Arsenal are approaching the biggest summer in recent memory. They have made the step up to being a contender after four years of hard work from former sporting director Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta, but now they have to go further.
Moving from nearly there to topping the pile is arguably even harder to do than the total cultural reset Arsenal have carried out. The attention and scale of business goes up a notch
To become the best you have to, very often, buy the best. That is not how Arsenal have gotten to this point but the appointment of Andrea Berta (previously Atletico Madrid) suggests that they are looking at this as a method
With Liverpool doing their work aggressively and early, looking set to add Jeremy Frimpong and Florian Wirtz to the new contracts for Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah – not to mention the push for Milos Kerkez – Arsenal will be attempting to catch up with Arne Slot’s men. One month ago and the story might have been different.
Had Liverpool lost Van Dijk and Salah along with Trent Alexander-Arnold, then some would have seen that with their drop off in form as an open door for Arsenal. football.london wrote at the time that Arsenal would be one summer and just three possible signings away from making themselves title favourites.
Liverpool have done plenty since to put themselves firmly back in place. The current season is yet to finish but this is where we now are. Manchester City have a rebuild to continue after changes in January, whilst none of the others look ready for a sustained challenge.
So what do Arsenal do to make Liverpool sweat a bit more? Here, football.london takes the keys to London Colney and delves into the world of fantasy to carry out a summer of deals.
This one is easy. Arsenal are desperate for a striker and have been for a few years. There is plenty of competition for the No.9s on the market but Arsenal look to have the upper hand when it comes to Gyokeres.
They are after a more established name than Liam Delap or Hugo Ekitike and may well value Gyokeres’ experience over the rawness of Benjamin Sesko. 12 months on from Gyokeres’ £80million price tag, he appears to be on the market for around £60million.
That is a much better deal given there are still questions over how he will adapt to the Premier League and what his playstyle will be like in England. It is understandable why Gyokeres tops the list, though.
He is cheaper and actually available, unlike Alexander Isak. He does not command wages of the Saudi Pro League like Victor Osimhen. He is a rung below totally elite with the possibility of quickly exploding to that level if his goalscoring is transferred.
He can compete with and complement Kai Havertz, whilst also being a genuine statement
Unless Jakub Kiwior is going to continue this streak of form as a third-choice centre-back, it might be worth considering options for him again.
The question is whether he really is good enough for where Arteta and Berta need to be.
Maybe this run of games is all he needed to prove himself. It could also be a good way to raise his price whilst looking elsewhere.
Injury will mean he is surely kept around this summer but whether he should form part of Arsenal going forward is another matter.
Given the age and demand for more and better, it is players like Trossard who Arsenal cannot afford to hold onto for longer than they are effective.
Is an impact substitute worth the cost? Maybe not. The same goes for Oleksandr Zinchenko.
