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Arsenal keen on Premier League trio as Arteta targets 5 new signings this summer

By on June 22, 2021

ben white

It’s promising to be a busy summer at Arsenal as Mikel Arteta looks to overhaul his squad following another disappointing campaign that saw us finish eighth in the Premier League table.

Several players are set to leave the Emirates with the likes of Granit Xhaka, Hector Bellerin, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Sead Kolasinac expected to find new clubs over the coming weeks.

David Luiz has already left after his contract ran out, Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard have returned to Real Madrid following loan spells while the future’s of Bernd Leno, Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are also in doubt.

So it’s going to be a hectic summer and while not all of the aforementioned players will leave Arsenal, there’s no doubt there will be plenty of departures so we’ll need to bring in several new signings.

According to Football London, Arteta is targeting five new recruits – which is the minimum I feel is needed – as he looks to strengthen the spine of the team and it seems Arsenal are hoping to sign some players with Premier League experience.

The report claims that Arsenal chiefs are confident of wrapping-up a deal for Brighton centre-back Ben White despite seeing an opening offer rejected. If repots are accurate, then we may need to pay upwards of £50m so White would be a significant investment.

Maddison targeted

Arteta is also in the market for a creative midfielder and Football London says James Maddison is a target after we missed out on Emi Buendia – who joined Aston Villa earlier this month.

Maddison won’t come cheap either but he’d be an excellent signing for Arsenal if we could get a deal agreed and he’ll be able to hit the ground running having been a key player for Leicester City in recent years.

Arsenal also desperately need a reliable back-up for Kieran Tierney at left-back and Football London claims that while Arteta’s priority is to sign a talented youngster in that position, we could yet opt for Patrick van Aanholt.

The 30-year-old is available on a free transfer after running down his contract at Crystal Palace so he could be a shrewd piece of business by the club. Arsenal will focus on strengthening other areas of the squad first so a left-back is likely to be one of the last signings we make. If we have limited funds later in the window, then a move for van Aanholt could make sense.

Lokonga deal close

So that’s three targets with Premier League experience but Arsenal are also eyeing players from abroad with Football London claiming that we’re closing in on a deal for Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.

The 21-year-old is probably viewed as a long-term project rather than being seen as a first team regular next season but he’s still likely to cost over £15m, so the club must be confident in his abilities.

A new goalkeeper is also on the agenda after Mat Ryan returned to Brighton following his loan. The report says Andre Onana remains a target and he’s set for a move away from Ajax after seeing his drugs ban reduced to nine months – which means he can play from November 3rd.

Based on the targets put forward by Football London, Arsenal could end up signing White, Maddison, van Aanholt, Onana and Lokonga this summer. I personally think we also need another top class central midfielder to replace Xhaka and another right-back if Bellerin goes, but it’s going to be tough to get all that business done in one window.

Let’s see how thing go over the coming weeks but it looks like Arteta and Edu are going to be extremely busy this summer….