Arsenal expected to confirm £60m and £17m transfers before marquee striker signing

Arsenal will now turn attention to the summer transfer window having been knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners still have plenty to play for in the league with Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United breathing down their necks in the chase for Champions League football next season. Mikel Arteta’s men will expect to hold their points advantage over the final three fixtures with no time to waste for technical director Andrea Berta ahead of the upcoming window.

In the minutes after defeat to PSG at the Parc des Princes, both Arteta and Declan Rice pointed to injury problems as being a key factor in that match and the Gunners must add strength in depth in order to compete on all fronts for the 2025/26 season. Signing a talisman is the number one priority for Berta with Arteta having to field central midfielder Mikel Merino in that role in recent weeks due to injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

Arsenal may wait to move for marquee striker signing

There have been no shortage of transfer rumours for who that talisman could be. Sporting CP bagsman Viktor Gyokeres, Newcastle United star Alexander Isak and Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins are all possible candidates but it may be a goalkeeper and midfielder who arrive at the Emirates Stadium before the striker.

FourFourTwo this week shared reports of who could be the first two names added to the Arsenal squad in the near future. The first is Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

The 24-year-old is unlikely to take over from David Raya but will provide added competition - Raya has only failed to start three matches in all competitions this summer. FourFourTwo claims that Arsenal have ‘already agreed terms’ with Espanyol over a £17 million transfer after starting negotiations last summer.

Meanwhile, there has been no shortage of reports that Arsenal are monitoring a move for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. Real Madrid were, at one point, claimed to be looking to hijack that deal but TEAMtalk has reported that the La Liga giants have now pulled out of the race.

Andrea Berta and Arsenal confident of Martin Zubimendi deal

David Ornstein added to the belief that the Zubimendi transfer is a done deal last month when writing that Arsenal are ‘acting internally as if that is a done deal’. While signing a striker is a priority, boosting midfield options is also of importance in north London.

Thomas Partey and Jorginho are both coming to the end of their deals at Arsenal. The latter is set to leave for Flamengo with some murmurings that Partey could be offered an extension, but that is yet to be confirmed. Ornstein said: “It’s something Thomas Partey is very keen on himself, he’s happy at Arsenal, his family are enjoying living in London and as I understand it he would be open to a new two-year contract, or a one-year contract with an option to extend by 12 months and he would like to have improved terms as well.

“If an agreement is not struck, Thomas Partey does have alternative options and he will look to pursue them. His fellow midfielder Jorginho is going to be leaving, we believe, when his own terms expire at the end of this campaign.

“They’ll be adding to the midfield with the arrival of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. Arsenal are acting internally as if that is a done deal.”

In other news, Arsenal star who gifted PSG victory must be axed by Andrea Berta - opinion.