Three talented players Edu plans to sign before the summer transfer window closes to close the gap between Man City
Arsenal may not have enough to beat Man City for the title this season but work is underway to change that for next season with Edu requesting two reinforcements. Arsenal have made significant changes to the structure of the club over the past 3 years which has resulted in a significant increase in competitiveness and sees them in contention for the Premier League title this season.
Most important of all, of course, is the appointment of Mikel Arteta as head coach and now manager, with Edu Gaspar appointed technical director before the Spaniard’s arrival and sporting director ever since.
In March, owner Stan Kroenke and his son and club manager Josh Kroenke became co-chairmen of the Arsenal board, while Tim Lewis was appointed executive vice-chairman. Vinai Venkatesham had already become CEO, having served as chief executive under former football boss Raul Sanllehi, who left the club in 2020 amid a series of redundancies.
Scouts were brought in to analyze talent in the UK and overseas. All the changes have taken place and have had a direct impact on the success of the club.
However, with a critical summer transfer window looming on the horizon, more changes are on the way. According to The Athletic, Jason Ayto, who was the recruitment coordinator, has been named assistant sporting director and James Ellis, a former British first-team scout, has been promoted to head of recruitment. Ellis’ work in British scouting has meant a string of Premier League transfers have become more common at the club since he joined in the summer of 2021.
Edu told Sky Sports: “I think you’re probably looking through the heart of the team, through the centre. We’ve obviously seen how they’ve suffered without Wiliam Saliba and the drop-off was quite drastic really, no manager would want to see that, so they miss the Frenchman.
“Thomas Partey has been a bit in and out this season, when Xhaka didn’t play they certainly missed him. There’s been a lot of attention on Arsenal’s central midfield, possibly Declan Rice coming. That’s going to be a saga in the summer. Where’s the West Ham midfielder going to end up, it looks like he’s going to leave the Hammers”
There could be plenty of options to choose from in each area, with Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo the main options linked for the deeper midfield role. In the more advanced midfield positions, Chelsea star Mason Mount is rumoured with a switch across London as his future is in doubt.
Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho all arrived at this time. Transfers from other Premier League sides have been relatively absent from the club’s transfer policy under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery.
In the meantime, as Ayto works more closely with Edu, perhaps the club’s spending will be more efficient. Edu has been criticized by fans for not making better offers for players leaving the team as many have been paid for the termination of their contracts, which Edu himself told Sportupdatehub considered a ” investment”.
The enormity of the summer window escapes no one inside or outside the club. If Arsenal are to maintain their status as a team that wants to continue challenging Manchester City, they need to improve several areas of the team.
Do you think the addition of this players will boost Arsenal’s performance? Leave your comments…