What to expect in Arsenal’s transfer window: Mixing up midfield, more depth for Champions League

Whenever the topic of this summer and the season beyond has arisen, Mikel Arteta has been clear about where he stands.

“We are going to have to nail the recruitment because we know we are going to have to play a different level and the demands are going to be even higher,” the Arsenal manager said last month. Since then, Arteta has used the word ‘nail’ frequently to describe Arsenal’s need to increase their ‘levels’ — another word he’s used frequently in recent weeks.

Arsenal were the Premier League’s pace-setters for most of the 2022-23 season, but ultimately lost momentum in the final couple of months, impacted by a lack of backup options trusted by Arteta to maintain or challenge the level set by his regular starters.

With the hope they will be title challengers again next season while balancing those domestic commitments with a return to the Champions League after six years away, this summer is hugely important for Arsenal. So here is what to expect…

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Spends of the last three summer windows

2020: A real mixed bag, Arsenal spent around £75million and looked like they were still trying to figure out their strategy. Raul Sanllehi left his role as head of football halfway through the window but was present for the Pablo Mari, Cedric and Willian transfers. It was in the September when foundations truly began to be laid for what happened this past season with the arrivals of Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey, although the signing of Runar Alex Runarsson was another sign this was not yet a well-oiled recruitment machine.

2021: Arsenal’s transfer strategy started to really take shape. Initially, outsiders were surprised they spent around £143million combined on six players who were all under the age of 23. Within months, it became clear the plan was to have a young core who would grow as individuals in parallel with the team itself. Not every signing was a hit, with Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga being sent out on loan last season, but Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu have established themselves as key members of the squad.

2022: The next step after 2021’s ‘project youth’ was to inject more experience into the side, as well as fill the holes left by the departures of forward duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Arsenal spent £78million (from a total of around £113m) signing Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from champions Manchester City. Both arrived in July, giving Arteta time to implement a way of playing and build momentum before the football began in the first week of August. Fabio Vieira was the club’s first senior signing of the summer and was seen as a young player to take a chance on. Matt Turner also came in, which opened the door for Bernd Leno to join Fulham, which felt like a natural departure as Ramsdale had taken his place as first-choice goalkeeper.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (Photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

This summer, getting business done in a similarly swift fashion feels like a priority to ensure no time is wasted once the season kicks off.

How much money is likely to be available?

The club will never put a concrete number on this into the public domain. However, Arsenal have been backed by their owners, Kroenke Sports Entertainment (KSE), in recent summer windows. From board level, there is confidence in the direction the club are going, so the hope is that support will continue this year.

What will help Arsenal this time, more than in previous summers, is the funds they can generate through sales after they have steadily moved on most of their difficult-to-shift players with high wages.

The club’s return to the riches of the Champions League will also help financially.

Who makes the key decisions over signings?

Targets tend to be identified by Arteta and sporting director Edu. The Brazilian will have the final say with regards to signing off on a player but all the club’s targets tend to have specific qualities Arteta is looking for, such as versatility and technical proficiency.

In terms of behind-the-scenes involvement, there is more that goes on.

In April, a structural reshuffle was confirmed to provide Edu more support across Arsenal’s men’s, women’s and academy teams. Jason Ayto, who began scouting for the club in 2014, was appointed assistant sporting director and James Ellis, who joined from Fulham in 2021, was promoted to head of recruitment. Ayto and Ellis work closely with Arsenal’s analytical team on existing targets as well as bringing up their own discoveries that fit the specific criteria laid out by Arteta and Edu.

The link to the board then comes from executive vice-chair Tim Lewis, so bids for targets can be given the OK. Director of football operations Richard Garlick then handles the logistics of deals with the club’s legal department, taking care of contracts for ingoing and outgoing players.

Beyond that, Garlick tends to be the more day-to-day conduit between the club and the player/their agent during a move, with Arteta and Edu involved in initial conversations.

Which positions are the priority?

Central midfield is Arsenal’s main area for concern. Jorginho’s arrival from Chelsea in January provided much-needed support, but his contract (running only until the end of next season, with the option of a further year) shows this was a short-term solution. Arsenal are at an incredibly interesting time for their midfield as, despite Arteta settling on a trio last season, there is still potential for the make-up of it to change to take the club to another level.

In other areas, the emphasis will be on lifting the base level of quality in the squad. The club have managed to retain key talent in key areas (Ramsdale in goal, William Saliba and Gabriel in defence, as well as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli out wide), now it’s about providing those players with the support they need.

Of those positions, it became clear during the run-in that improving the depth in central defence is the next biggest priority.

Arsenal struggled without William Saliba (Photo: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Who are known or plausible targets?

No arrivals are imminent. Arsenal’s long-standing interest in Declan Rice remains. Work has been done as far back as winter, but patience is needed with his West Ham season only ending last Wednesday. The unsuccessful January pursuit of Moises Caicedo has not dampened Arsenal’s interest in the midfielder, even if his new contract could make a deal harder to reach.

Mason Mount was an option being looked at, but Manchester United appear a more likely destination for the Chelsea and England midfielder.

Arsenal will certainly be aware of players in other positions (like all clubs), but sometimes transfers are the product of a domino effect from deals made earlier in the summer. Leandro Trossard’s arrival from Brighton in January is one such example — Mykhailo Mudryk moving to Chelsea meant Arsenal pivoted to a player the coaching staff (in this case, assistant head coach Albert Stuivenberg, who Trossard played for at Belgian side Genk in 2017) were already familiar with.

Who is an outside name to keep an eye on?

As reported in last month’s squad audit, Arsenal are one of the many admirers of Southampton’s Romeo Lavia. That admiration is shared among almost all of the 2022-23 top six, but if a move for one of their main midfield targets was not successful, the 19-year-old would be a sound player to pivot to.

He displayed his quality and confidence throughout his debut season in senior football — even in a team who ended up finishing bottom — not least in his performance at the Emirates in April’s 3-3 draw. In a match where Arsenal struggled to find their composure, the Belgian expressed himself nicely with and without the ball.

Lavia may be an ambitious name to mention but is one that would seem like a good fit among other signings.

Who could be heading out?

Before getting to those who could depart, mentioning those who are likely to stay might reduce confusion.

Saliba is getting a new four-year deal which is now at the paperwork stage, as revealed by The Athletic over the weekend. Arsenal are also ironing out the finer details of Reiss Nelson’s deal of the same length, with the option of a fifth season, which The Athletic revealed was set to be agreed last month.

Now, for the departures.

Granit Xhaka’s situation is no closer to a resolution. Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen were in talks with the club last month but Arsenal are also insistent they want a replacement sorted before the 30-year-old leaves. As things stand, the situation is taking a similar path to the Xhaka-to-Roma saga of 2021, resembling a waiting game more than anything. The player has a very open and honest relationship with Arteta — who would not have stood in his way if Roma had met Arsenal’s valuation two years ago — which will see him in good stead whatever happens this summer.

Elsewhere, sales of some of the players returning from loans may help raise funds.

Folarin Balogun’s 22-goal season in the French top flight with Reims has put him in the shop window and he could potentially command a decent fee. Auston Trusty is in a similar position after being voted Championship side Birmingham City’s player of the season — a good offer could see him move on this summer, too. The club are also exploring exit options for Nicolas Pepe and Cedric, who are not part of their plans for next season having been farmed out to Nice and Fulham respectively.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles will leave when his contract expires at the end of this month after a season with Southampton, while Mari triggered a clause for his loan to Italian Serie A side Monza to be made permanent (for £6million).

(Top photos: Getty Images)