Working alongside Edu Gaspar, the Arsenal boss can prioritise signings who will improve his first XI, rather than plugging gaps in his squad. In truth, this summer looks like it will be very similar to last, and the club will be looking to repeat their success across all four of their major deals.
Although still not quite fit, Jurrien Timber should be just as crucial to Arsenal’s XI as Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and David Raya have all been with time.
And that being said, it will be interesting to see which positions Arteta will choose to improve.
A new striker still seems like an obvious move, even if it could leave the club with an abundance of riches in the position. And to that point, Martin Keown has now been waxing lyrical about Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.
If there’s ever a way to move up on Arsenal’s shortlist, scoring two goals in a 4-0 win against the club’s rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, surely can’t do any harm. And that’s exactly what Alexander Isak did yesterday in scintillating fashion.
The 24-year-old now has 17 Premier League goals this season, a performance celebrated by Martin Keown on the BBC’s Match of the Day.
Keown was left in awe of how the Arsenal target destroyed Tottenham’s defensive pair yesterday, causing Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all kinds of problems.
He explained: “Today he [Van de Ven] came across Isak who was in unreal form, this guy is really impressive.
“They didn’t really play as a pair today, Van de Ven and Romero, and Isak is a player that has got real pace.
“He didn’t really get much of the ball, Isak, but neither one of them was really picking them up.
“The thing is, he’s a speed merchant and I feel you’ve got to get tight, you’ve got to get around him.”
Of course, with a price tag of around £100m this summer, and Newcastle supposedly ‘open to selling’ the forward given their financial predicament, a move could really make sense.
Perhaps Gabriel Jesus would be put out a little, but a side with ambitions as rich as Arsenal shouldn’t hesitate on those merits alone.
