The signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko has moved Mikel Arteta even closer to assembling his ideal Arsenal first-team squad size ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Despite overseeing as many as five arrivals in the summer transfer window so far, it's safe to say the Gunners' business is far from over especially when taking into consideration what the Spaniard said about his plans towards the end of last season as it's an indicator of how many incomings and outgoings supporters can expect before the beginning of September.
"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," he said. "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."
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So, 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers would be the perfect Arsenal squad size for Arteta. As it would appear that summer signing Matt Turner will compete with Aaron Ramsdale for the number one spot, it means one from Alex Runarsson, Arthur Okonkwo and Bernd Leno will be kept on as the third-choice goalkeeper next season.
Considering that the German has been linked with a move to Fulham in a £15m deal as he eyes a place in Hansi Flick's World Cup squad later this year and Runarsson has no future at the club, they appear to be the two keepers that will move on before deadline day.
In terms of outfield first-team players under contract for next season, Arsenal currently have 28 following extensions for Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny, the release of Alexandre Lacazette, Auston Trusty joining Birmingham City on loan, plus the signings of Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko.
This means Arteta is already over the limit for the ideal number of outfield players in his squad by six. Although the plan is to focus on outgoings in the coming weeks: "We have to. We have a big squad, and now we have to make things happen," he told reporters after the 3-1 win over Orlando City.
"I don't know, it's what we have today, and as well we have a large squad, so we have to make some decisions on the players that we're not going to be using consistently and be fair and straight with them, and that's a process that's going to start very soon, as well."
Amid reports that talks are underway with Atalanta regarding a loan deal for Nuno Tavares, Arsenal have effectively started the process to complete the necessary deals that will get Arteta closer to his ideal squad size as he could have 20 senior outfield players left if Hector Bellerin, Pablo Mari, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson, Folarin Balogun and Nicolas Pepe depart too.
As a result, two more signings would be required for Arteta to get his wish of 22 outfield players in his Arsenal squad for next season and perhaps it's interesting to note that three more deals appear to be on the Gunners' radar for the remainder of the transfer window amid links to Youri Tielemans, a left-sided central defender and a winger.
So it seems Arteta certainly has his priorities in place to ensure his squad is well equipped to compete in the Premier League, the Europa League, and the domestic cup competitions next season. But in order for the Spaniard to get his wish of 22 senior outfield players, he must first oversee a number of sales.
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