'Hard to replace' - Arsenal legend says Mikel Arteta has made £17m transfer mistake

Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith (Picture: Getty)

Alan Smith fears Mikel Arteta and Arsenal made a major mistake with one piece of business in the summer transfer window.

Having won their first Premier League title in 22 years, the Gunners did not rest on their laurels over the summer transfer window, spending almost £200million on five new signings.

Piero Hincapie’s move from Bayer Leverkusen was made permanent, with Ezri Konsa arriving from Aston Villa to add more depth across the defensive line.

Illan Meslier arrived as a third-choice goalkeeper from Leeds United, while Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis were also signed from Newcastle United and Club Brugge, respectively.

Arsenal had been keen to strengthen further on the left wing, but fell short in their pursuit of Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior.

And with that in mind, Smith believes the club should not have been so hasty to let go of Leandro Trossard, who joined Besiktas for a measly £17m fee earlier in the summer.

‘Time will tell, but Trossard, on paper, is more of a loss,’ Smith told Metro via BestBettingSites.co.uk.

Leandro Trossard was sold to Besiktas (Picture: Getty)

‘He performed in big games, and he chipped in with goals in big games, so that’s hard to explain.

‘Whether Tzolis does that is another story altogether, but that’s asking a lot.

‘But they’ve let Martinelli go, Trossard go, Jesus go; they’ve lost three forward players and just brought in Tzolis, really.

‘So from that point of view, one or two question marks, definitely.’

Speaking before the season, the former Gunners striker tipped Manchester City as Arsenal’s closest challengers for the league title.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (Picture: Getty)

And Smith believes City could prove an even tougher challenge than he expected after watching Enzo Maresca’s side win their first two games against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.

‘The phrase in the weeks leading up to the season has been that it’s Arsenal’s to lose,’ Smith added. ‘I don’t see it like that now.

‘I did Man City at Crystal Palace last Friday, and even then, before they’d made the signings, I thought, oh, they’re going to be challengers.

Manchester City’s new signing Enzo Fernandez (Picture: Manchester City FC)

‘And I think they’ll be even stronger challengers now. Splashed the cash, some good signings.

‘Obviously, Enzo Fernandez being the last one there. I think they’ll be feeling really bullish about things, City.’

Chelsea are another team being talked up as potential title challengers for Arsenal, but Smith can’t see Xabi Alonso’s side staying the course despite the impressive late signing of Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa.