Arsenal’s recruitment over the past three years has been one of most efficient in Europe and they must continue the trend in the summer. Mikel Arteta has successfully spearheaded the Gunners to title challengers in three years courtesy of a mixture of smart acquisitions and favourable man management.
In the past two summer windows, Edu Gaspar has pulled off plenty of smart purchases that have moulded the current state of the club with ten games remaining of the 2022/23 season. In 2020, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhaes' arrivals were followed by Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu the following years.
There have also been tough decisions to make that have resulted in big names heading through the exit door without little question from Arteta. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil - the two noticeable exits - were dismissed by the Gunners boss. They are decisions that now appear to be astute business.
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After falling short in the race for a top four finish last season, the club deferred from hitting the panic button and instead invested heavily in positions they needed. A new striker (Gabriel Jesus), left-back (Oleksandr Zinchenko) and creative midfielder (Fabio Vieira) were all purchased - with William Saliba's return from his loan spell in France bolstering Arteta's options in central defence.
The core of the group that has constantly delivered on the pitch this season have been purchased by Arteta and Edu. In fact, seven of the 11 that started in the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace were all signed under the Spaniard - with three of the remaining four all flourishing under his management.
Fortunately for the club's fanbase, the hierarchy are showing no signs of slowing down. As reigning champions or not, Arsenal have a prime opportunity to reinstate their name at the pinnacle of European football in the summer and must spend Stan Kroenke's money well.
A new midfielder is the priority, football.london understands. West Ham's Declan Rice is said to be Arteta's number one target while Moises Caicedo's situation at Brighton may be revisited at the end of the season.
But if reports in Spain are to be believed, AC Milan's Brahim Diaz could be the next star snapped-up. According to Nacional, Arteta is 'obsessed' with the Spainiard and believes 'he can have a very leading role at Arsenal'.
Diaz is currently on loan at the Scudetto holders from Real Madrid after spending the last three seasons in Milan. The former Manchester City man could move to Italy permanently should Milan opt to activate the €22m (£18m) fee in the deal - but they are said to be struggling to construct the finances for the deal.
Arteta is said to have 'asked the board to take back a footballer discarded by Madrid' - referring to Diaz - by repeating the process conducted with Odegaard. The Gunners skipper struggled to adapt to life with Los Blancos and left the club to join Arsenal in 2020 before returning on a permanent deal.
He has since become one of Europe's most efficient number tens with his performances for Arteta's side this season and has repaid the £30m price tag paid for him nearly two years ago. The same fee is touted as the amount Arsenal are willing to cough up to lure Diaz to London.
The attacking midfielder is, however, in demand. Chelsea and Newcastle are reportedly monitoring his situation. Alongside Milan's potential shortage of cash and interest from elsewhere, Edu could do worse than gambling on around £20m for an attacking playmaker already worthy of Champions League football.
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