Zubimendi, Gyokeres and more: Who should Arsenal sign this summer?

It looks like Arsenal will be finishing second in the Premier League for the third time in a row this season; as Liverpool supporters put it on the day they lifted their 20th title, Mikel Arteta has always been the bridesmaid, yet to be the bride. 

Coming into his sixth season at the club, Arteta will be desperate to take the final step with the club he has so impressively transformed.  The Spaniard has repeatedly reinforced the necessity of winning trophies in order to be a successful team, and he has promised fans of The Gunners a “very exciting summer” at the Emirates.  Here’s what that could look like:

Defence

Arsenal have been long credited for their very strong defensive set-up – they could well have the best centre-back pairing in world football with William Saliba and Gabriel, and Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori have had strong seasons, albeit each affected by spotty injury records.  Kieran Tierney has signed a pre-contract to re-join Celtic, and Zinchenko is reportedly up for sale, and expected to leave the Emirates soon. 

As well as injury prone full-backs, Gabriel has missed the end of the season with a hamstring injury, which could potentially cause him setbacks even when he returns.  For this reason, Arsenal should be targeting a left footed defender who can provide cover at both centre-back and left-back, taking over responsibilities from Jakub Kiwior should Gabriel be injured. 

Piero Hincapié of Bayer Leverkusen has been previously targeted by powerhouses Liverpool and Real Madrid, and the exit of manager Xabi Alonso means that Leverkusen could be open for a raid this summer.  The 23-year old Ecuadorian played a massive role in Leverkusen’s invincible season last year, but it could take over £45m to pry him away from the German team. 

For a cheaper option, the Gunners should look to the PSG team that knocked them out of the Champions League, and French defender Lucas Hernández.  Comfortable at left-back and centre-back, the 29-year-old would likely cost around £25m, and would bring some much needed winning experience to the dressing room, having seen success at PSG, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.

Midfield

Arsenal have already made a big change to midfield, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that while Jorginho will leave the Emirates, Real Sociedad midfielder Martín Zubimendi will be in N5 very soon.  Zubimendi is a 6 who likes to play the game at his own tempo, in a similar mould to Jorginho, but very much an upgrade on the Italian.  With a deep-lying pair of Zubimendi and Rice, Arsenal could use a more dynamic profile ahead of the two.  Martin Odegaard has suffered a few injuries this season and has been largely underwhelming when he’s been on the pitch.  The captain is an undeniably fantastic player, and clearly important to the dressing room, but to challenge for titles, consistent performances are vital, particularly in the number 10 role that Odegaard plays. 

Arsenal could look at Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers to either motivate or replace the Norwegian, although it’s hard to see how Rogers would be happy playing second fiddle after the fantastic season he’s just had.  With a contract until 2030 it would be tough to take the 22-year-old out of Birmingham, but if Arsenal could pull it off, it would be a massive statement of intent.

For a secondary choice, Arteta could look to a player he’s coached in the past; Kevin De Bruyne has confirmed his exit from Man City, but has proven that he still has more than enough ability to play at the top level.  With 6 Premier League titles, the Belgian would bring a much needed winners’ mentality to the dressing room, as well as inevitably chipping in with a few important goals and assists across the season.  The Belgian is available on a free transfer this summer, and would be an improvement to any team, even at 33 years old.

Forwards

After joining from Chelsea for £60m, it’s hard to argue that Kai Havertz has improved as footballer.  Unfortunately, the German still hasn’t reached the levels required to be a title-winning Premier League striker, where teams would look for at least 20 goals from their number 9.  Similarly, Gabriel Jesus is not hitting these levels, hampered by injury for the majority of his Arsenal career.  The Gunners should go all out for a number 9 who has the skill of putting the ball in the back of the net, something the two current strikers lack.  Viktor Gyökeres of Sporting Lisbon has an incredible 39 goals in 33 league games this season, decimating the Liga Portugal as well as scoring a hat-trick against Man City in the Champions League group stage.  Sporting are reportedly happy to take just £60m for the Swedish striker this summer, which would be a bargain when considering the lack of quality strikers in todays market.

On loan from Napoli where he fired the Italian side to a Serie A title in 2023, Victor Osimhen has 24 goals in 28 games for Galatasaray this season.  The former African player of the year has a £62m release clause, as well as tension with his parent club that is likely to see them want him gone as soon as possible.  The Nigerian is well regarded as one of the best strikers in the world right now, and would add some much needed goals to Mikel Arteta’s side for next season.

Arsenal have refrained from making as many major signings as their Premier League counterparts like Man City and Chelsea have, aside from Declan Rice.  However, when looking at the left-wing position, and the inconsistency of Martinelli and Trossard, spending big could very well be what takes Arsenal from repeated runners-up to title winners.  It won’t be easy to take Nico Williams from Atletico Bilbao as the club will need to find a replacement from the Basque region, but the 22-year-old has impressed in the LaLiga and the Europa League this season, as well as playing a major part in Spain’s 2024 Euro’s victory.  It’s unlikely that Bilbao would take less than £90m for the winger, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Arsenal spend big again this summer.

Despite the clear transformation in the team, there are Arsenal fans who are running out of patience with Mikel Arteta; trophies are everything in football, and Arsenal fans have watched teams of much lower quality get their hands on silverware in the time they’ve been empty-handed.  A big transfer window could be make-or-break for the Spaniard, but Arteta needs the backing of the board and good investment if Arsenal truly want to be at the top of English football.