Arsenal are set for a busy summer, with Mikel Arteta expected to add quality to a squad which came close to sealing Premier League glory this season.
The Gunners are now expected to finish second in the table, leaving Manchester City as champions for the third successive season. However, they will be boosted by a return to Champions League football for the first time since the 2016/17 season under the management of Arsene Wenger.
With this comes requirements to improve the squad, and midfield reinforcements are expected to be top of the list as Arteta seeks to avoid the same squad depth issues which have derailed their title charge in the six weeks.
Talk that Declan Rice could become an Arsenal player in the summer has stepped up, with the Gunners now favourites to sign the England international in a club record deal which could reach £100 million. Arsenal, however, would prefer to open talks for a transfer in the region of £70m.
Another midfielder is expected to be lined up for a move, with Rice's England teammate and childhood friend Mason Mount expected to leave Chelsea after Gunners transfer chiefs reportedly held talks to sign the 24-year-old.
Mount's rumoured Chelsea departure comes amid the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as manager, with any transfer likely to be for a cut price of roughly £50m as the England man enters the final year of his contract. His signing could be accommodated alongside a deal for Rice, with a move to sign £ 90m Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo potentially too expensive should Rice arrive at the Emirates.
Another bargain option could be Leicester City midfielder and long-term target Youri Tielemans, with the 26-year-old becoming a free agent on June 30. Securing a free transfer for the Belgian playmaker could provide more transfer funds to strengthen other areas, such as in defence.
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Injury to William Saliba in the past month left the Gunners exposed at centre-back and Arteta is expected to seek to rectify this with a deal to sign Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi in a deal worth a potential £50m. With the emergence of Jakob Kiwior, a right-footed defender is likely to be targeted, leaving a player such as Evan Ndicka unlikely to join as a result.
Meanwhile, injury to Takehiro Tomiyasu has left Ben White as the Gunners' only first-team right-back, meaning that another could be signed should Cedric leave the club as expected. This could bring Leicester City and Belgium right-back Timothy Castagne into the frame, albeit with White expected to remain as first-choice should the Gunners sign another centre-back.
Transfer windows are rarely predictable, however, and there is believed to be a further three players also rated as having a chance of joining, with James Maddison, Raphinha and Moussa Diaby all in the mix. However, as Chelsea showed this season, transfers should be made in a sensible manner and quality over quantity is the expected approach of sporting director Edu and Arteta this summer.
Here is how Arsenal could line up next season:
GK: Aaron Ramsdale
RB: Ben White
RCB: Marc Guehi/William Saliba
LCB: Gabriel Maghalles
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko
CDM: Declan Rice
RCM: Mason Mount
LCM: Granit Xhaka/Youri Tielemans
RW: Bukayo Saka
ST: Gabriel Jesus
LW: Gabriel Martinelli
