Arsenal have come a long way since last summer but Mikel Arteta understands there is still work to be done.
The Gunners spent almost £150millon last summer signing the likes of Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White with the club reaping the rewards for investing significantly in the squad. The north Londoners are primed to seal a top-four finish just 12 months on from finishing in eighth position in the Premier League.
The Spaniard has been handed a new contract until 2025 and sporting director Edu has suggested Arsenal will have another "big summer" in the upcoming window. It's an exciting statement of intent but also one that's quite vague which will get Arsenal fans wondering how many new faces will be arriving at the Emirates this time around.
But Arteta has actually hinted how many players he would like in his squad when he spoke about how it will take more than one window to assemble the team he wants.
He said last month: "If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers. You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time."
So if 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers are what Arteta deems as the perfect squad size - how far are Arsenal off that number? The goalkeeper position is not an issue with Matt Turner, Bernd Leno and Ramsdale making up the three spots. Leno could depart in the upcoming window but Arthur Okonkwo or Karl Hein could be promoted to the first team as a third-choice goalie.
Outfield is a different proposition, however. Going off Arsenal.com, there are 18 first-team players currently listed which means at least four signings are required for Arteta to have the ideal squad size. But with Mohamed Elneny, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah all set to leave as free agents next month, the Gunners could be left with 15 senior outfield players.
How many signings does Mikel Arteta need this summer? Let us know in the comment section below
Unless the aforementioned trio sign new contracts, Arsenal could need up to seven new summer signings and that's not taking into account any potential departures from transfers. Nicolas Pepe, Nuno Tavares and Granit Xhaka have all been linked with an exit this summer.
Arteta could feasibly promote academy players such as Charlie Patino to the first team or re-integrate the likes of William Saliba, Reiss Nelson and Folarin Balogun following their respective loan spells but regardless it seems like Edu is spot on with his assessment that it should be another busy window.
Arsenal reportedly want to sign two forwards, a central midfielder and a full-back with Gabriel Jesus, Tammy Abraham, Cody Gakpo, Moussa Diaby, Youri Tielemans, Fabian Ruiz, Aurelien Tchouameni and Aaron Hickey all Arteta's shortlist, according to football.london.
