Arsenal's focus for the remainder of the season, and rightly so, will be the Premier League title race. Although, manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar may want to keep an eye on events at the other end of the table.
As things currently stand, nine teams are involved in arguably the most intriguing relegation battle in years as four points is all that separates Crystal Palace in 12th to Southampton, who remain rooted at the bottom despite drawing with both Manchester United and Tottenham prior to the international break.
Ultimately, three sides will slip through the trap door come May and given the quality of players at these clubs, there's a chance Arsenal can target a few as Arteta looks to bolster his squad that will almost certainly be competing in the Champions League next season.
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In fact, since the summer of 2021 when the Gunners' transfer policy was effectively reset, the Spaniard has shown a preference for signing players with Premier League experience hence deals for Benjamin White, Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho.
So with that in mind, football.london has taken a look at which players from the aforementioned relegation-threatened clubs the north London outfit should perhaps target ahead of the summer transfer window as there's a chance to bolster three areas across the senior squad.
Defenders
Who knows what impact Takehiro Tomiyasu's injury will have on Arsenal's summer transfer plans as Ivan Fresenda could re-emerge as a target after nothing materialised in January, meanwhile a left-back will have to be recruited if Kieran Tierney does depart in search of regular game time.
Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri and Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell are certainly worth a mention as natural left-backs, but whether they can replicate what Oleksandr Zinchenko does remains to be seen and there's also Lino Sousa's first-team pathway to consider as he's highly-rated within the club.
On the opposite flank, Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters has previously been linked with a move to Arsenal, James Justin was impressive for Leicester City pre-injury and Ricardo Pereira could be an option if Arteta wants an experienced head to help guide his young squad.
Signing a central defender is less of a pressing matter for the Gunners this summer but if Rob Holding was to depart then Saints wonderkid Armel Bella-Kotchap jumps out as an ideal signing, although would he be happy to operate as the second-choice option behind William Saliba?
Midfielders
Let's get the two big names out of the way. Romeo Lavia is reported to be of interest to the Gunners, whilst football.london understands Declan Rice is certainly a target and is likely to be the club's priority this summer and maybe negotiations could be made easier if West Ham are relegated.
However, the likes of Ruben Neves, Danilo, Amadou Onana, Eberechi Eze and James Maddison are very good alternative options. Furthermore, if Leicester were to drop into the Championship then one would expect Youri Tielemans to depart on a free transfer. Now, football.london revealed in January that interest in the midfielder had cooled, but could a U-turn be on horizon this summer?
Forwards
In Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Emile Smith Rowe, the Gunners are well-stocked for options on the left-hand side of the attack, whilst the Belgian can provide competition to Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah through the middle which leaves the right-hand side as an area that could require some attention this summer especially if Reiss Nelson departs.
Harvey Barnes, Pedro Neto, Wilfried Gnonto, and Jarrod Bowen are wingers that immediately spring to mind, but Michael Olise and Brennan Johnson could be in high demand if Palace and Nottingham Forest were relegated. Although it's worth pointing out that they would require game time to aid their development and that probably won't happen with Bukayo Saka around.
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