Alaves' Spanish midfielder Pere Pons (R) challenges Atletico Madrid's Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey during the Spanish League football match between Atletico Madrid and Alaves at the Wanda Metropolitan stadium in Madrid on June 27, 2020. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP) (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta wants signings in 3 key positions this summer

Jul 18, 2020

Mikel Arteta is looking for Arsenal to sign a central midfielder, a centre-back and an attacking midfielder this summer, according to a report.

Arsenal's Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 15, 2020. (Photo by PAUL CHILDS / POOL / AFP) — Arsenal’s Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline on July 15, 2020. (Photo by PAUL CHILDS / POOL / AFP)

Goal claim Mikel Arteta sees a central midfielder as a priority this summer, with Thomas Partey top of the pile. He also wants Arsenal to sign another centre-back and an attacking midfielder ahead of next season.

The big caveat to this is that we still don’t know how much money Arsenal will have to spend. If they qualify for the Europa League, that adds around £30m to the club in revenue. But there are no guarantees that will happen.

Still, at least it seems the head coach has his transfer market priorities right. I’d argue those three positions are exactly the three Arsenal need to invest in to make the next step.

The midfield just isn’t good enough, particularly when you remove Dani Ceballos from the equation, as we probably will this summer. Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi could well follow the Spaniard out the door as well.

So Arsenal need a deep midfielder to replace the above, but they also need to add one who can provide goals and assists. That’s something they’re sorely lacking this season, even with Ceballos and Mesut Özil.

William Saliba is joining at centre-back, but Arsenal will struggle to find a reliable partner for him internally. David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi also all have contracts expiring in 2021. Finding a replacement is important.

The full-back positions are relatively secure, the goalkeeper spot is too, and you suspect Arsenal will only recruit up front if either Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave. So the other positions remain the priority.