Arsenal are planning to sign three players for Mikel Arteta this summer but know they will need to be ‘creative’ as they do not plan to spend hundreds of millions in the transfer market.
Despite challenging for multiple trophies at the halfway point of the season, Arsenal were one of the few clubs not to make any signings during the January transfer window.
Their transfer inactivity came as a surprise as Arteta had just lost Gabriel Jesus to a season-ending injury and was already without Bukayo Saka, leaving the Gunners boss short of options up top.
Arteta’s plans were further disrupted shortly after the window closed as Kai Havertz was also ruled out of the rest of the season with an injury he picked up on a warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
Arsenal have been unable to cope with their lengthy injury list, slipping 11 points behind title rivals Liverpool and falling short in both domestic cup competitions.
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Barring an unlikely Champions League win, Arteta’s side will go a fifth straight season without any silverware.
Arteta admitted he was disappointed by Arsenal’s lack of signings in January but will have at least been buoyed by the arrival of Andrea Berta as the club’s new sporting director.
Berta, formerly of La Liga side Atletico Madrid, was hired as Edu’s permanent replacement following the ex-Arsenal midfielder’s departure at the end of 2024.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has described Berta as a ‘top negotiator’ and claims he is planning to bring three key players to the Emirates Stadium this summer.
‘You have to say that he was the architect of the Atletico Madrid that won the league twice, got to the Champions League final twice, won the Europa League,’ Balague said of Berta on TNT Sports.
‘That’s him working alongside Diego Simeone in a very discreet way. He doesn’t give interviews, doesn’t give press conferences.
‘We don’t know personally much about him, but certainly he’s a top negotiator and considered one of the best in the business.
‘They went for him because he wants to create, alongside Mikel Arteta, a winning culture. This is a guy that’s done very well in the context of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
‘They have more money and yet he managed to get that extra bit that Arsenal doesn’t seem to get.
‘So he’s been described to me by one of the decision makers, one of the ones that decided to bring him in, that he’s experienced, he’s a hard worker and he’s very brave.
‘But basically, he’s going to have to be creative as well. Arsenal are not here with the intention of spending £200 or £300m. They just want to be creative with what they’ve got and what they bring in.’
Arteta recently insisted he was ‘very excited’ for the summer transfer window and Balague believes the Gunners will launch moves for Martin Zubimendi, Nico Williams and one of Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal have already held talks to sign Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and are confident of securing a deal despite a recent move from Real Madrid.
Williams has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Premier League over the past 12 months and the Spain Euro 2024 winner is believed to be at the top of Arteta’s wishlist.
Which Premier League club should Viktor Gyokeres join?
Arsenal
It’s obvious why a move to the Emirates Stadium might appeal to Gyokeres. Arsenal look set for a third successive second-place finish in the Premier League and they have come so close to winning the title without an out-and-out striker.
Gyokeres would be an immediate upgrade on Mikel Arteta’s current options, which include ex-Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, the injured Gabriel Jesus and makeshift striker (at least since Arsenal’s injury crisis) Mikel Merino.
More than just a goalscorer – as 11 assists so far this season shows – Gyokeres would also thrive in an Arsenal team that requires more from their forwards than just a poacher.
Players speak glowingly of Arteta and Arsenal would be a stable environment for Gyokeres to continue his development and perhaps be the difference for a team who have aspirations of winning trophies on the regular over the next few years.
Manchester United
Old Trafford was immediately tipped as Gyokeres’ future destination when Ruben Amorim left Sporting Lisbon to replace Erik ten Hag.
Gyokeres’ incredible first season came under Amorim and the ex-Sporting boss looks set to welcome a new striker to the club this summer after being left underwhelmed by expensive but struggling signings Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.
The chance to reunite with Amorim will be tempting for Gyokeres, who would also be joining one of the biggest clubs in the world despite their recent struggles.
The problem, of course, is Manchester United – in the bottom-half of the Premier League – will be without Champions League football next season, barring a surprising Europa League triumph.
Liverpool
Gyokeres in on course to leave Sporting Lisbon as a title winner so who better to join than the new Premier League champions?
Liverpool, on the verge of becoming English champions in Arne Slot’s first season at Anfield, could be the perfect platform for Gyokeres.
Slot has managed without a recognised centre forward this season but Jamie Carragher is among those calling for the arrival of a new striker amid reports Darwin Nunez is on his way out.
Liverpool could lose Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk this summer but winning the race to sign Gyokeres would be a significant coup and give Slot a reasonable chance of defending the title.
Louis Sealey | Deputy Sports Editor, Metro
Something would have gone very wrong if a striker fails to move to Arsenal this summer and the Gunners are weighing up whether to go for Sesko or Gyokeres.
‘With the restrictions of financial fair play, both in Europe, which is more restrictive than the Premier League, they’re going to have to think of five replacements for the players that are either leaving or finishing their contract,’ Balague added.
‘And they’re going to have to create three or four players that go straight into the line-up. I would say a left winger, centre-forward and holding midfielder.
‘We heard the names: Martin Zubimendi, [Viktor] Gyokeres perhaps, certainly [Benjamin] Sesko or Nico Williams. Those are the names they will try to get.
‘But they don’t have a huge amount of money that they can use, so they’re going to have to sell as well.
‘Mikel Arteta said it; it’s the biggest transfer window for a long while and having Berta next to him as a partnership with him, will definitely help.’
Discussing the club’s transfer plans for the summer recently, Arteta said: ‘It’s going to be a big one [summer] and we are very excited about it.
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‘When you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad and the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step.
‘Every summer is big because it is an opportunity and especially because of the number of players we have in the squad right now that is necessary.
‘But it’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.’
Arsenal could only draw 1-1 with Everton on Saturday. The Gunners face Real Madrid in the Champions League this week.
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