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#2 Nicolas Pepe
Transfer fee: €80m
From: LOSC Lille
To: Arsenal
Arsenal broke the bank this summer to make Nicolas Pepe the most expensive signing in their history. At the beginning of the summer transfer market, some newspapers reported that Arsenal have only a £45m budget to spend on new players. So, no one expected them to make a signing of this caliber. With Pepe's arrival, Arsenal fans have more reasons to be optimistic ahead of the new season.
What will Pepe offer to the Gunners? He is a pacey winger and the main trademark of his game are his runs behind the opposition defense. His speed with the ball is incredible and he is never afraid to dribble. He might create a great chemistry with Alexandre Laccazete who loves to drop deep which will open a huge amount of space for Pepe's runs.
When you consider how ill-equipped Arsenal were in the winger positions, it's clear why this transfer is listed so high on this list. Everything indicates that this could be a really exciting season for Arsenal.
#1 Rodri Hernandez
Transfer Fee: €70m
From: Atletico Madrid
To: Manchester City
And, the best buy of this summer was made by Manchester City when they signed Rodri from Atletico Madrid for €70m. The defensive-midfielder position is one of the most important positions in Guardiola's possession-based system. The first choice for that position in the past three years was Fernandinho. However, the Brazilian midfielder is 34 years old and it's obvious that he can't play many more years at the highest level. Guardiola knew that this summer is the perfect time to find his replacement.
Guardiola must be delighted with Rodri's arrival because he gets a top-quality player who fits his system perfectly. Rodri is a deep-lying orchestrator with great composure and confidence on the ball. He has unbelievable positional intelligence and his ability to take the ball forward from deep positions is one of the best in Europe already.
And, he will only get better under Guardiola. Manchester City have an incredible holding midfielder for the next decade who has everything to became Sergio Busquets 2.0.
