Why can Arsenal not ever land the players they go for? Well, they do - but you might not realise it.
After the January transfer window last season whereby Chelsea stole away Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix on big money and went on to struggle in the league eventually finishing in the bottom half of the table, rather embarrassingly. Whereas the Gunners pivoted to sign Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior, qualified for the Champions League and were it not for some major injuries, might have pushed Manchester City all the way for the Premier League title.
However, with a brand new transfer window on the horizon, there is some apprehension about sporting director Edu Gaspar being able to land the key players his manager Mikel Arteta wants. Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo are the two key targets football.london understands with Arsenal wanting to significantly improve their midfield options.
Both are expected to draw competition for their signatures with Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Liverpool and City all involved in potential moves for one or both of the players. As Arsenal look to establish themselves as title challengers, their targets are going to be drawing attention from the biggest and best sides but it will be how the Gunners beat their rivals to the players which they’ll be judged on.
Yet this line that Arsenal do not land their priority targets is just not true. Granted, some players like Lisandro Martinez and Raphinha last summer were signed by other sides despite the interest of Arsenal but Gabriel Jesus, for instance, who was the key striker target and had been in discussions since 2021 with Edu and the club was brought in swiftly before the first preseason friendly.
The previous summer saw Arsenal get their number one attacking midfield, centre-half, midfielder, left-back and goalkeeper targets. Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Aaron Ramsdale were all signed up with a bonus addition of Takehiro Tomiyasu secured on deadline day.
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The summer before Arsenal secured Thomas Partey, a player they had wanted for many years. This came after beating off competition from Napoli and Manchester United to sign Gabriel Magalhaes.
It’s simply inaccurate to say Arsenal never sign their priorities. Sure, on some occasions they either choose not to match the asking price in the case of Mudryk or the player opts for another club like Martinez and Raphinha.
This summer will remain a summer of scrutiny, however, for the club. Arsenal cannot afford to waste the foundation they built for themselves and need to secure some if not all of their primary goals. There is interest beyond the central midfielders of Rice and Caicedo but until some bids begin to become clear for targets there’s some mystery about who might be the other players the Gunners want as a priority.
In regard to Rice and Caicedo, however, there’s a feeling that securing at least one of these two will grant Edu and the club a significant amount of credit. Missing both however will cause quite the meltdown, and few can necessarily blame people for their indignation if the summer ends in disappointment.
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