Arsenal have already kicked off their summer transfer window with a bang as manager Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his side in order to take the fight back to Manchester City for a third straight Premier League title challenge.
The Gunners are expected to have a busy few weeks ahead of them, with the north London outfit already on the cusp of their second arrival – Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori – and could see a handful of other new stars wearing red at the start of the 2024/25 campaign after goalkeeper David Raya’s loan spell was made permanent last week.
However, there will be a necessity to try and balance the books in order to work around the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), with sales of academy stars in order to generate healthy amounts of ‘pure profit’ almost a guarantee.
At the top of their list, a prolific striker will be just what the doctor ordered alongside a winger to add depth. But with all that being said, will they be able to secure deals for such players? Here are the best and worst case scenarios for the Gunners in this transfer window…
Best case
Immediately, the best case scenario starts with Arsenal securing Calafiori within the next few days. The 22-year-old has been linked to both Chelsea and Liverpool, and while it’s unlikely that either side make a late-stage swoop for the defender, Arteta tying him down before it can happen would undoubtedly be the way forward.
After shoring up their backline with moves for Raya and Calafiori, you can imagine the next option is to get everything sorted going forward. The Gunners were heavily reliant on goals from the wings last season, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard leading the way ahead of Kai Havertz in his debut season at the Emirates Stadium.
Both Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres have been heavily linked with the club for many windows now, both prolific in front of goal. The former’s tough season with Napoli in the Serie A which saw them miss out on Champions League football could play perfectly into Arsenal’s hands if they want to get a deal over the line that’d set them up with a threat up front similar to that of Erling Haaland – a goal-scoring machine that teams in the top flight have failed to truly recreate.
Once they’ve secured a striker, it’s likely that two more midfield additions would be the cherry on top – and Spanish international Nico Williams could be one. The Athletic Bilbao star has caught the attention of clubs across the continent with his dazzling performances at the 2024 European Championships over the last few weeks and there’s no doubt that once the tournament ends, Arsenal should be one of the teams in the race for his services.
Whilst the winger has claimed that he’s blocking out all the rumours surrounding his exit from Spain, the Gunners are a tempting destination for any top player at the moment and their best-case summer would no doubt finish with him being unveiled towards the back-end of the transfer window.
Worst case
Any worst-case start to the transfer window for Arsenal would immediately involve Calafiori to go to a rival team. How this would happen is unclear given the two parties have already agreed on personal terms but the Italian international could be swayed by the prospect of Arne Slot’s Liverpool or compatriot Enzo Maresca’s new project at Chelsea given the two teams have been linked already with him.
After losing out on the prospect of that £42million deal, the Gunners would then likely spend more time than they can afford looking for a replacement for him, which in turn means less time to get other deals through the door. In today’s market, time is crucial to getting moves sorted and if Arteta and Edu are working against the clock, they’re not in the ideal position and can enter negotiations without the upper-hand.
They’d also not be able to facilitate beneficial exits for the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Chido Martin-Obi and Emile Smith Rowe to help allay their PSR fears and if they can’t get drum up funds for their war chest, it could mean the failure to secure someone like Osimhen who could elect to stay at Napoli for another year after signing his new deal just last season, leaving them with Gabriel Jesus’ inconsistency as the other option to Havertz – who may not be able to repeat his impressive second-half of the 2023/24 season.
Their worst-case scenario would continue though with central midfield upgrade, with Thomas Partey expected to be sold in the summer. While Jorginho did have a few standout performances last season, with Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich expected to be on the market and the inevitable defeat in that race that this timeline would suggest, it’d be a tough pre-season for the Gunners.
