Arsenal Sporting Director Edu Gaspar has hinted at a huge transfer window for the Gunners this summer as plans are being put in place for further strengthening of the squad. The Brazilian has played a key part in transforming the team from consecutive eighth-placed finishes to a title challenge this season.
Signings such as Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard over the past year have helped elevate the Gunners to a point where they are back in the Champions League. There's still plenty of room for improvement though, with the side falling short of Premier League glory.
When asked if the north London outfit have to get their summer spending spot on to reach Manchester City's standards, Mikel Arteta replied ahead of a clash with Wolves: "No, because we have to nail everything that we do and we have to seek for excellence in everything that we touch and participate in which is going to have a big impact at the club. I think next season is going to be even harder than this season – which in my opinion has been the hardest of the 22 years that I’ve been in this league. In order to do that, we have a promising plan, we may have to reflect a little bit, take a step back, make sure this is the right one and go again with even more determination and hunger in the tummies to go again."
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One of those linked with a switch to help improve the side is Declan Rice as football.london understands the West Ham captain is a top priority this summer. The England international has one-year remaining on his contract and looks set to make the switch in the coming months.
That could be one of a number of exciting signings though as Edu has hinted at further additions, telling ESPN Brazil: "It’s identifying very well where we can improve. If they are individual, isolated positions, if they are units, if they are ‘final third’, as we call it here, if they are midfield, defensive part. This diagnosis we already have because we already have a very clear style of play by Arteta.
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“Today, you see Arsenal playing and identify with it, you know that is Arsenal’s style. So now it’s time to understand where we can boost the units so that the team can improve and go to another level of performance. And I think there is another level, we have one more level.
“With me and Arteta talking, we find it, we believe that we have a level to improve in terms of performance. And now make a good transfer window, understand the need, to get right the athlete, the characteristics, the mentality of the athlete that we want, to once again raise the level of our squad.”
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