Despite there being months until the transfer window opens again, Arsenal find themselves in the peculiar position of knowing that they are going to be very busy this summer.
The Gunners underwent the biggest transfer overhaul in their history before the beginning of this season, becoming the biggest spenders in Europe as they completed the signings of Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard.
Those signings have largely been a success, meaning that Arsenal find themselves in a strong position in the race for the top four this campaign.
Matt Turner has already been confirmed as the first summer arrival, but there is still plenty more to do and Mikel Arteta has already predicted that Edu is going to be a very busy man from June until the end of August.
"Approaching towards the end of the summer we have four or five players that are finishing their contract," the Spaniard said earlier this month. "So we’re going to have to try to do many things again and this is not stopping.
"It takes a while to rebuild a squad like that, this is not happening in one or two windows, unfortunately. But we are on the right path I really believe so."
"That’s part of the strategy," he went on to add when talking about the need for additions to his squad.
"As well we are going to have some contracts ending and we are going to have to make some decisions as well depending on where we are and whether we have the option to do that.
"We have players on loan as well, we have to understand where they are and where they can be and how much of a contribution they can have in the summer.
"Obviously, we’ll have to sign players in the summer, that’s without a question of a doubt."
The most obvious position where they seem likely to strengthen is at centre forward.
After the permanent departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January, it is likely that both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will leave north London when their contracts expire at the end of this season.
While Gabriel Martinelli can play through the middle, this means that Arsenal's only orthodox number nine come the summer could be Flo Balogun.
While the 20-year-old has impressed so far during his loan spell with Middlesbrough, there has been little to suggest that he's ready to lead the line in the Premier League just yet.
As a result the Gunners have been linked with several strikers such as Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad.
However, a new name has now been added to that list.
football.london understands that Arsenal are keeping tabs on Armando Broja who has impressed throughout his loan spell with Southampton from Chelsea.
From the outset it's easy to see why.
The Gunners' two main targets in the January transfer window were Alexander Isak and Dusan Vlahovic and in terms of a statistical profile, Broja appears to be something of a mix in between the two.
None of the three players are necessary great passers, which is actually quite the contrast to Alexandre Lacazette who Arsenal currently have as their starting number nine.
However, this shouldn't be too much of a concern as players who operate closer to the opposition goal, tend to have lowed pass completion rates due to the amount of pressure that tends to be on the ball in the final third of the pitch.
They do bring different skills to the role though.
What Vlahovic excels in is his hold up play. At 6ft 3in the Serbian is a real handful who is very difficult for defenders to win physical duels with. This means that they tend to drop off creating more space for those just in behind the striker.
Isak meanwhile, may not be as much of a presence in the middle of the pitch, but the 22-year-old excels at progressing his teams up the pitch via dribbling.
Broja brings both of these aspects to the table.
As per fbRef the Albanian is up in the 90th percentile for aerial duels won per 90 among strikers in Europe's top five leagues this season, while his progressive carrying distance per game is as high as the 86th.
On top of that, the 21-year-old is an excellent presser who has been a real beneficiary of the high octane approach Ralph Hasenhuttl has put into place at St. Mary's. Arteta has previously stated that he wants his side to ultimately transition into one that makes more steals in the opposition half which would seemingly make Broja even more of a fit.
The obvious downside is that the Albanian international is currently a Chelsea player, and it is not clear whether Thomas Tuchel's side would be willing to let such a promising player move to a rival.
On top of that he still only has half a season of Premier League football under his belt. If Arsenal were to go into next season with him and Balogun as their main striking options that would represent a massive gamble.
However, if it's one they're willing to take then signing a player who seems so perfectly fitted into Arteta's dream style of football before he is even close to reaching his full potential could be a shrewd piece of summer business from the Gunners.
