‘Plan to invest’ and ‘More to come’ – so what does Arsenal’s summer look like?

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During this season, Patrice Evra said something about Arsenal that went viral. “They are like Netflix,” he said. “You’re always waiting for the next season.”

It certainly felt like it as Arsenal closed out their Emirates Stadium campaign season with a 1-0 over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium. The Champions League spot is in the bag, while second place is all but assured. But once again, there’s a feeling of that final step – the big trophy.

The Gunners’ final home game of the season started with some programme notes from Arsenal co-chairman Josh Kroenke. “We all want to win it,” he said about finishing second place in the Premier League in a row.

“We plan to invest to get behind winning and doing better next season.

“Ultimately, we all want the same thing. We’re as hungry for success as you are and that goes for everyone who works for the club.”

The evening ended with an emotional speech by Mikel Arteta to the Emirates crowd. “Make sure chasing a dream doesn’t get blurry and you can see what these players are doing,” he said.

“Take this dream with enthusiasm. There’s much more to come.”

So how do Arsenal make their dream happen?

Numbers needed

Much of the focus is on the arrival of a striker who could take Arsenal to the next level but Arteta stressed the need for numbers as well as quality in his press conference.

He gave Kieran Tierney and Jorginho final Emirates run-outs as substitutes against Newcastle. The pair are expected to join Celtic and Flamengo respectively this summer. There is also uncertainty over Thomas Partey, who is also in the final months of his contract.

Partey may be offered new terms but two players who won’t be retained are Raheem Sterling and Neto, who will return to Chelsea and Bournemouth following their loan spells.

Interestingly, though, Arteta described his squad as “really short” even before mentioning those imminent departures.

“Obviously, we need players because the squad is really short, he said. “And on top of that, we are losing four or five players who even end their contracts and the loans are finished.

“So we need to be sharp and, again, very disciplined in what we want to do and make sure that we are strong in the season.”

Arsenal only have 22 players officially listed in their first-team squad and that number is set to drop to 18 with the departures of Tierney, Jorginho, Sterling and Neto.

There are question marks over others too, with Oleksandr Zinchenko, for example, having fallen out of favour and Takehiro Tomiyasu a long-term injury absentee.

There is a need for support across the board, starting in goal, where their only options beyond David Raya are young players such as Tommy Setford.

The defence is probably the best-stocked area but they may need more numbers there, especially if Zinchenko follows Tierney through the exit door, despite the rise of Myles Lewis-Skelly. A busy summer lies ahead for the club’s negotiators.

And then it’s about quality

Numbers are not Arsenal’s sole shortcomings. Like every team, they will look to raise the level of their squad. Part of that final step is getting more players who can turn them into winners.

“It’s not easy to find world-class players who can take them up that extra level,” said Gary Neville after the Newcastle game. “But they have to find them because if they don’t, they’ll be letting the club down, the fans down, themselves down.

“I think it’s pretty obvious where they need to strengthen: in midfield and attack.”

Midfield is a question that is nearly answered. Arsenal are close to replacing Jorginho with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi.

An ageing experience player is being replaced by one in his prime – and it could see the Gunners bring in a midfielder capable of monitoring the defensive side of midfield on his own, without the help of an inverted full-back in support.

That would allow the likes of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice to gain more freedom and authority in attack. But that attack still needs strengthening.

“The manager needs arming with a couple of really good forwards,” said Neville. “If he gets that they’ve got a real chance.”

One area is obvious – the centre forward role. Arsenal scored 88 and 91 goals in the two seasons before this one, and are now on 67 with one game to play.

The power of a top-class central striker was not just seen in Arsenal’s team on Sunday, but also in Newcastle’s. Alexander Isak‘s absence demonstrated how Newcastle went from a team destined for the Champions League to one below the standard required.

Isak may prove to be too expensive or difficult to get out of a high-achieving, money-laden club like Newcastle. But Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko – while more inexperienced – have serious reputations and goal records in Europe and may be the answer.

The other forward position comes out wide. Arsenal could easily find a player to match Bukayo Saka‘s output on the opposite flank. The Gunners have a decision to make on Leandro Trossard, who has one year left on his contract and will begin next season as a 31-year-old, while Sterling’s loan will almost certainly not be renewed.

There is interest in Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, who like Zubimendi has history of getting over the line with Spain at Euro 2024.

“They have a really good methodology of play but there’s a little bit of spark, penetration, bite that’s missing,” said Neville.

That spark could come from new sporting director Andrea Berta, whose appointment screams a ‘win now’ mentality from the Gunners.

Remember, Kroenke’s quotes? “We plan to invest to get behind winning and doing better next season.” Kroenke then followed it up by saying: “We’re delighted we have our sporting director Andrea, who will play an important role in this.”

Remember what you’ve already got

What was also interesting from Arteta after the Newcastle game was to focus on the positives of the season.

A lot of the pre-match talk surrounded the pressure the Arsenal manager was under after five straight seasons without a trophy – and even that remains. “He’s got to be in the top two by Christmas or they’ll go for someone else,” said Paul Merson.

But Arteta was bullish in demonstrating how Arsenal’s season could have been very different – in a negative way. “Make sure we still value the incredible things this team is doing, the way we are competing, and the consistency we are showing,” he said. “If we don’t do that, that’s a dangerous thing to do.”

The reason why Arteta believes this is because of the way injuries have destabilised other teams – and led to much more catastrophic seasons than Premier League runners-up and Champions League semi-finalists.

“I know what we’ve been through for nine and a half months,” said Arteta. “I know what we’ve done.

“I know very well the history of the Premier League and the teams that have been in 30% of the situations that we’ve been in – they have collapsed, completely collapsed, and we haven’t.”

One of those situations is injuries. Up until the moment Arsenal’s season effectively ended in the Champions League semi-final loss to PSG, the Gunners had 27 injuries to their name. Spurs were second and are now in 17th. Man Utd were fourth and are 16th.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Arteta said: “Any other team – and I’ve seen it with one injury to finishing eighth, fifth, 16th, 17th.” He clarified that he was looking at seasons gone by too, which could explain the fifth and eighth references.

But now it’s time for Arteta to turn the excuses, or explanations, as the Arsenal manager puts it, to bed next season.

“What you can’t have with Arsenal next season is any excuses,” said Neville. “Saliba got injured. Gabriel got injured. We know they’re going to get injured and they’re going to miss games.

“What they can’t do at the end of this six-to-seven-year journey with Arteta is be a team that hasn’t won. They have to make it a team that wins now. It’s intriguing already for next season.”

Kroenke’s backing crucial

“That’s not something new,” said Arteta when asked about Josh Kroenke’s promise to invest in the team this summer in his press conference.

“I think they always back the team and the club in the best possible way and it’s not going to be different in the summer.”

The Arsenal boss has a strong relationship with the club’s owners and clearly has no doubts about their willingness to back him. Instead, he preferred to focus on the importance of getting their business right.

“We have to be very smart with the decisions that we take,” he said. “The plan is done and the time will be dictated by many parties, many circumstances that unfortunately we don’t control.

“But we have great people in charge of that and they’re going to be leading that with the board and ownership.

“As well as that, we have to make sure that the players we have feel valued and feel loved. Make sure that they want to continue with us in the right manner.”

In addition to bringing in new players this summer, Arsenal have to contract talks to tie up too, with key players William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes entering the final two years of their current deals.

There is a decision to be made on Gabriel Martinelli, too, given the winger is in the same situation with his contract, on top of the Trossard situation.

This news was originally published on this post .

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