Premier League clubs combined to spend a record £3.19 billion during the 2025 summer window, and a number of arrivals have already influenced the opening months of the 2025/26 season.

Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony arrived from Bournemouth for £8 million and has become a central outlet in Scott Parker’s attack. The former Arsenal academy player has started both as part of a front two and out wide, and his four league goals currently lead Burnley’s scoring chart.

On Tyneside, the German forward has settled quickly. With Yoane Wissa nursing a knee injury, Woltemade has started up front and brought an immediate return of three league goals in four games, one of which included an extraordinary penalty. His unusual frame and aerial improvement have been noted by supporters.

West Ham’s recruitment has offered hope under Nuno Espírito Santo. El Hadji Malick Diouf, signed from Slavia Prague, has impressed as a one-on-one defender who delivers a dangerous cross from the left. He remains an up-and-down full back with clear potential.

Tijjani Reijnders produced an outstanding Premier League debut at Molineux and has since provided moments of quality, including the assist for Erling Haaland against Arsenal in September.

Martín Zubimendi was an early target for Mikel Arteta and has gradually displayed his class in the holding role. After a slow debut, he has shown his passing range and even contributed a memorable goal against Nottingham Forest.

Hugo Ekitiké has been arguably the most convincing of Liverpool’s summer recruits. The former Eintracht Frankfurt forward scored on his opening games against Bournemouth and Newcastle and has shown a willingness to drop in and combine, even if his league scoring has slowed in recent fixtures.

João Palhinha’s loan at Tottenham has been a robust addition. Thomas Frank leans on him heavily and the Portuguese midfielder leads Spurs with just over five combined tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes.

Sunderland’s Robin Roefs arrived from NEC Nijmegen, took the No.1 spot in preseason and has been a reliable shot-stopper. Only Dean Henderson has prevented more goals, and Roefs ranks fourth for success when attempting to claim the high ball.

Finally, Jack Grealish’s loan to Everton has begun well. He is joint-top of the assist charts and produced a last-gasp finish to end Crystal Palace’s 18-game unbeaten run before the international break.

Martín Zubimendi has set out the dressing room view on why Arsenal fell short in recent title races: injuries. The midfielder, who joined from Real Sociedad this summer, said team-mates made clear that the squad repeatedly unravelled when key players were sidelined.

Adding depth across the squad was a stated summer priority and Arsenal recruited heavily. Zubimendi arrived from Real Sociedad alongside Viktor Gyökeres, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapié, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga. The signings were intended to ensure the club could cope when injuries occurred.

“From what teammates have said to me, the problem was the injuries, that when someone got injured, the team came undone,” Zubimendi told The Guardian. “This year the club has invested a lot in having two players in every position.”

Zubimendi’s move to the Premier League came later than many expected. His arrival this summer followed a season in which he was a standout performer for Sociedad in 2024, and it came 12 months later than most anticipated. He had been close to joining Arne Slot’s Liverpool before withdrawing from talks, and Real Madrid also expressed interest, but it was Arsenal who ultimately secured his signature.

His decision was influenced by the timing of any proposal and by Arsenal’s project. “When any proposal comes, the first question has to be whether to stay at la Real,” he continued. “And it wasn’t the right moment [to go]. I stayed and it was a hard season but I learned a lot. I wanted to step forward, take that weight after others went.

“I had watched Arsenal and I liked everything I saw, in terms of passion, youth, the feeling you got watching them. And when Mikel Arteta called me… Well, if you’ve ever spoken to him you’ll know that he can be very convincing.

“He’s mad about football, crazy about having everything under control, trying to get something from every little detail. He’s very clear on everything and the proposal he had was the best for me.”

The messages from Zubimendi underline why Arsenal prioritised squad depth in the transfer window and why the club believes redundancy across positions will be key in the 2025/26 campaign.

Arsenal midfielder Martín Zubimendi has criticised the role of journalists and interviews in amplifying talk of a Real Madrid switch in the summer before his move to the Gunners was completed. The remarks came during a recent interview with El Mundo, in which Zubimendi questioned the value of some media attention.

“Well, I don’t know. In the end, based on the experiences I’ve had… they haven’t brought me many positive things. Sometimes they’ve even been negative, they’ve gotten me into trouble here and there… There have been some that have caused me awkward moments, so I prefer to avoid them sometimes,” the Arsenal midfielder said when asked if he liked doing interviews.

At the end of that conversation, when asked if there was any truth to a move to Real Madrid, the Spaniard reacted with a chuckle and added: “You see what I was saying about interviews?”

The transfer story has its own chronology in the background. Mikel Arteta identified Zubimendi as a midfield target while negotiating for his Real Sociedad teammate Mikel Merino in 2024. During that same window Zubimendi turned down an approach from Liverpool, opting to remain in San Sebastian. It became clear the following January that he would leave for Arsenal at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Arsenal had nearly finalised the transfer at the start of the year, but a series of delays at the beginning of the summer produced speculation of a potential Real Madrid hijack. Media outlets pointed to Zubimendi’s earlier comments about working with Xabi Alonso as a rationale for the swoop. Zubimendi had previously labelled Alonso as his “idol” and said he “loved working with him” when the Real Madrid manager took charge of Sociedad’s reserves in 2019.

Zubimendi’s public reservations about interviews underline the tension between player statements and transfer coverage that shaped the narrative around his move to Arsenal.