Arsenal fans were sent into overdrive on Thursday afternoon with plenty of theories behind a potential big-money transfer in the summer. The Gunners have recruited smart in the past few windows, building a squad that can compete at the top once again, but they won't want to stop there.
Beyond this campaign is yet another and while fighting for the title is ideal, doing so on a consistent basis and across all competitions will be the aim of Mikel Arteta and the hierarchy. With plenty of young talent, there's room to grow into such a team, but there may be the need for added quality in depth.
"We have to be sustainable," Arteta told Sky Sports last season, underlining the plan in mind when it comes to squad building. "We have to perform now and we also need a plan for the medium and the long term. A lot of the decisions we have made over the last 18 months are because we had a big imbalance in certain areas that was putting the club in a difficult position."
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Following a January window that included a few new additions, the current squad will have to be the ones that get the title push over the line. Behind the scenes, there will be plans ramping up towards the summer transfer window, with the chance to land some more long-term targets.
Some Arsenal fans believe that one of those could be AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, who has been dubbed the "next Thierry Henry" due to his similar playing style. The Portugal international has a dwindling contract and while talks remain open over a renewal, it remains to be seen if an offer could tempt the Rossoneri.
The supporters were sent into overdrive over a potential switch on Thursday though as Leao retweeted a video of Arsenal star Bukayo Saka from the "Arsenal: All or Nothing" Amazon series. He simply replied with some crying emojis as well as some hands pushed together, but this to some was seen as a hint.
"Hold off the contract extension. We’ll have a conversation in the summer," One eager fan responded to the tweet, while another said: "Come to the Premier League and play with him my brudda."
Plenty were also encouraging him to make the switch to Arsenal, though it remains to be seen if that is a feasible option in the next few months.
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