We’re entering year four of Mikel Arteta’s project and the Arsenal hierarchy are intent on the club continuing its ascent under the Spanish boss.
The Gunners took an exponential leap in 2022/23 and came somewhat close to lifting their first Premier League title since the Invincibles campaign of 2003/04. A stuttering epilogue meant Manchester City eventually strolled to their third straight crown, but Arteta is determined to knock the Cityzens off their perch next season.
Arsenal have been mightily aggressive in the summer window so far. After signing Kai Havertz to a monster pay packet, the club fought off several members of Europe’s elite to bring Declan Rice to north London in a British record deal. These two additions, even if Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey depart, leaves Arsenal’s midfield in a distinct position of strength and Jurrien Timber, who’s soon expected to join, will supply greater depth in multiple defensive roles.
The Gunners are well on their way to building a squad capable of competing with City at the Premier League summit, but there are still a couple of positions that could do with strengthening this summer.
Bukayo Saka has established himself as one of the world’s best wingers and played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s excellent 2022/23 campaign. However, the club’s starboy, who appeared in every Premier League game last term, burned out down the stretch for the second season running.
Arteta simply didn’t trust Saka’s deputies, although his options were slim. Reiss Nelson is better off the left, as is Leandro Trossard. There isn’t a player in the Arsenal squad that comes close to replicating what Saka does down the right.
However, with Arsenal returning to the Champions League next season, Arteta can ill-afford to use Saka as frequently as he has done since succeeding Unai Emery as manager. The poor kid is going to need some respite, but the club must sign somebody the manager trusts to perform the isolated right-winger role to a high enough standard so they can rotate with Saka.
Admittedly, signing a player of such quality who’d be happy to play second fiddle will not be easy. Perhaps Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz should see more minutes on the right next season.
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The impending arrival of Timber is such a shrewd one as he can provide cover at right-back, centre-back, left-back, and holding midfield. He’s another unicorn talent.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is the undisputed number one choice left-back heading into 2023/24 and Arsenal are not going to find an upgrade on the Ukrainian. However, both Kieran Tierney and Nuno Tavares could be on the move this summer which may force Arsenal to dip their toe into the left-back market.
While Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu are capable of performing the inverted role from the opposite flank, signing a full-back with an alternate profile might be wise. If Tierney remains in north London, then there’s no need to invest at this position.
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On this week’s edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Man Utd’s priorities after agreeing a deal for Mason Mount, the latest on Arsenal’s move for Declan Rice, Tottenham’s targets and more!
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