Arsenal had concerns over transfer Mikel Arteta personally intervened in to get over the line

The transfers that Mikel Arteta personally made sure Arsenal completed have been revealed.

Since taking over as Arsenal manager in December 2019, Arteta has overseen some of the best transfers in the club's recent history.

Most notably, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes all joined the Gunners during Arteta's reign.

And now, the four players that Arteta personally stepped in to make sure Arsenal signed have been named.

On Tuesday, Arsenal shocked the footballing world after reports emerged claiming that the Gunners had successfully agreed a summer move for long-term target Martin Zubimendi.

And, as per The Athletic, the deal is just the latest in a series of transfers that have been led by the Arsenal boss, who was impressed with the midfielder's performances during Spain's victory at the 2024 European Championship.

Speaking about the deal on The Athletic FC Podcast, transfer expert David Ornstein said: "It goes to underline Arteta's influence and power at the club over recruitment."

Prior to pushing Arsenal to pursue Zubimendi, Arteta encouraged the club to enquire about the availability of his Real Sociedad teammate Mikel Merino, who he saw as the perfect fit for the left-eight position.

The Spanish manager felt that neither Kai Havertz nor Declan Rice were suitable for the role, and instead wanted "a physical player with duel-winning abilities and penalty-box threat."

Despite this, Arsenal weren't convinced by Merino, with his age, 28, leading to concerns that they would struggle to get a return on their £31.6million investment ahead of his contract expiring in 2028.

However, the club ultimately stood by their manager, signing the Spaniard who has now made 21 appearances for Arsenal.

And Merino wasn't the only player that caught Arteta's eye at Euro 2024, as he also drove Arsenal’s interest for left-back Ricardo Calafiori, who joined the club for £42m in July.

Having struggled with injuries since joining Arsenal, starting just 12 matches, the jury is still out on Calafiori.

Riccardo Calafiori joined Arsenal from Bologna last summer. (Image: Getty)

If he is to convince fans that he was worth his price tag, he will likely need to have an impressive second half of the season if he is to live up to Arteta's high expectations.

This also appears to be the case for Havertz, another signing that Arteta pushed for in recent years.

According to The Daily Mail, despite worries behind the scenes at Arsenal, Arteta insisted the club moved for Havertz in the summer of 2023.

The were unsure exactly what role the German would play at the club, but decided to back their manager and sanction a massive £65m deal for Havertz, who joined from London rivals Chelsea.

And, despite a slow start, the transfer appeared to pay off, as the German finished the season with 20 goals or assists in 37 Premier League appearances.

However, Havertz appears to be struggling again so far this season, leading to concern from several fans, and, like he did in 23/24, will need to significantly improve his performances to justify the huge fee that was paid for him two years ago.