Arteta has seen two Arsenal transfer gambles fail after £56m spree

Any transfer could arguably be labelled a gamble as clubs can never know completely what they are going to get. Mikel Arteta has been stung by a couple of risky signings that have not paid off at Arsenal so far this season.

Fabio Vieira was one of five players Arsenal signed last summer. At a fee rising to £35million, he was the second-most expensive acquisition in the off-season.

Arteta also brought in three new signings in the January transfer window. One of them was centre-back Jakub Kiwior, who will go on to cost the Gunners up to £21m following his move from Serie A side Spezia.

Both signings on the face of it didn’t cause too many questions from Arsenal supporters. But both have proven that the risk of transfers doesn’t always pay off.

Vieira has not looked up to Premier League level all season. He had only had a couple of full campaigns in the Porto team before his arrival.

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He did miss the whole of pre-season due to a foot injury he picked up on under-21 duty with Portugal. That could be a reason behind him taking longer than Arteta would have hoped to adapt to his style.

But Vieira will have had plenty of time on the training ground since to work with his boss. The attacking midfielder was given the opportunity to impress in the Europa League group stage but didn’t always take them.

His performance against Southampton last week was most concerning for Arsenal supporters. He was first in line to replace the ill Granit Xhaka and was given a great chance to show what he could do in a home game against the worst team in the league.

But it was one of Vieira’s most disappointing performances in an Arsenal shirt. He was jeered at times and cheered off when substituted by fans who are still waiting to see why Edu paid £35m for him.

Kiwior was a different gamble altogether. Arteta wanted to strengthen at the back and a left-footed central defender was at the top of his wishlist.

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But signing a player who can only play on one side of central defence is a gamble. If Gabriel got injured, Kiwior would have stepped in and been given a chance.

Instead, it was William Saliba who was struck down. Arteta clearly does not feel comfortable playing two left-footed central defenders in the same XI.

That has left him with just one option – Rob Holding. Kiwior has played just 14 minutes as a substitute in the Premier League.

The gamble by Arteta to sign a central defender pigeonholed to one position has not worked out. Hindsight says the £56million on Kiwior and Vieira could have been spent better elsewhere.

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