Arteta opens door to big-name arrivals at Arsenal | OneFootball

Arsenal’s season will end without silverware once again, but Mikel Arteta has made clear that the club’s response will not be passive.

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal will enter the summer transfer market in search of attacking reinforcements, admitting the club’s pursuit of major honours has been hindered by a lack of reliable firepower in the final third.

Speaking ahead of the final weekend of a campaign that has again yielded no silverware, the Arsenal manager made no attempt to disguise the priority as the club look to convert their form into titles. “What is clear with the amount of injuries that we had in the front line is that we need a goal threat and we need firepower,” said Arteta. “Understanding that the context can change tomorrow, we cannot rely just on the numbers that we had before.”

Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Jesus have all spent large chunks of the season sidelined, while neither of the club’s strikers reached 15 goals in all competitions.

Arteta, whose side face relegated Southampton on Sunday to finish a campaign that promised more than it delivered, said the club’s rising expectations are now forcing the issue. “If you want to win major trophies, you have to be the best in the market, no?” he said. “The teams that win always have the best players.”

Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Asked whether specific names were on the table, Arteta declined to be drawn. “I wouldn’t like to name a player,” he said, though Rodrygo, Alexander Isak, and Viktor Gyökeres have all been heavily linked with moves to the Emirates.

“But there is pride because we have brought the club into a position that next season people are saying: ‘You have to win a major trophy,’” Arteta added. “And that means that everybody believes, and that we are an elite team in this country and in Europe. The biggest statement is that Arsenal is there.”

Recruitment is expected to focus on adding variety and physical presence to Arsenal’s attacking options. Arteta noted that this was not simply a case of buying one central striker. “We have to add goals, creativity, and we have to add numbers, and that will be in different positions,” he said, signalling an appetite for more than one forward-thinking signing.

The club are expected to sign at least one striker and a winger, in addition to Martin Zubimendi who will arrive in midfield. They also appear to be in the market for a goalkeeper and central defender.