Rating and slating every Arsenal player signed under James Ellis as he suddenly quits club

Arsenal's technical director James Ellis has left the Premier League leaders after sharing an official statement on social media

Arsenal are losing their former head of recruitment and technical director, James Ellis, after almost five years and with over £560million spent in transfers. Ellis announced his exit from the Gunners on social media on Thursday and claimed it was "time to take the next step".

The Gunners signed a total of 17 players under Ellis' watch as head of recruitment between 2023 and 2025. He was also the head of the transfer strategy last summer after stepping into the technical director's role.

The 46-year-old joined Arsenal as a senior scout from Fulham and became head of recruitment two years later. He answered to Edu Gasper, who was the club's technical director at the time.

Edu became sporting director and then resigned, with Ellis taking on the technical director role for seven months before confirming his own exit this week. In a post on LinkedIn, the boyhood fan said: "Time to take the next step.

"Sport is a wonderful sector to work in, and I am very, very lucky to have worked in the industry for 25 plus years. My journey in sport, from participation, rejection, education, coaching, scouting and senior leadership has made me who I am, and I owe this exposure to so many people along the way.

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"I recently departed Arsenal Football Club, where in nearly five years I gave my all in an attempt to help contribute to supporting the development of elite level club and its high-performance environment. The most notable memory of my time there was coming across a number of wonderful people who (from various backgrounds and various levels of expertise), saw the world of opportunity, responsibility, custodianship and contribution the same as I do. I would like to wish the club the very best for the future.

"Thank you to everyone who has so far in my career, helped shape me, learn so much, and helped me find a course that supports my desire to support others, fulfil their potential and support organisations achieve their ambitions. I look forward to the next opportunity to continue to do so."

Here, football.london has rated all of the players Arsenal signed when Ellis was in charge of transfers from 2023 up until last summer.

Declan Rice – West Ham United (£100m + £5m add-ons) - 10/10

Declan Rice is arguably one of the best names on this list of transfers. Bought from West Ham for a club-record fee of £100m, the midfielder captained the Hammers to their first major trophy since 1965 and joined the Gunners weeks after his Europa Conference League win.

So far, Rice has 52 goal contributions in 147 games for Arsenal and has become a mainstay in the centre of the park. While his transfer fee was a highly-debated topic at the time of his signing, fans would argue the England international has lived up to expectations.

Kai Havertz – Chelsea (£65m) - 7/10

Kai Havertz made the controversial move from one side of London to the other when he left Chelsea to join Arsenal. The striker signed for a reported fee of £65m and has 47 goal contributions in 101 games for the club.

A few points have been dropped for the German due to his injury record in north London, missing 61 games and a total of 265 days with a plethora of fitness issues. The forward has scored some hugely important goals for the Gunners and is leading the title charge from the front for Mikel Arteta, but needs to find more consistency in front of goal.

Jurriën Timber – Ajax (£34m) - 8/10

The Dutch defender made the move in the same window as Havertz and Rice, joining from Ajax for a £34m fee. Timber's first appearance was a Community Shield win over Manchester City in 2023, winning a trophy on the first time of asking.

However, the Netherlands international made his Premier League debut one week later and suffered an ACL injury just 50 minutes in. He was out for the majority of the campaign and didn't return to the first team until the last 20 minutes of the final day win against Everton.

Timber has improved since this injury setback, scoring six goals and assisting 11 times and becoming one of the most formidable right-backs in the Premier League.

David Raya – Brentford (Initial £3m loan with £27m option to buy) - 9/10

David Raya initially joined on loan from Brentford for the 2023/24 season. He made 41 appearances for the Gunners, including nine in the Champions League, and made 20 clean sheets.

As a result, Raya joined permanently in the summer of 2024 and has since solidified his position as the starting goalkeeper. He has kept 60 clean sheets in 136 appearances and played 12,300 minutes for Arsenal and has now entered the conversation over who is the best goalkeeper in the world.

Riccardo Calafiori – Bologna (£42m) - 7/10

Heading into the summer 2024 window, Riccardo Calafiori joined for an initial fee of £33.6m that would rise to £42m with add-ons. The defender was another who has struggled with injury in north London, missing 40 games and 218 days since joining two years ago.

However, the left-back has made 29 appearances so far this season and made four goal contributions, including an opening-day strike against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Mikel Merino – Real Sociedad (£27.4m) - 8/10

Mikel Merino joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad after previously spending a season in the Premier League with Newcastle. After signing a four-year deal with the Gunners for just under £30m, the midfielder fractured his shoulder in his first training session and didn't return until October.

Merino has become a player in two positions for Arsenal, being deployed in the middle of the park and as a striker to replace the then-injured Havertz. As a result, the 29-year-old has scored 15 goals and assisted eight times in 77 appearances, with 23 of these coming as the main target man.

Raheem Sterling – Chelsea (Season-long loan) - 2/10

Following great success with Manchester City, Sterling joined Chelsea in 2022 but didn't end up reaching the same heights in London. He secured a loan deal with Arsenal in 2024 and scored in his first start in a 5-1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup.

With 28 appearances and one solitary goal - and five assists - Mikel Arteta allowed the forward to return to Chelsea. He was exiled from Stamford Bridge and was forced to train separately, eventually joining Feyenoord earlier this year.

Neto – Bournemouth (Season-long loan) - 3/10

Neto joined Arsenal on a season-long loan from Bournemouth on deadline day. He made just one appearance that season, conceding one goal as the Gunners beat Girona 2-1 in the Champions League.

The goalkeeper is now at Botafogo after signing a two year with the Brazilian side following a failed loan move in north London.

Tommy Setford – Ajax (£1m - Academy/First-team backup) - 5/10

The 20-year-old goalkeeper left Ajax's academy to join the Premier League giants in 2024 for around £1m. He has made one start for the Gunners against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup, keeping a clean sheet as they won 3-0.

He came on for Kepa Arrizabalaga in the FA Cup earlier in February in a 4-0 win against Wigan Athletic. Setford has made 15 appearances for the U21s side, keeping six clean sheets and conceding 16 goals.

Viktor Gyokeres – Sporting CP (£55m rising to £64m) - 6/10

By this time, Ellis had become the technical director at Arsenal but led the recruitment strategy for the summer 2025 window. Viktor Gyokeres became the statement signing for Arteta to solve the long-debated striker problem.

He joined with a lot of fanfare, scoring 97 goals and assisting 28 times in 102 appearances for Sporting CP. The deal was drawn out over the summer with Gyokeres reportedly missing training to push through a move to north London.

The Sweden international eventually signed a five-year deal with an initial fee of £55m, which could rise to £64m with add-ons. With his debut season not over yet, the 27-year-old has scored 16 goals and assisted twice in a respectable entry to the Premier League.

Gyokeres has faced plenty of criticism for not reaching the goalscoring heights of his Sporting CP career with Arsenal so far, but still has plenty of time to change the perceptions around his time in north London.

Martin Zubimendi – Real Sociedad (£60m) - 8/10

The Spain international secured a move from Real Sociedad to Arsenal after the club triggered his £55m release clause. The price could rise to almost £60m with add-ons and Zubimendi became the second signing of the most recent summer transfer window.

The 27-year-old has made 44 appearances from defensive midfield, scoring six goals and assisting three times. His consistency has been a real boost for the Gunners due to injury issues in the past, playing over 2,600 minutes in the Premier League and 3,575 minutes in all competitions.

Eberechi Eze – Crystal Palace (£60m rising to £67.5m) - 6/10

Eberechi Eze made a homecoming to Arsenal from Crystal Palace after previously spending five years in the youth academy in north London. He was announced just before the club's first home game of the season against Leeds United and watched on from the stands.

Since then, Eze has become Arsenal's newest derby hero after tallying up five goals over two wins against Tottenham in the north London rivalry. He became the first player to score five in the derby in one season since the 1930s.

Despite these heroics, Eze has 15 goal contributions in 43 appearances in Arsenal colours and has only shown flashes of brilliance. While impressive on his day, Eze still needs to show he can justify his large transfer fee.

Noni Madueke – Chelsea (£48.5m) - 6/10

Madueke joined Havertz in making the switch from Chelsea to Arsenal, signing a five-year deal with a fee worth £48.5m. He missed 15 games from September until November with a knee injury after limping off in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

Since then, the former Blue has 11 goal contributions from 31 appearances for the Gunners and has provided much-needed quality from the bench for Arteta.

Cristhian Mosquera – Valencia (£13m) - 6/10

The centre-half joined Arsenal from Valencia for a fee of £13m, signing a long-term contract. The 21-year-old has made 25 appearances so far and came in as a capable replacement for the much-loved William Saliba against Liverpool in September.

The young defender has missed a few matchday squads with injury but is likely viewed as a future star for the north London side.

Kepa Arrizabalaga – Chelsea (£5m) - 4/10

Kepa is the third permanent - and fourth star in general - to make the move from Chelsea to Arsenal on this list. Largely seen as the back-up to Raya, the Spaniard started every game in the Carabao Cup for Arsenal - including their 2-0 loss in the final to City.

The 31-year-old has three appearances in the FA Cup and one in the Champions League, and received criticism for City's first goal at Wembley on Sunday.

Christian Norgaard – Brentford (£15m) - 4/10

Defensive midfielder Norgaard signed from Brentford after six years in the Premier League building his reputation. The initial fee of £10m rose to £15m with add-ons and has become a stand-in at centre-half for two games during injury issues.

Overall, the 32-year-old has made 18 appearances in Arsenal colours, assisting three times and still awaiting his first goal for the club.

Piero Hincapie – Bayer Leverkusen (Loan with £45m option) - 7/10

Piero Hincapie may be on loan from Bayer Levekusen this season but his appearance record would suggest a permanent deal is being heavily considered. Arsenal have a £45m option to buy that could be exercised in the summer.

So far, the Ecuador international has made 33 appearances split between centre-half and left-back, scoring one goal and assisting twice in all competitions.

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