Arsenal never do anything for the sake of it and their planning in the transfer market has seen the club rise through the table from eleventh when Mikel Arteta took over to back-to-back title races which saw the gap to Manchester City close to just two points last season. Despite this, there is always a sense of panic or even desperation from fans when the transfer scene remains somewhat quiet.
It is a year where the news surrounding Arsenal has not been particular forthcoming but it should be said this is neither negative nor surprising. football.londonreported in 2022 when the signing of Fabio Vieira was announced that the strategy to be secretive about their transfer business would aim to be repeated in future windows.
It remains a challenge to do this with talk from intermediaries and agents often making the secrecy of deals in the modern day much trickier. Furthermore, it was obvious in 2023 that Declan Rice was a key target for quite some time, just like Gabriel Jesus the summer before.
However, the move for Kai Havertz certainly came as more of a surprise as Arsenal saw a market opportunity with Chelsea open to selling the German international. A move which drew plenty of attention and scrutiny at the time has since been vindicated by the German’s performances for the Gunners.
This summer is different considering it is the first summer international tournament for European nations since the Euros in 2020. The Winter World Cup in 2022 provided a summer free of much of the upheaval these tournaments can bring to the transfer market.
Players like to focus on their football and with the Copa America taking place in the United States, it has only furthered the potential delay of some deals. One early move that looked like it had potential was for Benjamin Sesko although football.londonunderstood at the time that much of the noise appeared to be louder than the reality of the move and subsequently the Slovenian signed a new deal with RB Leipzig.
With that now having reached its conclusion, it looks as though potential deals will indeed take place later when the Euros and Copa America begin to see sides eliminated from the competition. Players do take extended holiday from action and pre-season if they are involved in summer tournaments which could potentially have a further impact.
The club are confident that they will have a stronger squad by the end of the window, football.london has been told. Fans however may need to be somewhat patient and appreciate the context of this summer window in particular.
The club are aware of the needs in the forward line, midfield, defence and potential goalkeeper that will need addressing. Mikel Arteta’s final day words telling supporters not to be satisfied was all that were needed to be heard to understand the ambition of this club and signings are indeed a pivotal part of that.
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