There may still be four months to go until the transfer window opens again, but Arsenal are already preparing to get plenty of business done.
The Gunners have already agreed a deal with New England Revolution for Matt Turner to come in to replace Bernd Leno as Aaron Ramsdale 's back up, but they have no intention of stopping there.
It's no secret that Edu will be on the look out for a striker with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang having left the club last month, and Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah expected to follow suit when their contracts expire this summer.
However, there is another part of the pitch where they will look to strengthen.
Back in December 2020, Mikel Arteta revealed that his dream set up at the Emirates Stadium would be a 4-3-3 formation, but claimed that he did not yet have the squad members required to complete such a transition.
"We want to move to a 4-3-3," the Spaniard said. "But for that, you need a lot of specificity in every position but now in five or six positions, we don’t have it."
Recently though Arsenal have subtly transitioned to this set up and in doing so have found probably their most consistent run of form since Arteta took charge, winning eight of their last 10 Premier League matches, scoring 20 goals in the process.
It does however, seem that Arteta may have taken the plunge to shift set up despite not having the specificity of players he claimed he needed in that interview all that time ago.
In the his midfield trio, the Spaniard has the ideal No.6 in Thomas Partey, whose ability to evade the press and initiate attacks has been sensational. And in Martin Odegaard, he has perfect right sided No.8 due to the Norwegian's ability to combine effectively with Bukayo Saka and his skill at manipulating space with his passing.
On the left side however, it seems he still hasn't quite got his man.
What's been noticeable recently, is how much higher up the pitch Granit Xhaka has been operating in the side as he seeks to fill the left sided No.8 role that Odegaard operated in during earlier iterations of the 4-3-3 this season.
While the Swiss midfielder's professionalism and commitment to the cause means he has done this with very little complaint or circus, the new role is, by his own admission, not the way he likes to play the game.
"[Arteta] put me in a position where I have freedom and the game in front of me," the former 28-year-old man said when describing the reasons behind his impressive form last season. "This is what I like."
This has been evident in games recently where he hasn't quite had the quickness of feet required to operate successfully in the final third where the time you get on the ball is much more strained.
Take this instance from the 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux for example.
Arsenal are in possession and in their 4-3-3 set up, when Xhaka receives the ball from Kieran Tierney.
In this situation the Swiss international's natural inclination is to take a touch on the ball. This though, requires time.
Last season when his role was largely drop in to the left sided centre back birth and cover for the aggressive runs of Tierney, that was something he had in ample supply. Now that he is further up the pitch and more of a direct threat to the opposition goal, time is something he simply doesn't have.
He tries to take a touch and look up, but is immediately swarmed by Max Kilman and Francisco Trincao, before trying hurriedly to play the ball down the line to Gabriel Martinelli, which Nelson Semedo is able to easily intercept.
While Xhaka is clearly a favourite of Mikel Arteta's it does seem that if he is to truly put a team on to the pitch in his own image, then the Spaniard will have to move on from the 29-year-old.
football.london understands that Roma are set to reignite their interest in the Swiss midfielder this summer, and having protected his value by tying him down to a contract extension last year, Edu may be more inclined to accept Jose Mourinho 's side's advances.
This though, would leave Arsenal looking for a replacement.
As they seek to do this reports have suggested that Fabian Ruiz is a player who they are scouting intensely.
The Spaniard has been a fixture at Napoli for years now, and despite the fact that the Azzurri are in the hunt for their first Serie A title since Diego Maradona's time at the Stadio San Paolo, it is likely that he will leave in the summer due to the fact that he has just one year remaining on his contract.
When Arsenal were still playing with a double pivot, there would have been legitimate doubts over the 25-year-old's defensive abilities, but as part of a three he would seem to be the perfect fit, with the speed of thought and passing ability to operate effectively in the final third and replicate what Odegaard is doing on the right hand side right now.
Ruiz would apparently be available for as little as £16million this summer as Napoli look to balance their books, and although there would be stiff competition from teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona and potentially Manchester City, if the Gunners can secure his signature then they would be a crucial step closer to playing Arteta's dream brand of football at the Emirates Stadium.
