As we’re less than a month out from the 2022/23 Premier League season, positivity is running high through the Arsenal locker room. Mikel Arteta has already made four significant summer transfer window signings with the arrival of Gabriel Jesus, Marquinihos, Matt Turner, and Fabio Viera.
The Gunners played their second pre-season friendly of the summer last Friday as they squared off against Germany’s Nurnberg in collaboration with their German training camp.
Arteta’s men delivered an eight-goal thriller, defeating Nurnberg 5-3. This was another positive pre-season success after defeating Ipswich town last weekend (5-1). Arsenal will travel to America for a handful of pre-season fixtures against Everton, Orlando City, and Chelsea. The final friendly game of the pre-season will come against Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium.
The landscape of Arsenal’s summer transfer window has generated nothing but positive vibes. Arteta’s squad is already stacked with four huge signings as Gabriel Jesus, Marqunihos, Matt Turner, and Fabio Viera have joined North London’s finest, with more arrivals expected to be on the Arsenal training ground before the new season.
Bennacer Returning?
Recent rumours have suggested that AC Milan’s Algerian international midfielder Ismael Bennacer – who assisted Milan in capturing the Serie A title last season – could be returning to the Gunners after the club let him go in 2017. Bennacer was on the Arsenal squad from 2015 to 2017 but didn’t appear in a Premier League game, with his lone appearance for the club coming in an EFL Cup loss to Sheffield Wednesday.
Arsenal is revaluating its past loss, and reports suggest a £34 million bid could arrive from the North London club within the following weeks.
In December 2020, Bennacer said his young age forced him to live in a hotel when first arriving at Arsenal in 2015, and because he didn’t want to impose on a family, the anxiousness of his move to England was too much too soon.
Top Four Finish
With betting odds as high as 67/1, UK betting sites aren’t expecting much from the Gunners this season. Still, if their 2021/22 second-half turnaround is anything to go by, Arsenal could be an underestimated team to bet on this term.
The first half of the EPL last season was evidently the downfall of Arsenal’s success, as Arteta’s squad was positioned in the lower half of the table before the mid-season turnaround in form. Despite fighting back strong from December to the 2021/22 season’s end in May, the Gunners missed a return to Champions League football after losing the fourth-placed position to their North London rivals Tottenham.
Frenchman William Gallas – a former Arsenal and Tottenham defender – expects his former clubs to challenge the top-four race next term, and he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Gunners and Spurs battling it out for the fourth place in the EPL table again.
When questioned about the top four. Gallas said: “I don’t want to, but I have to put [Manchester] City because they look like they will be very strong. So, City, Chelsea, Liverpool definitely. Then the same problem, Arsenal and Tottenham, I don’t know.”
£42 Million Bid
French media conglomerate Media Foot have reported that Arsenal is likely to sign Brazilian international Lucas Paqueta and beat Newcastle to the punch by outbidding the North English side.
The Magpies have placed a £34m bid to sign the Lyon midfielder, who has a close relationship and is former teammates with Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes. However, Arsenal is expected to sway Paqueta to join them at the Emirates Stadium instead.
Pacqueta would be the fifth South American installment for Arsenal – should they acquire his services – as they’ve already signed two Brazilian standouts with the arrival of winger Maquinhos from Sao Paulo and forward Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City.
The President of Lyon, Jean-Michel Aulas, is apparently holding out for a £55m before accepting any offers. Still, the 24-year-old has expressed interest in leaving the French side to pursue a new challenge.
As well as Newcastle’s bid for the Brazilian, Serie A’s Roma have also shown an interest in Pacquetas’ services; he scored nine goals and provided an additional six assists from 35 Ligue 1 appearances last term.