or more in a single window, the Gunners boss is doing a double-take like the rest of us.
The spending spree kicked off with Yan Diomande's £120m blockbuster switch from Red Bull Leipzig to Real Madrid — the priciest deal of the summer so far. Not far behind? Morgan Rogers at £117m, a player Arsenal chased for months before refusing to meet Aston Villa's valuation, allowing Chelsea to swoop in and get it done. Then Elliot Anderson (£116m from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City) and Sandro Tonali (£100m from Newcastle to Tottenham) turned the market into full-on chaos.
Asked if the eye-watering fees had caught him off guard, Arteta didn't hold back: "Yes it has, yeah. I wouldn't bet on that to be fair. But that's the market, that means that there are clubs that are happy to invest or they believe the valuations of players are that and that's fair."
He added: "At the end, the value of the player is what somebody can pay for you. They've done it so that's the value and it is the right one because someone is happy to sell and someone is happy to buy. In the middle a player is happy to move from one club to the other so I think that's fair."
Arsenal Still Shopping
The Gunners haven't been idle, though. With the window still open, Arsenal are pushing hard for defensive reinforcements — with Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa and Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah firmly in their sights. It looks like the North London side is ready to splash some cash of their own before the deadline hits.
Community Shield & A Guardiola Farewell
Next up is a huge Community Shield clash against Manchester City — their first game without Pep Guardiola in charge after a decade of dominance. Arteta, a former City assistant, showered praise on his old mentor and successor Enzo Maresca.
"Probably I'm going to fall short on the way I can praise what he's done," Arteta said of Guardiola. "For me, he is the best coach in the history of football for many reasons... I think he will be missed in the Premier League."
On Maresca, Arteta was just as glowing: "Enzo has the personality, the character, and especially the knowledge to have an unbelievable job there. I have no doubt that he will do a great job."
Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Martín Zubimendi could all feature if they come through training as expected after their World Cup return. Buckle up — this weekend's got fireworks written all over it.