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After a successful season, Mikel Arteta knows Arsenal can't stand still. We break down five potential signings, from proven Premier League talents to European superstars, who could be the key to silverware next season.
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00:00Winning the Premier League title is no excuse to stand still, and Mikel Arteta knows that.
00:04Having come so close to a Champions League title as well,
00:07the Arsenal boss will be more than aware of the need to improve his side ahead of next season.
00:11But who will he go for?
00:13From a Premier League up-and-comer to a bona fide European superstar,
00:16plus a lesser-known Spaniard,
00:17here are five players Arsenal should be looking at this summer.
00:20Now Alex Scott, head to the box, shoots!
00:22And scores an absolute beauty!
00:24First off, we're going to start with two homegrown talents.
00:27English lads, Premier League proven and therefore costing a huge amount of money.
00:31The first is Alex Scott.
00:33Yep, the same guy who supports Spurs and bagged what could have been a costly winner against Arsenal for Bournemouth
00:37during the title run-in.
00:39I'm not sure this rumour would have gone down to or had that altered the outcome of Arsenal's Premier League
00:42charge,
00:43but it didn't, so I think most will be able to gloss over it.
00:46At 22 years old, the midfielder actually sits in the perfect age range of a Mikel Arteta signing.
00:51In fact, since joining the club, of the 35 permanent signings the manager has made,
00:5516 of them, nearly half, are in the 21-24 age range.
01:00They aren't so young that a lack of experience may hinder their minutes on the pitch,
01:04and not so old that they are stuck in their ways and potentially unable to soak in all the tactical
01:08info Arteta gives them.
01:10But, age aside, it's his positional sense and carrying ability that really speak to what Arsenal could do with.
01:16If you look at this table from Opta, you'll see that he's described as a midfield catalyst,
01:20strong in areas of press resistance, ball carrying, and a creative threat.
01:24In fact, 21% of his carries last season were progressive,
01:27putting him fourth amongst all defensive midfielders in Europe's top five leagues.
01:31He's also in the 86th percentile for possession one in Europe's top five.
01:36All this to say that he offers more than just being a defensive midfielder.
01:40He can defend and drive forward at a similar level to Rice,
01:43progress the ball like Zubimendi,
01:44and has bags more experience in the middle of the park doing it than Myles Lewis Skelly.
01:48And for that good reason, not only is he a good squad option to take the position of any midfielder
01:53during the crazy schedule that comes with fighting for trophies on all fronts,
01:57but he also allows Arteta to change the attacking shape of his team mid-game.
02:01If you need forward thinkers, get him and Rice as a double pivot,
02:05knowing that either of them can sit and block the counter.
02:07If you need possession and control, play him alongside Zubimendi.
02:10The fact that he can also pop up with a goal or two is an added bonus,
02:14but that's normally left to the attackers in this gunner's machine,
02:17one of whom could be a new signing.
02:19And that is the second player on the list.
02:22This is Morgan Rodgers!
02:23Oh, it's a pitch!
02:25And it's Morgan Rodgers.
02:27Now, I will say from the off that getting him out of Aston Villa may cost upwards of £80 million,
02:31and doing so one year after signing Eberreche Eze may seem like overkill in that department,
02:35but, like I mentioned, standing still gets you nowhere in the footballing world.
02:39And actually, despite the fact that Eze signed last summer,
02:41Rodgers offers something different in that he has the attacking output to match the threat.
02:46Both are creative 10s slash left-wingers,
02:49and although Rodgers spends more time on the left,
02:51he still penetrates the box at a higher rate than Eze in the Premier League.
02:54I'm talking more shots per game, more key passes per game, more goals, more assists, more dribbles.
02:59This isn't to say that Eze is a bad player, of course,
03:02but Rodgers is much more heavily involved in an Aston Villa side,
03:04who play with similar principles to Arsenal.
03:07Disclaimer here, they are not the same, but it's similar types of style from Emery to Arteta.
03:12Both managers like a high press, a controlled box in the centre of the pitch that allows for overloads out
03:17wide,
03:17and although Emery's side do play with a little bit more directness and verticality,
03:21it's not just Eze who should be worried about the prospects of Rodgers joining.
03:25Because the truth is, he looks comfortable playing anywhere in the attacking midfield area,
03:29and that's what makes him so attractive to Arsenal.
03:32Odegaard's indifferent seasons seems to have left the No. 10 roll up for grabs, as it were.
03:35But Eze hasn't claimed it 100%, so Rodgers could slide in there.
03:39But the left-wing role is also, let's say, open to interpretation.
03:43Martinelli's inconsistent.
03:44Trossard has been vital for Arsenal over the course of the season,
03:47but isn't getting any younger and is entering the last year of his contract.
03:50And to be honest, when you think of some of the best left-wingers in the world, or even the
03:54league,
03:54I'd feel fairly confident in saying that if you ask an Arsenal fan which areas they need to buy in,
03:58left-wing would be one of them, 9 times out of 10.
04:01It's just not Trossard.
04:03Which leads me nicely to my next player.
04:05It's almost as if I've wrote this script myself.
04:07A player who would be an absolute statement signing for the ages.
04:10A left-winger that does fit the bill of being one of Europe's finest.
04:13And a player whose nationality holds a special place in the history of Arsenal Football Club.
04:18Headed down, chance for Barcola!
04:21French players in Arsenal Football Club.
04:23A tale as old as time, or as old as the mid-90s.
04:26Anyway, you get my drift.
04:27Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's the next Thierry Henry here,
04:30but if he pulls off anything like what Robert Pires was doing in his prime,
04:33right-backs up and down the country could be in big, big trouble.
04:36But before we get to the exciting bit of how good he could potentially be in an Arsenal shirt,
04:40let's get the realities out of the way first.
04:42And that is that Barcola plays for PSG.
04:45A team on top of Europe, as Arsenal well know, and not exactly short for cash.
04:49They don't need to sell for financial reasons,
04:51and now they've got all the footballing glory to offer the 23-year-old in terms of trophies.
04:56But maybe not in terms of minutes.
04:58The arrival of Kovicic for Atelier means that he isn't seeing as much action in recent months.
05:02And Arsenal's left wing represents an opportunity for him to go and be a certified starter.
05:07I mean, just look at his heat map from last season in Ligue 1.
05:10He's about as left wing as they come, holding the space out wide
05:13and allowing for those in the middle to control the game.
05:15In fact, if you look at Saka's heat map from last season,
05:18he holds almost identical width on the right-hand side.
05:20This is key for Arsenal, as it allows the wings to receive the ball in space
05:24and have a split second's more time to decide whether to dribble, pass,
05:28or link up with a teammate to work their way into the box
05:31and a potential goal-scoring opportunity.
05:33Which, funnily enough, are all in Barcola's wheelhouse.
05:36He's in the 86th percentile for attempted dribbles,
05:39the 88th through chances created,
05:41and the 93rd percentile for touches in the box, all of them per 90.
05:45His excitement, flair, speed, and output all rolled into one.
05:50I guess the same could be said for another player on this list
05:52who would definitely cost the club a record amount of money.
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06:33It's not a bad hit and it's a great chance.
06:35And Sporting have the lead.
06:37Before we get to that potential record-breaking player, though,
06:40let's have a look at the arguably less sexy side of the game,
06:42the defence.
06:44Because despite the fact that Urien Timber is one of,
06:46if not the best right-backs in the league,
06:48Arsenal need more than just one.
06:49And with a long-term injury only casting further doubts over Ben White's future at Arsenal,
06:53they need someone else to fill in.
06:55Now, I haven't seen so many strong transfer links recently.
06:58It seems to be just confined to Arsenal message boards.
07:01But Ivan Fresneda is an interesting name.
07:04He apparently rejected the club a few years ago to join Sporting from Real Valladolid.
07:08And now at 21, has obviously done well enough that both Newcastle and Man City
07:12have reportedly kept tabs on him.
07:15Is he the real deal?
07:16Eh, not yet.
07:18Defensively, he seems to play the part.
07:20These stats here show his competence in winning defensive and aerial duels,
07:23as well as ranking very highly in progressive carries.
07:25However, going forward, he leaves a lot to be desired.
07:28Now, obviously, judging full-backs on their goal contributions
07:30isn't the smartest tool of assessment.
07:32However, one goal and zero assists this season is alarming for such a dominant team in the division.
07:37Out of his 27 attempted crosses in the Champions League,
07:39just two have found a teammate.
07:41That's a little over 7% success rate.
07:43Still, the guy is 21.
07:45And what I think he has going for him in the transfer market
07:46is that Sporting don't appear to be holding out to get his full £69 million release clause.
07:51And from a squad depth level,
07:53he knows he'll get enough minutes throughout the season to develop as a backup to Timber.
07:56And for Arteta, he won't have a selection headache with a young player
07:59stepping up to the Premier League, beating down his door,
08:02demanding to start every game.
08:03Not in the first year or two, at least.
08:06Alvarez again.
08:07Oh, he's standing again!
08:09And then, finally, we come to the game-changer.
08:12The one who would break the bank and people's minds simultaneously
08:15waiting to sign on the dotted line for Arsenal.
08:18Julian Alvarez.
08:19I've got to point out at this point
08:21that there are very strong rumours linking him with Barcelona.
08:24But indulge me for a minute here,
08:26because I think he could be the guy that Arsenal need.
08:29Now, just from a player profile perspective,
08:32I think he's the complete player.
08:33There's, like, nothing he can't do,
08:35aside from being a physical bully.
08:36But, Arsenal signed one of them last summer.
08:38And if that had gone so well,
08:39we wouldn't be sitting here discussing other strikers.
08:42Also, as a side note,
08:43there's rumours that any deal seeing Alvarez head to the Emirates
08:45could involve Jokeres going the other way.
08:47Anyways, for Alvarez,
08:49I wouldn't put him down as a prolific goalscorer.
08:51As in, he won't challenge Haaland for the golden boot.
08:54But, if he's not scoring,
08:56his link-up play and ability to work with the other attacking talents around him
08:59is second to none.
09:00This season, 27 goals and 9 assists in all competitions is excellent.
09:04But it's complemented by being in the 92nd percentile across Europe
09:07for chances created.
09:09That's only just below Odegaard's 94th percentile,
09:13and Alvarez is a striker.
09:14For me, it's important because it represents an option
09:17that Arsenal didn't have last season.
09:19And that is someone with a goal-scoring and creative ability
09:21higher up the pitch to break down low blocks.
09:24The initial plan with Jokeres was that Arsenal had a focal point.
09:27They had someone who could run behind and stretch defences,
09:30leaving space for those behind to work in.
09:33The issue there was that many teams sat deep
09:35and didn't allow Arsenal that room.
09:36Hence, their over-reliance on set pieces
09:38and physically forcing the ball into the net.
09:40It also limited how effective Jokeres could be.
09:43In Alvarez, Arsenal would have someone with the ability to score goals,
09:46but also to unlock the stubborn defences from closer to the goal,
09:49where you can see he happens to be creating many of his chances from.
09:53Having a more fluid centre-forward who moves centre-backs out of positions,
09:56who links up well with other attacking minor players,
09:59is more in the Havertz realm.
10:01However, statistically, he is worse than Alvarez in every way.
10:04And the reason that this is important
10:06is because it could allow Saka and her potential new left-winger
10:08to move beyond their fairly static areas of influence.
10:11If you look at Odegaard's heat map,
10:13he's spending much time in the right-half space,
10:15but rarely goes beyond the striker.
10:17We've seen Saka staying out wide.
10:19Eze's in the left-half space.
10:21There is nobody really box-crashing or making darting runs in,
10:24and Arsenal need more of that.
10:25They need the Saka from a few years ago,
10:27who was hitting 15-plus goals in the league
10:29by getting into those dangerous positions.
10:31Having so many deeper attackers renders them ineffectual.
10:35Alvarez's tactical and individual profile
10:37could change all of that.
10:39Now, it should go without saying
10:40that Arsenal are unlikely to sign all of these players,
10:42but given how much they've spent in recent years
10:44and the knack of the club having recruited really, really well,
10:47I would have put it past them to get a couple in at least
10:49and build on their Premier League title next season.
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