Arsenal news, transfer gossip and updates are coming thick and fast during the international break. Express Sport is on hand to bring you all the very latest from the Emirates Stadium. Laurent Koscielny had multiple offers to leave Arsenal last season, according to his agent. The 32-year-old was reportedly considering a move away from The Emirates, with clubs in France and China interested. However, his season was cut short during a Europa League semi-final clash against Atletico Madrid, where he suffered a torn Achilles tendon. Speaking to France Football, he said: “At that time, Laurent was playing what might have been his final matches with Arsenal. “Laurent started to consider a possible move away from Arsenal at the same time as Arsene Wenger. The moment was right, leaving as a new coach arrived. I had already anticipated this and two or three offers were making us think hard.”
CIES Football Observatory have been monitoring transactions across the big five European leagues since 2005, with their data now revealing which teams have spent the most on new signings over the past eight seasons. Chelsea are near the top of the pile with their Abramovich-backed investment and have been rewarded with two FA Cups, the League Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League in addition to their league titles. The Blues have shelled out more than Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain but still haven’t spent the most across Europe since 2010 and trail way behind one Premier League rival.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are well off the pace compared to their European counterparts following an era of steady if unspectacular growth under Arsene Wenger. Liverpool have invested heavily in the past two seasons with Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Naby Keita all costing upwards of £60m while Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane did not come cheap either. Everton are 15th on the list, one spot ahead of Premier League rivals Tottenham, largely thanks to their summer of spending in 2017 where they forked out over £100m – although only Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane look like long-term prospects at Goodison Park. Tony Adams believes Arsenal haven’t actually made enough changes under Unai Emery.
The ex-Gunners skipper believes the north London club haven’t strayed away from their performances under Arsene Wenger despite the new personnel at the club and the new way of playing. He said on The Debate on Sky Sports last night: “I just saw an Arsene Wenger performance [against Cardiff] and that was the thing that was disappointing. For years Arsenal fans have been watching stuff and it’s really attractive to watch and it’s entertaining. “But to think that squad of players can play teams off the park, Liverpools and even Tottenhams, you’re not going to pass them or the Man Citys off the park. “We tried that in the last 10 years, played Barcelona [in the final], quarter-final, quarter-final, semi-final, coming fourth, coming fifth, coming fourth. It’s more of the same and I just wanted a little more resilience.”
