For Mikel Arteta, this summer presents him with the opportunity to raise the bar at Arsenal and ensure there's no more 'falling short' moving forwards. You can point your finger at whoever or whatever you like when talking about the failure to reach the top four, but you feel that the club is looking to put things right over the coming months.
The transfer window hasn't even opened yet, but there are signs of encouragement when factoring in the links to players that have surfaced so far, and three of them, in particular, have left fans excited. Manchester City duo Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko along with Leicester City's Youri Tielemans are all said to be serious options for Arteta according to various reports, with talks already taking place with the representatives of Jesus and Tielemans, football.london understands.
As is often the case in the transfer market, a club can be joined by several others when targeting players which can make securing a deal even trickier, but thankfully for Mikel Arteta, he holds some key advantages when it comes to attempting to sign the aforementioned names.
READ MORE: Double Arsenal transfer for Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko nothing like Chelsea rejects
Jesus and Zinchenko are no strangers to Arteta having worked with the Spaniard while he was assistant to Pep Guardiola. Both players highly admire the Arsenal boss, who helped them go on to achieve great success. Jesus has previously revealed his appreciation for his former coach, signalling just how much respect he has at the Etihad.
"He's helped a lot of players," Jesus said in 2019. "When I want to do finishing after training, I tell him and he comes and helps me. So he is really fantastic for us. All the players know that - everyone knows that in the club. He is a fantastic guy and fantastic manager."
Then you of course have the positive relationship that has also been established between Arteta, Guardiola and the City board, which can go a very long way during transfer negotiations. Although regular game time hasn't always come Jesus and Zinchenko's way, their importance to the current Premier League Champions has remained strong meaning they won't be sold easily. However, Arteta's connection with key figures and the players themselves will no doubt prove crucial in any potential breakthrough.
Meanwhile, Arteta may not have a direct link to Tielemans, but his playing career can also be used as an important part in getting a deal for the Belgium international over the line. Just like the Leicester City man, Arteta was a central midfielder who was calm on the ball, possessed a wide range of passing and a dangerous eye for goal, which were just some of the reasons Arsene Wenger decided to sign him from Everton in 2011.
Arteta has been there and done it, representing the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers, while racking up 68 goals and 51 assists during an impressive career. Aside from being a talented and extremely experienced midfielder himself, which can benefit the development of others in that position, Arteta knows what it means to sign for Arsenal. He has that unique experience that he can use to really sell the project to someone like Tielemans, someone who is already in the Premier League but is looking to take that step up in their career.
£102m figure via CIES Football Observatory.
