Mikel Arteta and Edu have been building a squad at Arsenal that has allowed them to compete this season for the title and presently leave the five points clear at the top of the table. Manchester City, their closest rivals, would win their fifth Premier League accolade in the past six seasons if they overcome the Gunners’ challenge.
Arsenal don’t just want to win the title this season but hope to emulate City’s dominance and establish themselves as regular challengers for the league. The squad that is leading the way in this campaign, however, might need to take a leaf out of Pep Guardiola’s book to ensure their plan succeeds.
Although it might not seem immediately obvious where the tweaks to the starting XI need to happen for a side clear at the top, the deeper part of the midfield contains some of the most experienced heads. Although Thomas Partey is sure to face competition from Declan Rice should he arrive, the Gunners have made him their priority summer target football.london understands, he is unlikely to allow the West Ham man to waltz straight in and for good reason.
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Granit Xhaka’s position, however, looks the most likely to see an evolution in the next couple seasons. Against Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta started Fabio Vieira in the role and the Portuguese youth international had a mixed performance.
It seems as though the Spaniard has a willingness to have a greater offensive threat in the left-eight but perhaps Vieira isn’t the man for the job in the long-term and instead will perform the duties of providing competition for Martin Odegaard and the wider roles. That’s where recent transfer links perhaps unveil the real option lies externally.
According to Christian Falk via Caught Offside, Arsenal have again revived their interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt. The German international has been linked with a switch to north London as far back as 2020 but with just a year now left on his deal, it might finally be time for the 26-year-old to make the move to the Gunners.
During the initial links to Arsenal, Brandt was relatively out of favour with Dortmund but he has now become an established figure in the side who sit sit joint-top on 44 points with Bayern Munich. He scored in four successive matches during their ongoing eight-match Bundesliga winning streak.
His tally for the season in the league is eight and he has four assists to his name too. His role has been predominantly on the flanks but has occupied a more central attacking position in other games. German outlet BILD suggests the price could be in the region of €25m (£22m).
This versatility could be why Arteta sees his future at Arsenal. If he can comfortably switch between the left and right-wing and operate successfully in the middle, a transition to the left-eight role in this dominant Arsenal side might also be possible.
There remain questions about what a move means for both Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe. Yet Arteta has been ruthless with his squad building and no matter the Hale End links or significant investment made on a player, the Arsenal manager is seemingly willing to do whatever it takes to construct his perfect squad.
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