Arsenal sign £168m attacking duo as £51m midfielder arrives in dream XI next season if transfer rumours true

Arsenal are poised to make a move for a new striker this summer. The Gunners looked at adding to their forward options in January but were unable to get a deal done.

Mikel Arteta’s side did make a £60m bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins but saw that swiftly rejected by their Premier League rivals. There were claims an improved bid could arrive from North London but it never came to fruition.

Arsenal’s failure to sign a striker has been exasperated by an injury to Kai Havertz. The forward is out for the season after picking up a hamstring issue during a training session in Dubai. The Gunners are unlikely to turn to the free agent market, with Bukayo Saka out until next month at the least, while Gabriel Jesus is also out for the remainder of the campaign due to an ACL injury.

As the Gunners now prepare for Premier League games with West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, we take a look at how Arteta’s starting XI could look next season if the latest transfer rumours are true.

Arsenal to add new midfielder

The Gunners defence does not need much work as things stand with Arteta creating one of the best defences in the Premier League over recent seasons. According to reports from last month, a deal has already been agreed to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. The Spanish international has a release clause of £51m in his contract. Liverpool met that fee in the summer but after the clubs had agreed a transfer, the player decided against moving to Merseyside.

His reported arrival will come amid claims that Jorginho has agreed a pre-contract with Brazilian side Flamengo. Thomas Partey is also out of contract and as things stand he is free to agree a move to another club outside of England. Arteta addresses the pair’s contract situation in early January, as he said: “I don’t want to start to have these conversations now, I want to have these conversations much later because the focus has to be on what we have to do in the season. They can understand the intentions and then we can see what we can do.

“It’s close communication with them to understand as well what their idea is, what they want to do, express as well our intentions and then let’s decide for everybody what is the best option there.”

Arsenal to target striker and winger

According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will also look to add a striker and a winger to their ranks in the summer. Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig are the two main targets. Isak already has Premier League experience and has shown his ability to exceed in the division while Sesko has been a key player for Leipzig. Arsenal are likely to only sign one of the two players, and in our view, Isak should be the top priority but Newcastle are ready to demand £120m for his services.

The Magpies do not want to lose him and with three years remaining on his contract, the St James’ Park club are in a strong position. As the Gunners look for a winger, Nico Williams has been repeatedly linked with a move to North London. He has a release clause of £48m and Arsenal would only need to match it in order to sign him - if he was open to the move.

Arsenal’s dream XI next season if the transfer rumours are true: Raya, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber, Rice, Zubimendi, Williams, Isak, Saka.

In other news, the Premier League has made a decision that will impact the Premier League clubs for another season.