It may only be early July, but Arsenal have been incredibly busy. Firstly they have extended the contracts of Reiss Nelson and William Saliba, with the latter in particular being a massive coup for the club.
Then there's what they've been doing in the transfer market. Kai Havertz has already arrived for £65million from Chelsea, while deals to bring in Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber are set to be confirmed this week.
This will take the summer spend to north of £200million already. Edu's work is far from finished though. There is still so much to do and here football.london takes a look at what lies in store for the remaining members of the Arsenal first team over the next couple of months.
Goalkeepers
As it stands Arsenal have got as many as five first-team goalkeepers on their books. Aaron Ramsdale is, of course, the number one after another impressive season that was rewarded with a fresh contract. Matt Turner is the back up and has done enough to inspire confidence during limited opportunities. He's also managed to hold on to the number one spot for the USMNT where he is excelling, and should be happy enough to stick around at Arsenal.
Beyond him, Arthur Okonkwo has enjoyed two superb loan spells at Crewe Alexandra and Sturm Graz this season. The latter in particular has been formative for the Hale Ender who won the OFB Cup. The Austrian side want him back on loan this time around, but with one year remaining on his deal, it's likely that he'll have to sign a new contract before Arsenal sanction that.
Karl Hein meanwhile responded well to a tough first-team debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup to do well during the mid-season training camp in Dubai. The Estonian international had plenty of loan interest in January, and allowing him to head out next season may be a smart move given that he has two years left to run on his current contract.
Runar Alex Runarsson meanwhile has no future at the club and will surely leave permanently this summer. He is currently with the first team at their training camp in Nurenberg, but has just one year left on his contract. Despite a decent loan spell with Alanyaspor, it will be tough for Edu to get a fee for him. A free transfer could be on the cards, but it's hard to see another contract termination given the Iceland international's relatively low wages.
Defence
Oleksandr Zinchenko is at Arsenal for the long-term. The Ukrainian has revolutionised Arsenal's left-back position in his debut season. The Ukrainian has been so good in fact that Arteta has shown an unwillingness to pivot away from the inversion he offers when he is absent.
This has been to the detriment of Kieran Tierney who has been overlooked on several occasions. There's no doubt that Tierney is a superb player, but with Arteta wanting to evolve away from him, it seems he could leave this summer. Newcastle are understood to be interested.
If the Scot is to leave, he will need replacing. Arsenal do have Nuno Tavares on their books, but with just two years left on his contract, Arsenal will be open to moving the Portuguese full-back on. football.london understands that his preference is to stay in the Premier League next season although no offer has come in from West Ham at time of writing.
The option of shifting Takehiro Tomiyasu over to left-back has been discussed by those at the club. He is back training with the first team in Nuremberg and should be fit for the start of the season barring any setbacks. The option of him being used at left-back seems far more likely now that Jurrien Timber is set to arrive at the Emirates Stadium for a guaranteed €40million fee. He will compete with Ben White at right-back. Arsenal are looking to offer the England international a new deal soon as a reward for his impressive form since arriving from Brighton last season. Cedric can play on both sides, but the Portugal international seems may leave this summer with just one year remaining on his contract.
Moving into the middle, Pablo Mari has moved to Monza. The Spaniard was replaced in the squad by Jakub Kiwior, who along with Gabriel appears to have answered any questions Arsenal have over the left centre back spot for the foreseeable future. Auston Trusty meanwhile is available to leave permanently. The American has impressed at Birmingham City this season where he won their player of the season award.
At right-sided centre-back it's a little different. William Saliba has signed a new contract to keep at Arsenal till 2027. Rob Holding will also enter the final 12 months of his deal this summer, but Arsenal have the option to extend by a year. The Gunners would be willing to listen to offers for the 27-year-old this summer though as they seek to bolster that part of the squad. Timber's arrival may give Arsenal the option to shift White into the centre as they did towards the end of last season, while the Dutchman can play there himself if needs be.
Midfield
At the base of midfield, both Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny are the wrong side of 30, but with just one year remaining on their respective deals they're likely to stay as squad players for next season.
Granit Xhaka however, has left to join Bayer Leverkusen. There is also an expectation that Albert Sambi Lokonga could move on too. The Belgian still has three years remaining on his contract though, so he could be sent out for another loan after showing some promising signs with Crystal Palace. Charlie Patino is set to follow them out of the exit door, although Arsenal are keen to insert a buyback clause into any move away, football.london understands. Ainsley Maitland-Niles has left on a free meanwhile after Arsenal decided not to take up an option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.
With all those exits, the midfield is expected to be the position where there is the most upheaval this summer. Declan Rice is coming in from West Ham and with the £65million arrival of Kai Havertz, it would seem that Thomas Partey is no longer first choice. Arsenal are open to offers on the Ghanaian who is 30 and has two years remaining on his deal.
Meanwhile, Martin Odegaard is the club captain and someone whose contract the club want to extend, so he'll be staying. Beyond him in the squad there is Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe.
The former has had a mixed debut season, while the latter has barely had a look in since returning from injury. Arteta has always spoken glowingly about Vieira, and with four years remaining on his contract it's hard to see him leaving.
When it comes to Smith Rowe however, Arteta has been nowhere near as glowing. However, the 22-year-old has been superb with the England under21s across their successful Euros campaign and is keen to use this as a springboard to kickstart his Arsenal career.
Forwards
The forward line is probably the most settled part of the Arsenal squad right now. On the left, Gabriel Martinelli recently extended his contract, while Leandro Trossard only joined in January.
Up front Gabriel Jesus has had a good first season after arriving from Manchester City. Eddie Nketiah meanwhile has shown himself to be a viable option since signing a five-year contract extension last summer. His fellow Hale Ender Folarin Balogun has become the first American to score 20 goals in one of Europe's big five leagues this season, but is still likely to be behind Nketiah in the pecking order. Balogun, quite fairly, wants to be first choice somewhere next season. RB Leipzig have shown an interest, while teams in Italy and England are keen too. Arsenal are hopeful of a bidding war for the 22-year-old which could drive his price up to something near their £50million asking price.
There have been suggestions that Arsenal could do with a different option up top in the mould of a Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Dusan Vlahovic. With the amount the Gunners have to do this summer, it's hard to see that being a priority.
On the right meanwhile, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson have both signed new contracts. That hasn't stopped links continuing to Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby. A £50million move for him certainly seems more likely than a move for Kylian Mbappe which has been mooted elsewhere.
Regardless of what happens, Nicolas Pepe will leave the club. Arsenal want to generate a fee for him while they can before his contract expires in the summer, but plans have been made to terminate his deal if needs be. Marquinhos could be set for another season on loan to get some more regular minutes after a mixed spell at Norwich in the second half of this season.
