How Arsenal are laying the foundations for a title challenge | OneFootball

Change behind the scenes has set up a blockbuster summer transfer window

One of the changes at Arsenal during Mikel Arteta’s time in charge has been in how the club sells itself to prospective new signings. Bespoke videos, tailored to each target, highlight what the player’s role in the team will be and they also explain what the club’s ambitions are for the upcoming campaign.

In the case of Arsenal’s first signing this summer, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, the message was clear. “We’re here to win,” says Kepa, who arrived last week from Chelsea for £5million. “We have a great team. We have great staff around here, the best facilities, so we have to prepare ourselves for this season and to have success.”

After finishing second in the Premier League the past two seasons, Arsenal are determined to end their five-year wait for silverware. Arteta set the tone for the summer in a speech to fans at Emirates Stadium following the final home game of the season against Newcastle.

The Spaniard told supporters to “chase the dream” of lifting a trophy and promised that his squad would return renewed in their pursuit. “This group of players, they have the hunger, they have the quality, they have the talent and we are coming again,” said Arteta. “We have to start creating our own history here in this stadium.”

Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko

London Standard

The striker question

Arsenal officially began pre-season training this week, but for many of the players the hard work started last month. Several players, including Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori and William Saliba, travelled to Marbella to train under Sam Wilson, Arsenal’s lead physical performance coach. Jurrien Timber, who had ankle surgery in May, joined them and did rehab work with the club’s head physiotherapist, Simon Murphy.

Preparations ramp up this month when the squad convenes in Spain, before flying to Singapore on July 19 for a tour that will take in Hong Kong. The club would like to have their new signings through the door by then and sporting director Andrea Berta is pushing to conclude deals. As well as Kepa, the Gunners have already signed midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad for more than £50m, Brentford captain Christian Norgaard for an initial £10m, and negotiations are ongoing with Valencia over a move for centre-back Cristhian Mosquera.

Arsenal want to bolster their attack by signing a wide player and potentially another versatile attacker, and have agreed a £52million fee with Chelsea for Noni Madueke, but the priority is a new striker and Berta has been leading that search.

In the case of Arsenal’s search for a striker, Berta has held talks with Sporting over a deal for Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig regarding Benjamin Sesko. Some believe it has allowed Berta to play the two clubs off each other, with no one sure which player Arsenal would go for.

This week, the feeling has been that the Gunners will swoop for Gyokeres in a deal worth around £70m. Berta is a fan of the Swede, who has scored 97 goals in 102 matches during two seasons in Portugal, but no Arsenal signing happens without Arteta’s approval. Gyokeres boasts a phenomenal goalscoring record, however it remains to be seen if that transfers to the Premier League. Last month, analysts at Opta ranked the Portuguese top flight as weaker overall than the Championship, with 11 of its 18 teams assessed as being roughly equivalent to League One level. Arsenal, however, have long sought a traditional No9 and hope Gyokeres will provide the answer. But committing £70m and a five-year contract to a 27-year-old, who has never played in the Premier League, represents a significant gamble.

Martin Zubimendi

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Anchor man

One signing Berta was not involved in bringing to the club this summer was Zubimendi, whose arrival was set in motion by his predecessors. Edu and Jason Ayto, then Arsenal’s sporting director and assistant sporting director, had identified Zubimendi as a priority target last summer and first raised the prospect of a deal during negotiations with Real Sociedad for Mikel Merino. Sociedad, however, were reluctant to lose both players in the same transfer window and so discussions turned to striking a deal for a year’s time.

By March, the transfer — barring the final paperwork — was in place. That proved decisive, as Real Madrid later attempted to hijack the deal after appointing Xabi Alonso as their new head coach. The success of the deal means Arsenal are understood to be considering striking similar pre-agreements for players in the future.

Arteta was key to the deal, with sources saying how he quickly struck up a bond with Zubimendi. The connection between manager and player extends back to their roots. Both came through the youth ranks at Antiguoko, the same Basque academy where Alonso also learned the game. It was always going to be difficult for Zubimendi to leave his boyhood club, but Arteta convinced him to make the move to north London.

The 26-year-old should have a transformative impact on Arsenal’s midfield. Operating at the base of it, behind Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, he will be the team’s conductor.

Zubimendi offers an adventurous approach with his passing, which impressed Arsenal’s recruitment team. Last season in La Liga, he ranked in the top five for central midfielders when it came to successful long passes and progressive passes. Zubimendi also made 238 line-breaking passes — and that was bettered only by three midfielders, all of whom played for Real Madrid.

Arsenal’s new first-choice XI?

London Standard

Such an approach should help Arsenal break down teams that sit deep, which has been a long-term issue for them. It should also create space for the attackers playing ahead of Zubimendi and the club want more additions than just a striker. Multiple wide players have been looked at, including Chelsea’s Noni Madueke and Real Madrid star Rodrygo.

Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze is also of interest to Arsenal and he would provide them with the “magic moments” that Arteta has often bemoaned the team lacking.

Even with injuries to key players, Arsenal were short of firepower last season to turn matches in their favour. When chasing games, Arteta was limited in his options on the substitutes’ bench and this summer’s reinforcements are designed to transform that.

Saka, Nwaneri, Saliba

Arteta wants new signings to make Arsenal more unpredictable tactically, but an equally important part of the club’s summer plans is tying down existing players to new contracts. Arsenal have made a good start on that, agreeing fresh terms with Gabriel on a deal that will run until 2029.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, who broke into the first team last season and also made his England debut, has followed suit and signed a five-year contract. Negotiations with the 18-year-old were initiated by Berta’s predecessors and Arsenal view his extension as vital to their future.

To mark the occasion, Lewis-Skelly was given a handwritten note from captain Odegaard congratulating him. Accompanying it was an Arsenal shirt with Lewis-Skelly’s name and the No49, which he has chosen to keep, and some honey produced at the club’s training ground — which has two hives.

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Lewis-Skelly is staying, but others may go as Arsenal look to rebuild. Oleksandr Zinchenko has one year left on his contract and can leave this summer for the right price, with Albert Sambi Lokonga in the same boat. Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson spent last season on loan and may now depart permanently.

Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard both played key roles towards the back end of last season and are expected to attract interest. As with Gabriel Martinelli, it remains to be seen how strong Arsenal’s resolve will be if serious offers arrive.

Arsenal hope that Lewis-Skelly will not be the last significant contract renewal this summer. The club also want to tie down Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri and Saliba, with the trio viewed as central to the next phase of Arteta’s project.

Arteta has achieved so much at Arsenal, uniting a club that was fractured when he arrived six years ago. The next step, however, is to add major silverware. A solitary FA Cup, won in 2020, is not enough to show for Arteta’s hard work. He, and Arsenal, need more.

Arteta spoke in May about his desire for Arsenal to start creating their own history. The stage is set, and now comes the moment to deliver.