Mikel Arteta didn't spend €526m or €416m in his first season at Arsenal unlike Enzo Maresca and Xabi Alonso.
It took him FIVE(5)YEARS to reach that level of investment.
Enzo Maresca's first summer:
🆗 Jeremy Monga — €11.7m
🆗 Enzo — €145m
🆗 Gerónimo Rulli — €3.5m
🆗 Iliman Ndiaye — €70m
🆗 Pierce Charles — €3.5m
🆗 Ayyoub Bouaddi — €95m
🆗 Allan — €37.5m
🆗 Elliot Anderson — €135m
🆗 Mathys Detourbet — €25m
Total: €526m
Xabi Alonso's first summer:
🆗 Valentin Barco — €40m
🆗 Danny Welbeck — €5.85m
🆗 Morgan Rogers — €138m
🆗 Jordan Henderson — Free
🆗 Geovany Quenda — €50m
🆗 Emiliano Martínez — €8.8m
🆗 Maxence Lacroix — €60m
🆗 Dastan Satpaev — €2.4m
🆗 Emmanuel Emegha — €25m
🆗 Pep Chavarria — £21m
🆗 Marco Palestra — €57m
🆗 Alves Denner — €10m
Total: €416.05m
Arteta's first summer:
🆗 Thomas Partey — €50m
🆗 Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson — Free
🆗 Gabriel Magalhães — €26m
🆗 Dani Ceballos — Loan
🆗 Willian — Free
Total: €76m
The difference is clear: Maresca and Alonso got the players they wanted and massive financial backing from day one. Arteta inherited an Arsenal side that wasn't competing for the title and had a much bigger rebuild to complete.
So, if Maresca and Alonso finish this season without a single trophy after spending €526m and €416m respectively, can we call it a failure?