Having been one of the most well prepared teams heading into the window they have already borne many of the fruits of early activity. Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber are already linking up together and have been able to gel with their teammates whilst fellow rivals in the league scramble around.
Chelsea still have mountains of work both in and out to do, Liverpool are yet to finalise their midfield issues, Manchester City are a winger and centre-back down with Kyle Walker’s future no clearer and Manchester United still have no confirmed striker on-board.
In this sense it is certainly normal for clubs to be looking busy even when much has already been done to get ahead of the game. Arsenal are no different.
They risk being unable to generate ample funds to bank roll their August work if sales aren’t agreed in the coming weeks. With Mohammed Kudus still of interest to Mikel Arteta and David Raya emerging as a surprise option, they need to find ways to financially support such transfers having spent £197million ($250m) with very little going the other way.
One expected way to recoup some money was to sell academy star Folarin Balogun. The 22-year-old has been allowed to leave the club with a firm stance set upon his return from duty with USMNT earlier this summer.
