Having landed himself a hit with the 2022/23 campaign, Mikel Arteta now faces the prospect of a difficult second album. Few saw Arsenal's breakout season coming. Many didn't even have them finishing inside the top four, let alone running Manchester City close for the title. Now though, the demands are huge.
As well as being expected to challenge for the Premier League once again, Arteta wants his side ready to compete in the Champions League. This is something he has admitted they are not yet ready to do.
"At the level we want, no," he told football.london last month when asked if the Gunners were ready to compete on two fronts. "We didn’t have the capacity to do that as well with the Europa League so it’s part of that evolution. We have made a lot of good steps and strong steps in that journey and we have to continue. That never ends. We want to be better and the rest will be better, then the margins will be higher and we have to start to live with those standards and improve and be smarter."
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As a result this summer will be - by Arteta's own admission - "crucial." Arsenal are into stage four of their long-term project, and they can't afford to slip up now.
Key to transitioning into the next phase will be recruitment. This is an area where the Gunners have excelled in the past few windows. Edu has rebranded Arsenal from divided budget blowers to syndicated deal makers with smart moves that have reduced the size, age and wage bill of the squad.
That leaves the Gunners in a position of considerable strength to maintain their current talent. They have already been successful with Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel, Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka. Deals for Martin Odegaard and Ben White are hoped to follow. There is less certainty over William Saliba's future. The Frenchman has one year remaining on his current contract and would certainly warrant fresh terms after a stellar debut season. Arsenal would like to give them to him, but unlike with the others, this negotiation promises to be a little more complicated. There is still a way to go yet before anything is finalised, although Arteta has insisted it's just a matter of timing.
Regardless of what happens with Saliba, Arsenal are after a centre-back this summer. Takehiro Tomiyasu could be out for a long time yet, and Rob Holding struggled to deliver when asked to step up towards the end of the season just gone. Marc Guehi and Edmond Tapsoba have been looked at.
There is a possibility that the Gunners look to bring in a full-back instead to take advantage of the versatility of their current back four where Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Tomiyasu can all play at centre-back and full-back. Kieran Tierney has attracted interest from Newcastle, and it seems he has fallen out of favour with Arteta. As a result a back up for Oleksandr Zinchenko could be required.
Discussions were held with Ivan Fresneda's representatives in January but this was with a view to a summer move. Arsenal could return for him and take advantage of the fact that Real Valladolid have been relegated from La Liga to secure a cut price deal. The 19-year-old has played centre-back and on the left at times this season which also makes him more appealing. Arsenal would face competition from Borussia Dortmund and a host of other teams, however.
Another option would be Galatasaray's Sacha Boey who recently changed agents to help secure a summer move. Joao Cancelo of Manchester City has also been linked, but it is likely to take a pretty penny to convince Pep Guardiola's side to sell.
Midfield is the primary position where Arsenal want to strengthen. Granit Xhaka is expected to move to Bayer Leverkusen for £13million. A replacement could come in the form of Declan Rice. Arsenal are waiting till after West Ham play in the Europa League Conference final to submit a bid out of respect, but are confident of getting a deal done amid competition from Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Thomas Partey has also reportedly attracted interest from Italy. Should the Ghanaian leave then another midfielder will be on the agenda. Moises Caicedo is still a target. Brighton didn't want to sell him in January and since then he has signed a new contract. That gives the Seagulls more of a strong hand in the negotiations, as does the fact that teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid have all shown interest.
Mason Mount was another player of interest but he appears to be on his way to Manchester United. If the England midfielder had arrived it might have raised questions over the future of Emile Smith Rowe. The 22-year-old didn't start a single game last season. This was partly down to a five-month injury absence, but even after he returned from surgery and was finally pain free in his hip, he continued to be overlooked. Smith Rowe has three years on his contract to go though, and Arsenal do not want to sell.
They would also like to keep Reiss Nelson. The hero of last season's matches against Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest is set to sign a new deal in the coming days. Arteta has still stated that he wants more firepower though.
Plans have been made to terminate the contract of Nicolas Pepe if Arsenal are unable to garner a fee for him this summer. That would seem to suggest that the Gunners are looking externally to add more threat to a front line that already contains Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli. Flo Balogun meanwhile could move to secure a permanent exit in order to build on his superb loan season with Stade de Reims.
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