Mikel Arteta has already made it clear he plans to propel Arsenal to the next level by making a series of ‘ruthless’ decisions
Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke has already made it clear that the Gunners will not stand still this summer and under the tutelage of Mikel Arteta, there is real ambition to kick on and deliver a potential dynasty.
Speaking after the Champions League, the Spaniard explained: “We have not been competing with the top clubs in this country for five years. We have to be ruthless. There is no time to waste and there is a lot to do.”
The first domino fell on Monday when it was revealed that Dr Zafar Iqbal, the club’s Head of Sports Medicine, would be leaving the club following a vigorous end-of-season internal review. The call is understood to have shocked staff members but it won’t be the last brutal decision at Arsenal this summer.
That’s because Arteta is expected to inform several of his newly-crowned Premier League winners that they are free to find new clubs this summer.
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The turnaround won’t be as drastic as Liverpool’s summer splurge one year ago but there will be significant tweaks and adjustments to his star-studded squad.
Problematically, World Cup summers can be disruptive and inevitably, some elements of the club’s business will be delayed until later in the window, which isn’t even officially open yet.
The main body of targets have already been identified – they include Morgan Rogers, PSG’s Bradley Barcola, Sandro Tonali is a potential option while Julian Alvarez and Eli Junior Kroupi are both admired in attack.
All of those, except Tonali and Kroupi, are poised to participate at this summer’s finals in North America and for now, deciding their club future is not thought to be of burning priority.
After a long season, now is the time to focus on their respective countries and that is an issue in a sense because a good tournament would likely effect final pricing.
Equally, some of the players Arsenal may seek to move on – the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard – are also participating at the World Cup while right-back Ben White is still recovering from a knee injury.
It’s not to say Arsenal won’t be active in the transfer market until the World Cup is done and dusted but there’s an industry-wide acceptance that deals can be hard to strike when players are playing for their nations on the other side of the globe.
Barcola is also in the midst of contract negotiations with PSG. He is keen to clarify his role next season as he does not want to operate as a super-sub in the big Champions League matches.
Arsenal will also face competition for Barcola, if they even decide to move for the speedy Frenchman. There is also the prospect of other opportunities opening up at the World Cup.
Market opportunities such as Marcus Rashford and Rafael Leao for instance, are not going to be short of suitors if they dazzle for England or Portugal.
There is no disputing that Arsenal are ready to spend this summer, it’s just a case of finding the right time to execute moves for the club’s top targets. We also know that Andrea Berta likes to complete substantial legwork on deals before eventually pulling the trigger.
He also tends to play deals against one another to negotiate a better price.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
