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Arsenal have spent almost £1billion on new players under Mikel Arteta but the Gunners boss believes a £27m signing took his team to a ‘different level’.

Arsenal’s productive transfer window last summer took the club’s spending under Arteta’s tenure to over £900m.

Only three Premier League clubs – Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City – have spent more than Arsenal since the start of the 2020-21 season.

But despite the staggering spending, Arteta believes the relatively cheap signing of David Raya helped transform his Gunners team.

Raya’s loan move to the Emirates Stadium came as a surprise given Arsenal already had England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale at the club.

But Raya soon displaced Ramsdale as Arteta’s No. 1, winning the Golden Glove award in his debut season at the club.

Strong performances throughout the 2023-24 campaign earned Raya a permanent £27m move to Arsenal and his impressive performances have continued since then.

Raya, now considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, has conceded just eight games in 20 games this season.

The 30-year-old will be keen to maintain that remarkable defensive record on Wednesday when Arsenal face his former club Brentford.

‘An amazing goalkeeper,’ Arteta said of Raya ahead of the Premier League clash. ‘It’s a great story as well and how it happened [the transfer].

‘We tried to sign David much earlier, it was as soon as I arrived almost, and he had to wait another two years.

‘The start that he had and the journey that we had together has been phenomenal for us and I’m very happy to have him.’

Asked whether Raya is the best signing he’s made as Arsenal manager, Arteta added: ‘It’s a very difficult question to answer.

‘But he’s certainly one that is taking us to a different level. He’s certainly a player that has brought something to our way of playing.’

Raya is not the only member of Arsenal’s squad that came from Brentford, with Christian Norgaard making the same switch last summer.

Norgaard has only made two league appearances for the Gunners but Arteta insists he is ‘very happy’ to have the Denmark international.

Asked what convinced him to sign Norgaard, Arteta said: ‘What I saw on the pitch and then everything that I heard about him as a leader, and the role that he can fulfil and the role that he was going to have here.

‘The moment I picked up the phone and spoke to him, he was super excited to join us. He brings something that we don’t have in the squad and I’m very happy to have him.’

Arsenal’s next opponents Brentford have won six of their last nine games to climb into the top-half of the Premier League but pull comfortably clear of the relegation zone.

Brentford took points off Arsenal in this fixture last season back in April, with Yoane Wissa cancelling out Thomas Partey’s second-half opener.

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Marc Cucurella has revealed he ‘absolutely wanted’ to join another Premier League club before his move to Chelsea.

Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea spent £60m to sign Spain defender Cucurella from Brighton in 2022.

Cucurella had enjoyed one impressive season at Brighton but £60m was deemed too high a fee for a left-back, especially as England international Ben Chilwell was already at the club.

A number of pundits questioned Chelsea’s transfer move but Cucurella has proved his doubters wrong at Stamford Bridge, developing into one of the most important players at the club.

Cucurella is even regarded as one of the best left-backs in the world and was described as ‘incredible’ by Wayne Rooney after Chelsea’s recent Champions League win over Barcelona.

The Barcelona academy graduate has already won the Conference League and Club World Cup with Chelsea and will hope to secure more silverware this season, with Enzo Maresca’s side currently third in the Premier League and seventh in the Champions League.

Cucurella almost never ended up at Chelsea, the 27-year-old revealing he ‘absolutely wanted’ to join Manchester City after Pep Guardiola tried to bring him to the Etihad Stadium.

City’s interest in Cucurella led to the Spaniard handing in a transfer request but the then-Premier League champions were unable to strike a deal with Brighton, failing with a £30m bid.

Cucurella believes Brighton’s ‘exorbitant demands’ blocked his dream move to Manchester City, with Guardiola signing Sergio Gomez instead, only for the fellow Spaniard to flop in the Premier League.

‘Man City were on fire and were one of the best teams in the world,’ Cucurella told El Desmarque. ‘I absolutely wanted to go.

‘When they come like they did, and when Pep Guardiola asks you to, you’ll crawl there on your knees if necessary.

‘But the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement. Brighton had exorbitant demands, and it just wasn’t possible.’

Cucurella has played in all 13 of Chelsea’s Premier League games so far this season, including Sunday’s London derby against Arsenal.

The Blues lost influential midfielder Moises Caicedo to a first-half red card but recovered to draw 1-1 with the Premier League leaders.

Maresca’s team continue their 2025-26 campaign with a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Wednesday night and ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton has predicted an away win.

‘Leeds lumped it in the second half against Manchester City and it almost got them a point,’ he told BBC Sport.

‘They were lucky to still be in the game at half-time but fair play to Daniel Farke for making the substitutes and changing the system, because he has been accused of not being proactive enough during games.

‘As lively as Leeds were, they still ended up empty-handed, however, and it means they really need something here.

‘You know they will give it a go but, again, it is going to be hard for them to get anything out of a Chelsea side who are in really good form.

‘There might be a bit of an edge to this one, because going back to my time as a Chelsea player there was always a rivalry here.

‘I don’t think it will be as rough and tumble as it was when these teams met in the 1970 FA Cup final, but I’m going for the same outcome, which is a Chelsea win.’

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