Latest Arsenal Transfer Update

With the transfer window only open a few days it looks like Arsenal are attempting to get the much needed business of squad building off to a quick start. With European football to look forward to next season it will hopefully be an attraction to players we are looking to sign even if it’s only the Europa League. We are going to need a bigger squad with more quality in it so we can expect more arrivals than departures. 

Most of those that were surplus to requirements made their ways out of the club in January while there are also a few players out on loan who will ideally make those loans permanent too. I would like to see William Saliba return and fight for a place in the team because he looks like he could be a central defender of the highest quality for a long time to come and from what he has said today he will be at Arsenal next season. Of course we need to collect fees for Matteo Guendouzi, Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Pablo Mari and Runar Alex Runarsson with Reiss Nelson possibly making his way back to the club.

Alexandre Lacazette has already as good as left on a free transfer with his contact almost up while Eddie Nketiah looks all set to sign up on a much improved contract from the same situation. If we are going to improve on the goals tally (or lack thereof) our strikers contributed last season then a top class striker will be a requirement. In addition we have signed Matt Turner as a back up to Aaron Ramsdale which should mean Bernd Leno is surplus to requirements too.

Youri Tielemans is currently looking like he could be Arsenal’s first purchase of the summer. The need to strengthen in the centre of our midfield is there for all to see and Tielemans would certainly improve our midfield as it is and give us more options there too. He only has one year left on his contract at Leicester City so we could get him at a decent price, but that would of course mean he will be expecting a pretty hefty wage from Arsenal.

If we can convince the player to join us I think he would be a very good addition to the team/squad as long as we keep Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka too. Albert Sambi Lokonga still has a way to go before he’s ready to hold down a first team place and I just don’t think Mohamed Elneny is good enough at the level we want to play. Tielemans would definitely give us the strength in depth and options we need to challenge on four fronts next season.

Gabriel Jesus is the striker who’s name keeps coming up when Arsenal are mentioned, but it could be difficult to pry him from Manchester City. His chances there will be limited with the arrival of Erling Haaland which looks to be a done deal, but with the money behind City they don’t need to sell. If he is available I’m still not convinced he’s the striker to solve our problems, but Mikel Arteta seems to think he’s the man for us.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is hardly a first choice at City and again he could be available if they decide he’s surplus to requirements. As it stands Kieran Tierney is our first choice left back and Zinchenko would find it difficult to dislodge him, but Tierney’s constant absences through injury worry me and I imagine a lot of other Arsenal fans feel the same way too. If Nuno Tavares is loaned out next season we will need cover for Tierney and Zinchenko might even think he can make the position his own given a run in the team so it might make sense for him to look our way if he is going to make a move.

Aaron Hickey is another left back who seems to be making his way onto the Arsenal radar and like Zinchenko he’s an interesting option. He’s third choice for his favoured position with Scotland with Andy Robertson and Tierney both ahead of him, but he might feel he can make the position his own at Arsenal for the same reasons as Zinchenko. He’s had a good season at Bologna and he could well be an option for us, but I have no doubt he will have offers from elsewhere too.

Serge Gnabry left Arsenal six years ago and his departure and subsequent move to Bayern Munich just didn’t feel right at the time. If it’s true that he is available then he would be a fantastic addition to the team as he has shown himself to be a top class player since joining Bayern. His goalscoring record is very impressive for a wide player and I would be more than happy to see him in an Arsenal shirt again.

There will be intense interest from elsewhere I’m sure as his price should be reasonable enough given he only has one year left on his contract. Of all the players I have mentioned so far I think he’s the one who could make the biggest impression at Arsenal which makes me think it will be very difficult to get him. He’ll be 27 in a few weeks so this will probably be his last big move and we will have to offer him an awful lot of money to get him back to Arsenal.

Finally it looks like we have secured the services of Brazilian teenager Marquinhos from Sao Paolo despite a possible legal challenge from Wolves. I can’t say I know too much about him and I assume he’s one for the future with the three cup competitions being lined up to give him some first team games. Hopefully he’s going to be as good a signing as Gabriel Martinelli and we can look forward to watching him for years to come.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.