When Mikel Arteta was spotted alongside Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke back in January, fans expected there to finally be some movement in what was ultimately a rather disappointing winter window. However, fast forward six months and it would appear that a lot of their discussions were actually centred around this summer.
With five new signings through the door and around £120m spent so far, it's clear that there must have been a lot of things to plan ahead for. Last summer, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham confirmed that Stan and Josh Kroenke 'sanctioned very significant investment in support of our strategy' as the club splashed a record £150m on reinforcements, and it looks like they are prepared to do the same again.
It's fair to say an awful lot has happened since Stan invited Arteta to watch his Colorado Avalanche hockey team in action at the beginning of the year. Arteta signed a new deal and the team of course returned to the Europa League after narrowly missing out on a Champions League spot.
