Arsenal are gearing up for what may be the most important transfer window in their history if they are to manage any sort of a revival under new head coach, Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners are yet to pick up a single point since the restart of the Premier League and following a number of injuries and suspensions, currently have eight first team players unavailable.
Add to that the uncertainty of contract negotiations involving Mesut Ozil, David Luiz and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and you see just how sensitive the next few months could be for the future of the football club.
Mikel Arteta has already outlined the level of investment in the newly designed transfer window will be completely dependent on where they finish up in the league table.
With just eight games left in the season, there’s still time for things to change but it would be dependant on Arsenal winning practically all of their games and waiting for their rivals to slip up.
Following his latest podcast that was recorded on June 23rd, the highly reliable David Ornstein has announced exactly what Arteta has his eye on this summer.
For many clubs this is going to be all about free transfers, loan deals and short-term solutions in order to be best prepared for the 2020/21 campaign without breaking the bank.
According to Ornstein’s report, Arteta wants to add a new centre back, central midfielder, wide player and goalkeeper to his ranks, whilst shifting some players out of the exit door at the same time.
It’s believed a goalkeeper will be necessary given the latest blow to Bernd Leno, who is set to miss up to 12 months of action following a nasty knee injury, in which we all await the full diagnosis.
There are strong suggestions that the ‘wide player’ Arsenal are keeping tabs on his out-of-favour Willian, who will not be renewing his contract at Chelsea when it comes to an end this summer.
Arsenal have made some big mistakes when it comes to signing the leftovers at their London rivals, but Willian could add a sense of experience on the wings, something we are lacking with such a young attack force in Nelson, Martinelli, Saka, Pepe and Nketiah.
Ornstein has also outlined Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings as a defender that interests Arteta, but Arsenal would have serious competition from plenty of Premier League rivals, before even mentioning the asking price that Villa would require for their rising star.
One thing is for certain, Arteta has mapped out a succession plan for his squad and will want to make serious changes in one short window in order to apply his management techniques.
The relaxation of FFP could prove to be a blessing in his desire to do such a thing, but it would solely depend on how much majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, would be willing to invest.