Jamie Carragher once labelled three of Arsenal's signings as a 'joke,' only one player is still at the club

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher once brutally slammed three “joke” signings that Arsenal made, despite one player still being on the Gunners’ books.

Mikel Arteta, who became Arsenal boss in 2019, brought Willian to the Emirates on a free from Chelsea and also signed Cedric Soares from Southampton on a free.

The Arsenal manager inherited former Chelsea defender David Luiz, who had been previously signed by ex-Gunners head coach Unai Emery.

However, Carragher was far from convinced over Arsenal’s transfer strategy in the past and previously pulled no punches towards Soares, Willian and Luiz.

“I really like Mikel Arteta. There’s a lot of nonsense around the club -- bringing players, buying players,” he said on Sky Sports.

“I think some signings were a joke. In terms of bringing Willian in, Luiz in, Cedric in. Is Kia Joorabchian making signings at the club?”

Luiz failed to make a lasting impact at Arsenal and left the club in 2021 after his Gunners contract expired, with the Brazilian going on to play for Flamengo.

Willian, much like fellow Brazilian Luiz, struggled to replicate his Chelsea form at Arsenal and was later axed from the north London club.

The 34-year-old Brazilian winger re-signed for boyhood club Corinthians in 2021 before returning to the Premier League in 2022 with Fulham.

Soares, on the other hand, is still an Arsenal player unlike Willian and Luiz, but the Portuguese full-back was loaned out to Fulham back in January.

During his appearance on Sky Bet’s The Overlap in 2021, Carragher reiterated his strong stance on Willian and Luiz and Arsenal’s “stupid” decision to sign them.

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“Why are you buying rejects from Chelsea who are over 30, giving them big deals and then you can’t get rid of them,” he said at the time.

“That’s not a mistake, that’s a mistake before it’s happened, it’s just stupid.

“David Luiz has gone for nothing, Willian will go for nothing and you’ve taken a load of dough out of your club and you’re left with nothing.

“Chelsea got the best out of them and then left Arsenal have them.”

Topics: Jamie Carragher, David Luiz, Willian, Arsenal, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9