Ranking Unai Emery’s 12 signings as Arsenal manager from worst to best

Unai Emery has had a massively successful career, winning 11 major trophies including four Europa Leagues, but his 18 months at Arsenal was a low point.

After an initially positive start, the quality of football declined rapidly, and he lost control of the dressing room before being sacked in November 2019.

The Spaniard then got his revenge, knocking Arsenal out of the Europa League in the 2021 semi-finals with Villarreal, before going on to win the whole thing.

Some argue Emery wasn’t backed enough, but sometimes a good manager can be a bad fit, and he did make 12 first signings in his three transfer windows in London.

We’ve ranked them from worst to best, including those to have joined the Gunners on loan between summer 2018 and 2019.

His half-season loan spell from Barcelona amounted to just six fairly forgettable appearances and zero starts.

Nice one, Arsenal.

A serial title winner with Juventus and prime sh*thouse, it was hoped that Lichtsteiner would bring a bit of nastiness that’s been lacking since Patrick Vieira and the Invincibles era.

Arsenal undoubtedly saw some of that but not much else. The veteran’s one-year stint at Arsenal came and went without him leaving much of an impression.

His legs had fully gone by his arrival, and many forget he was even there.

There were some question marks over Sokratis’ performances at his former club Borussia Dortmund, but he looked to have answered his critics as a frequent fixture during a nine-match winning run in the early days of Emery’s tenure.

However, like Lichtsteiner, Arsenal landed Sokratis when he was past his prime, and his rashness at the back alongside Shkodran Mustafi was an absolute disaster at times.

Sokratis eventually lost his place under Mikel Arteta, and