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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joseph McBride

Arsenal eyeing 'two marquee signings' as transfer chief Edu explains summer plans

Arsenal 's technical director Edu has revealed that the Gunners are eyeing 'two marquee signings' as the Brazilian discussed their plan for this summer.

The Gunners spent more than any other Premier League side ahead of this season a £150million was splashed out over the summer, but a quiet January means that they could be about to spend big again. And it's expected that there will be some outgoings too, meaning that they must target replacements.

It's not secret that Arsenal need a striker after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left, and Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette may follow him out the door at the end of the season. But ahead of the summer, Edu has explained Arsenal's transfer plans, and revealed that he is "excited" for what's to come.

According to football.london, Arsenal are already looking at both Tammy Abraham and Gabriel Jesus, with the Manchester City striker a serious possibility as he remains open to leaving the current Premier League champions. And his representative has also held talks with Edu throughout the past few months.

But 'two marquee signings' are the main focus, although Edu hasn't ruled out signing additional stars. Edu explained the summer plans to ESPN Brasil, as he said: "The budget we used last summer, we prefer to use it to rebalance the squad.

"There was no point in hiring one or two players [in January], the squad was not prepared to absorb two players, we needed to rebalance the squad. Maybe next season we can go to one or two players.

Edu is planning another big summer at Arsenal (Sky Sports)

"Today we find a much more balanced squad. Our planning has already been done, it has already reached the owners. It's a matter of step by step, how we are going to finish the season and to put in plan the planning that I'm very excited about."

Finishing in the top four will majorly boost Arsenal's hopes of bringing in the best possible talent, and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta reportedly wants to bring in a new forward, central midfielder and winger. Arsenal want to build on their exciting squad, and they will need to replenish with several first-team players set to leave the Emirates Stadium in the coming months.

And Edu is already banking on finishing in Europe, as a much bigger squad is required. Arsenal missed out on Europe for the first time in 26 years last season, but they are currently favourites ahead of Tottenham and Manchester United to play in the Champions League next season.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Arsenal finish in the top four this season? Comment below

Mikel Arteta has helped Arsenal bounce back with wins against Chelsea and Man Utd (Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)

"The Champions League and the Europa League both require a much larger squad because the amount of games is much bigger," Edu said. "If we can afford it financially and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to, what I want is 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers.

"A lot of things have to be put in place and that takes time, so I am expecting a busy summer." Arsenal brought in six new faces last summer, and it could potentially be a similar tale again, one year on.

Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Martin Odegaard and Ben White were all brought in over the summer, and all have gelled in a new-look Arsenal squad. But further reinvestment is needed if Arteta has any chance of completing his project, and finishing fourth is vital.

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