Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have helped flip Arsenal from an underachieving sleeping big into among the finest groups in Europe over the previous few years, and whereas they’re but to win a serious honour, it feels extra like a matter of when and never if.
The supervisor has helped instil a steeling willpower to combat in each second, as we noticed in opposition to Manchester Metropolis on Sunday, whereas the Brazilian has helped him to usher in the gamers he wants to hold out his imaginative and prescient.
Furthermore, the pair have additionally overseen an enormous variety of participant departures throughout their time on the membership, be that superstars like former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or academy merchandise who simply weren’t of the required stage like Eddie Nketiah.
It is unattainable to disclaim the profound affect they’ve had on the North Londoners during the last 4 years or so, however as all the time, there may be extra work to be completed to the squad, and one former fan favorite, who earns greater than David Raya and Leandro Trossard, should be moved on this season.
Raya and Trossard’s salaries at Arsenal
Arsenal paid an preliminary £3m to signal Raya on a season-long mortgage with an possibility to purchase from Brentford final summer time, and saying there was some pushback on the time can be an understatement.
The Gunners had simply come off of an good marketing campaign by which Aaron Ramsdale had impressed between the sticks, so when Arteta advised the media he now had two quantity ones, there have been quite a lot of eyebrows raised, with pundits like Gary Neville significantly scathing early on within the season, and in direction of the tip when he described his distribution in opposition to Metropolis as “horrible.”
Nevertheless, the supervisor caught by his participant and spent the £27m wanted to make his transfer a everlasting one, and up to now this season, he has greater than repaid him with match-defining performances in virtually each sport up to now, significantly in opposition to Atalanta and Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut.
It might be truthful to say that the Spanish shot-stopper is greater than justifying his £100k-per-week wages, as is Belgian celebrity Trossard, who might have stitched up his teammates on Sunday however has in any other case been imperious in pink and white.
The gifted winger joined the Gunners from fellow Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion for £27m in January 2023 and ended that season with a significantly spectacular haul of 1 objective and ten assists in 22 appearances earlier than doing simply as effectively final yr and racking up 17 objectives, and two assists in 46 video games.
The Waterschei-born ace at the moment has only one objective in six matches this season, however like Raya, he has greater than confirmed his worth to the North Londoner, which is sadly not one thing that may be mentioned about one in all their teammates who earns greater than the pair of them.
Kieran Tierney’s wage at Arsenal
Sure, the participant in query is Scottish worldwide Kieran Tierney, who was as soon as tipped to turn into the ‘Gunners’ future captain due to his old-school, no-nonsense model of play.
Nevertheless, regardless of trying spectacular right here and there within the 5 years since his £25m transfer to the Emirates, the previous Celtic ace simply hasn’t performed sufficient soccer to justify his hefty £110k-per-week wages.
For instance, in his first three seasons in North London, the Douglas-born star missed a whopping 55 video games by means of damage, and by that time, he was firmly out of Arteta’s plans, and regardless of remaining match for the 22/23 marketing campaign, he was sidelined by new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Tierney’s Arsenal damage report | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Season | Accidents | Days out Injured | Video games Missed |
19/20 | 1 | 96 | 19 |
20/21 | 4 | 83 | 19 |
21/22 | 2 | 114 | 17 |
22/23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
23/24 | 3 | 100 | 21 |
24/25 | 1 | 97 | – |
Whole | 11 | 490 | 76 |
All Stats by way of Transfermarkt | |||
With it clear he wasn’t going to get a lot sport time, the Scotsman joined La Liga aspect Actual Sociedad on a season-long mortgage final yr. Whereas he seemed good on the pitch, he was as soon as once more blighted by damage issues. He ended up lacking 21 matches as a consequence of hamstring and adductor accidents, with the previous holding him out of motion this season as effectively.
In all, the 27-year-old dynamo has formally missed a frankly absurd 76 video games by means of damage since becoming a member of Arsenal in 2019, and although he will be distinctive at instances and would provide the membership a extra conventional possibility at left-back, it is clear he can’t be relied upon.
Due to this fact, Arteta and Edu should transfer Tierney on both this January if he is match or in the summertime. He can not justify his £110k-per-week wages, and the longer he spends on the sidelines in North London, the extra his profession goes to stall.
