Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta is reportedly chasing a deal to strengthen his squad this summer that won’t make a dent in his transfer budget
Arsenal fans often hear about how Mikel Arteta has modernised football in a negative way after ending their 22-year wait for a Premier League title.
Yet his attitude towards changing the narrative on substitutes – seeing them in a more positive light – may just explain his next move in the transfer market for the Gunners. The Spaniard has fostered a culture at the Emirates Stadium that breeds togetherness and maximum effort, whether his players feature for 90 minutes or a few seconds on the pitch.
The demands are clear, and those who aren’t up to the standard are quickly removed from his inner circle of trusted lieutenants. Arteta often talks about ‘finishers’ and ‘impacters’, players who are effectively brought on from the bench to either help see out the result or change the outcome of the game.
They are there to do a job no matter how long they spend on the pitch and in his eyes, it’s just as important as those who are handed starts. After beating Sporting Lisbon 1-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Arteta made a point of highlighting the impact of players from the bench.
“It’s been the story of the season, how important the finishers have been for us, to achieve what we want,” he said. “And today, all of them – Gabi [Martinelli] came on and made a huge impact; Kai [Havertz] the same; Max [Dowman] the same. So we really need that, and we’re really happy with that.”
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Arsenal are looking to maintain their winning momentum next term by defending their crown and Arteta knows that resting on their laurels now isn’t the way to go, especially when other teams will be strengthening their respective squads. That will mean offloading dead wood in the squad and bringing fresh blood into the equation.
A new right-back appears to be a likely area of improvement for the north London side, with doubts emerging over Ben White’s future amid interest from other Premier League clubs. Newcastle’s Tino Livramento had been linked earlier this summer before the England international was forced to pull out of the World Cup squad through injury.
With those injury concerns not going away, Arteta has been forced to look elsewhere for a cheap alternative to White and in Oscar Mingueza, he may have found his man. According to Spanish outlet AS, Arsenal have been alerted to a potential deal for the Celta Vigo defender as his contract is due to expire at the end of the month.
The 27-year-old is poised to leave the LaLiga outfit after four years at the club and there is sufficient interest from around Europe. Aston Villa, Juventus and Newcastle are all keen on the Spain international, who came through the famed La Masia academy at Barcelona before leaving at the age of 22.
Arsenal have shown the strongest interest and are said to be ‘leading the pack’ for Mingueza, who is keen to make the move to England after spending his entire career in his native land. The Gunners’ interest is ‘primarily driven’ by their head coach Arteta, who is reported to be a fan of Mingueza’s work.
With a market value of £15million, per Transfermarkt, Arsenal would be pulling off a cunning heist by avoiding paying a transfer fee. Mingueza is a reliable performer and his ability to stay injury-free would be an asset, given how many defensive injuries Arteta has been forced to deal with in recent times.
The right-back has only missed eight league games over the last three seasons – only one because of an injury. And that is the type of toughness and commitment Arteta wants in his squad.
The former Barcelona man has been capped four times by Spain and was a part of Luis de la Fuente’s side that lost to Portugal in last year’s Nations League final. Despite putting in consistent, solid performances for his club, Mingueza was left out of the 26-man squad for this year’s World Cup.
That does mean, however, that he will be fresh and ready to link up in pre-season as soon as his contract expires on June 30. The value of working with a new signing throughout the summer these days cannot be understated.
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Of course, Mingueza might well end up playing a back-up role to Jurrien Timber if he decides to join Arsenal. But the Dutchman has been forced to manage his fitness and limit his minutes on the pitch as a result, meaning there are opportunities to start or impact games as ‘finishers’ for the likes of Mingueza and Cristhian Mosquera.
If Arteta can sell White for a substantial fee and bring in a plug-and-play replacement for nothing, it will enable him to commit the funds to other pressing areas in the transfer market. A left-winger is said to be top of his list of priorities, with links to Morgan Rogers and Bradley Barcola.
In that sense, signing Mingueza could be the smartest play Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta make this summer. With an impeccable injury record and decent potential resale value, capturing Mingueza represents a no-brainer for the newly-crowned champions in making Arsenal even more formidable.
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