Arsenal have been told they will need to spend over £250million on new recruits if they are to overtake Manchester City and become England's best team. The Gunners are due to finish slightly short this season despite leading the way for some time.
Despite topping the table for the majority of the season, Mikel Arteta's men have fallen off in recent weeks and are one game away from conceding the league title. Last weekend's 3-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion was the final nail in the north Londoners' coffin, though it has been a successful season as a whole.
Last season, Arsenal finished fifth on the final day, missing out on Champions League football. Fast forward 12 months and the Gunners have secured their place in Europe's prestigious competition, ticking-off another objective under Arteta.
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The 2023/24 season will be a completely different landscape in terms of expectation around the club. After taking Man City the distance this term, the Gunners will be hoping to ensure their progress doesn't go to waste.
That's why the summer transfer window presents the club with an opportunity to make upgrades to Arteta's squad, with Champions League football due to provide a host of challenges next season. It's said owner Stan Kroenke will make £200m available to sporting director Edu Gaspar on new signings after the depth throughout the squad was exposed in the latter part of the season.
However, Simon Jordan has warned the Gunners of not making the most of this opportunity and has urged Korenke to spend over £250m. "To be able to even get a waft of wrestling this Premier League away from City, I think we’re talking £250 million-plus on new players but it has to be spent well," wrote Jordan, in his weekly Mail Sport column.
"They need centre forwards, centre backs and central midfielders and need to ensure William Saliba’s contract is extended beyond the year he has left. They need to find upgrades wherever they can and Arteta must be forensic, ruthless and honest. He can have no falsely placed loyalty.
"Kroenke, if truly desiring success, must give Arteta substantial money to find someone who can score them 25-30 goals," he added.
"He needs a deeper, better squad to ensure the substitutes coming on are as good as those they are replacing. If that investment manifests itself, this season will not have been wasted. If it doesn’t, then I struggle to see how Arsenal will maintain what they have achieved, let alone progress."
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