Arsenal's €1 billion transfer shortlist confirmed

Arsenal's €1 billion transfer shortlist revealed Make us your Google favourite Arsenal shortlisted 21 players as key transfer targets during the summer transfer window before settling on Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie and Illan Meslier, it has been revealed. The Gunners significantly strengthened Mikel Arteta’s squad ahead of Transfer Deadline Day, as they bid to retain their Premier League crown, but they missed out on a number of superstars throughout the summer. Arsenal spent €227.1 million on the aforementioned quintet, while they recouped over €135m through the permanent sales of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Christian Norgaard and Karl Hein. While the Gunners look well set to challenge for the Champions League this season, with Arteta boasting arguably the strongest squad depth in Europe, there were a number of top targets they missed out on this summer. Their failed pursuit of Morgan Rogers was well-documented, with Chelsea eventually gazumping their London rivals with a €138m deal, while they were also unable to convince Vinicius Junior to leave Real Madrid, despite lengthy talks over an Emirates Stadium switch, or Julian Alvarez to leave Atletico Madrid. The likes of Alex Scott, Amadou Onana, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson were all regarded as possible midfield signings before they opted to bring in Guimaraes from Newcastle United, and Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Jacobo Ramon and Tarik Muharemovic were seen as alternatives to Konsa. In fact, sources correspondent Sami Mokbel reports that 21 players were shortlisted as key targets by the Arsenal hierarchy this summer, in addition to the five stars they signed, and they have a combined Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of a whopping €994.9m. It’s understood that moves for all 21 players were explored by the club’s board, before they eventually decided against finalising deals for various reasons. Arsenal's summer transfer shortlist PlayerCurrent Estimated Transfer Value1. Vinicius Jr€86.6m2. Julian Alvarez€84m3. Bradley Barcola€74m4. Morgan Rogers€73.4m5. Joao Pedro€71.8m6. Elliot Anderson€69.4m7. Nico Paz€62.5m8. Kenan Yildiz€60.6m9. Sandro Tonali€53.9m10. Micky van de Ven€53.6m11. Yan Diomande€51.8m12. Alex Scott€47.3m13. Eli Junior Kroupi€44.5m14. Cristian Romero€42.1m15. Amadou Onana€37.8m16. Malick Fofana€27.5m17. Tarik Muharemovic€14.5m18. Jacobo Ramon€14.4m19. Ivan Fresneda€12.2m20. Jeremy Monga€10.8m21. Louis Page€2.2m Analysis: Will Arsenal win the Premier League title this season? Despite their failure to sign the likes of Rogers, Vinicius or Alvarez, Arsenal undoubtedly have the best squad in the Premier League and they are the strong favourites to defend their title this term. Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Guimaraes currently appear to be their back-up midfield trio, and they would all start for most clubs in Europe, which is testament to Arsenal’s incredible work in the transfer market. Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United will all fancy their chances of pushing Arsenal right down to the wire, although the Gunners deserve their status as the team to beat.