As the season comes to an end, many Arsenal fans are already turning their attention to the summer transfer market. The Gunners were very active last year in helping to build Mikel Arteta a squad that looks like it's going to just miss out on the Champions League at the final hurdle. Despite this respectable run though, it's clear that additions still need to be made as they prepare for the return of European football.
“Both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the number of games you play is much bigger, so I don’t think it makes a lot of difference [which competition Arsenal qualify for],” Arteta told reporters when asked about his summer transfer plans. “If you can 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.”
At least one centre forward is set to be high on the agenda, with Manchester City' Gabriel Jesus among those football.london understands Edu is targeting, while central midfield is a position where additions such as Youri Tielemans of Leicester City have been linked. The Gunners are also hopeful of adding some depth to the full back positions and are scouting Bologna's Aaron Hickey football.london understands. However, as vital as it is to bring the right players in to the Emirates this summer, finally getting some out of the door is also a priority.
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For all their impressive work last summer, where Arsenal transformed themselves from midtable mediocrity to Champions League contenders with the signings of Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard, the work Edu was able to do getting players out of the club was less noteworthy. Joe Willock 's £25 million departure to Newcastle was the only significant fee the Gunners were able to garner for any of their stars, with several players leaving on loan, and plenty of others leaving on frees.
That looks likely to continue to an extent this summer. football.london understands that Alexandre Lacazette is expected to leave North London when his deal comes to an end, while Eddie Nketiah 's future remains up in the air. There have been reports that Mohamed Elneny could be set to sign an extension, but if no agreement is reached, then he will also be out of contract at the end of this season.
However, there are some players that the Gunners are set to recoup some fees for. Dinos Mavropanos has joined Stuttgart for a fee that football.london understands to be in the region of £2.5 million in a deal that include a sell on clause thought to be at around 10%.
Matteo Guendouzi, meanwhile, has played enough games during his loan with Marseille to trigger a permanent move thought to be worth £9.5 million, while Lucas Torreira is expected to join Fiorentina for around £13 million football.london understands, despite his comments suggesting that he is expecting a squad number at Arsenal next season now that Gabriel Martinelli has taken his number 11 shirt.
There could be more permanent deals to come though. Runar Alex Runarsson has an option to buy inserted into his loan with OH Leuven that is set to be negotiated in the hope of securing a permanent move.
Meanwhile, Udinese have expressed an interest in making Pablo Mari 's move there permanent, and the Spaniard has suggested he would like to remain with the Serie A side. "I would like to stay in Italy," he told Gazetta dello Sport. "I'm very well at Udinese and I'd be happy to take the club even higher in the standings." However, sources close to Udinese have revealed to football.london that nothing has been agreed yet at the time of writing.
There are also decisions to be made on academy graduates Hector Bellerin, Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The former has had an impressive loan spell with Real Betis, but is set to return to Arsenal this summer. However, with just one year left on his deal, the Gunners will surely be keen on securing a permanent deal for Bellerin while it's still possible.
Nelson and Maitland-Niles are also approaching the final 12 months of their contract. Despite both having had their moments under Arteta, it seems that they are not part of the first team plans at this moment in time, meaning that they too could be sold this summer.
