By Mikel Arteta's own admission, this summer promises to be "crucial" for Arsenal. The Gunners ran Manchester City close for the Premier League title before ultimately falling at the final hurdle. Now though they face the challenge of needing to bridge that gap while also playing Champions League football - a prospect that Arteta admits his side are not yet ready for.
"At the level that we want no," the Spaniard told football.london when asked if he felt his side had enough to compete in both the Premier League and Champions League next season as things stand. "We didn’t have the capacity to do that as well with the Europa League so it’s part of that evolution. We have made a lot of good steps and strong steps in that journey and we have to continue. That never ends. We want to be better and the rest will be better, then the margins will be higher and we have to start to live with those standards and improve and be smarter."
That means it's going to be a busy summer for Edu. Arsenal are targeting several incomings, while getting players out of the club is going to be crucial too. But what about those already in north London that Arteta will want to build his side around? Here football.london takes a look at the players who will have crucial roles at the Emirates Stadium going into next season.
Goalkeepers
In between the sticks Arsenal are pretty set. Aaron Ramsdale was arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League last season, while Matt Turner did well enough in limited cameos during his debut season. Both are guaranteed to be back at London Colney when players return for pre-season.
The Gunners' third choice goalkeeping spot this season presents Arteta with an interesting decision though. Arsenal have two very promising academy goalkeepers. Karl Hein did well during the tour of Dubai and has 20 caps for Estonia's senior team at the age of just 21. Arthur Okonkwo meanwhile has had a superb season spanning two loans with Crewe Alexandra and Sturm Graz. During the latter spell he won the Austrian Cup. Hein has longer to run on his contract so maybe it'll be the Estonian who heads out on loan this season with Okonkwo staying as third choice, unless a good offer comes in for him.
Defenders
It's safe to say that Arsenal's first choice back four from last season are all part of Arteta's plans going forward. Oleksandr Zinchenko made the left-back spot his own, while Ben White excelled over on the right. In the middle Gabriel has signed a new deal and there is confidence that William Saliba will follow suit to help extend the run of arguably the best centre back pairing in the Premier League.
Beyond them, it's probably safe to say that Jakub Kiwior is going to be an important player next season with the increased number of games. The Pole did pretty well during his run in the side towards the end of the season after arriving from Spezia. Arteta has also shown that he trusts Takehiro Tomiyasu in big games, and the Japanese defender's versatility will be very useful next season.
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Midfielders
It's possible to make the argument that two thirds of Arsenal's first choice midfield from this season will be changed for the coming campaign. Granit Xhaka will leave when another player comes in, with a bid for Declan Rice edging closer. Thomas Partey meanwhile has been linked with an exit amid rumours suggesting another bid for Moises Caicedo could be on the table.
Martin Odegaard however, is the club captain and an untouchable in the starting XI. Beyond him in the squad, Emile Smith Rowe will stay along with Fabio Vieira next season. Both will have important roles to play as Arsenal look to compete on multiple fronts.
Forwards
Now that Bukayo Saka has signed his contract extension, we can officially say that he's going to be a crucial part of the plans next season - not that it was ever really in doubt. The same goes for Gabriel Martinelli who also renewed his deal.
Gabriel Jesus will be looking for an injury-free season this time around. The Brazilian started on fire at the Emirates Stadium, but his goalscoring output tailed off just before the World Cup. He'll want to put that right. There will be stiff competition from Leandro Trossard though who impressed when used as a false nine, and wracked up an impressive 10 assists after signing from Brighton in January. Eddie Nketiah is another who's guaranteed to be at the club next season after signing a five-year contract of his own last season.
We should be able to add Reiss Nelson's name of the list of untouchables in the squad soon too. The Hale Ender is entering the closing stages of negotiations over his new contract and has proved to be a valuable player off the bench after registering the best goal involvements per minutes ratio in the Premier League last season.
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