Ahead of the opening week of the Premier League season in 2023/24, Arsenal had confirmed all of their business.
Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and David Raya were all now donning the famous red and white. This time around, though, it's been a much slower affair.
Riccardo Calafiori was confirmed during the US tour but it took until Sunday for supporters to see their first glimpse of the new defender.
The Italian has had a little period of adaptation but came off the bench to raucous applause against Lyon this weekend, a game the Gunners won 2-0.
It wasn't the same free-flowing display as we got in the 4-1 win over Leverkusen but two set-piece goals from William Saliba and Gabriel were enough as Arsenal flexed their muscles from corners once again.
Arsenal now have six days to prepare for their opening clash of the season with Wolves, but will we see any other new faces by then? Rumours surrounding Mikel Merino continue to swirl.
The latest on Merino to Arsenal
It feels as though the saga revolving around the Real Sociedad midfielder has been going on for weeks now.
Talks have taken place and it did look as though they were closing in on a move as of last week. However, the latest on that deal is that Arsenal still have some work to do to conclude a deal.
That's according to Fabrizio Romano who speaking this weekend said: "Mikel Merino deal is very similar to the deal of Riccardo Calafiori – final talks ongoing with Sociedad regarding payment structure. Still some work to do for Arsenal."
A fee of around £25m has been mooted in recent days. That would make this deal a considerable bargain for Edu and Co.
Arteta's answer to Merino
As Arsenal concluded their pre-season matches with an Emirates Cup triumph against Lyon, a few players stood out.
Gabriel and Saliba were as imperious as you'd expect, both netting from corners taken by a certain Rice.
Rice was the subject of unwarranted criticism as England reached the final of Euro 2024 earlier this summer.
Playing as a holding midfielder alongside Kobbie Mainoo for the majority of the tournament, he failed to get into his rhythm and was left to struggle in Gareth Southgate's system, one that didn't really cater to the forward thinking and progressive play that Rice showed in his debut campaign at Arsenal.
Well, in his first start since that tournament in Germany, the former West Ham captain showed his true colours again.
Progressive in his play and creative from that number 8 position, he registered two assists and dictated things well in the centre for the Gunners. It's remarkable to think that based on his set-piece delivery here, and indeed last season, he did not take corners for England.
Rice registered career-best numbers in 2023/24, scoring seven times and picking up ten assists, the vast majority of which came from set-plays.
His all-round game was present against Lyon this weekend, winning 100% of his aerial battles and completing his one and only dribble.
Minutes played
64
Touches
54
Accurate passes
28/34 (82%)
Key passes
3
Crosses
3/6
Long balls
2/2
Shots
2
Dribbles
1/1
Duels won
5/6
Interceptions
2
Tackles
3
It's that multi-faceted approach – notably the ability to win duels from the left-hand side of the pitch – that proves Arsenal perhaps already have their answer to Merino.
The idea that's been proposed since the rumours began is that the Euro 2024 winner will play as the 8, meaning Rice moves further back.
However, as we saw last term, he is perhaps even better in offensive areas with the likes of Jorginho or as it was on Sunday, Thomas Partey, behind him.
So, in what way is Rice like Merino?
Well, the club's record buy has a few similar statistics from last season when comparing the two midfielders.
Progressive passes
7.77
5.91
Goals
0.20
0.18
Long pass completion
65.2%
65.9%
xA (expected assists)
0.13
0.10
Passes into penalty box
1.09
0.98
Shot-creating actions
2.79
2.36
Tackles won
1.42
1.56
Attempted take-ons
1.28
1.49
As we can see, in some important metrics for that no.8 role, they are very alike. Defensively they win a similar number of tackles and when it comes to some passing numbers, they are very much on par.
Interestingly, it's Merino who comes out on top for attempted take-ons, an area Rice thrived in when marauding forward last season.
This isn't to say that Mikel Arteta should now ignore signing the Real Sociedad man but the knock-on effect it could have on their £105m signing should be considered.
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