THIS summer transfer window for Arsenal has been five years inthe making.
And according to boss Mikel Arteta, it is going to be a “big one”;.
Taking over in December 2019, Arteta muddled his way through a roller-coaster first term in charge — one that ended with an eighth-placed Premier League finish and FA Cup glory.
In September 2020, his title then changed from head coach to manager, and the Spaniard set out his five-year plan to transform the club back into challengers for major honours.
Four summer windows have come and gone since then, plus a huge gutting and rebuilding process that sees the North Londoners’ squad unrecognisable from the start of Arteta’s reign.
Summer No 5 is just two months away, and finds the Gunners agonisingly close to ending their title drought, looking likely to fall just short for a third year in a row with Liverpool 12 points ahead of them with nine games to go.
As a result, this window will be all about the missing pieces of the jigsaw.
The first piece has potentially already walked through the door — new sporting director Andrea Berta who begins work at London Colney this week.
And the Italian, alongside a leadership team that includes Arteta, will now be tasked with doing what his predecessor Edu never managed — landing that elite yet elusive game-changing No 9.
Splash £100million or more for Newcastle star Alexander Isak, 25?
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Even more for 22-year-old Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt?
Between £50m and £60m for Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres, 26, or 25-year-old Wolves star Matheus Cunha?
Or in the region of £70m to £80m for Red Bull Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko who is still only 21?
Whoever it is, Arteta is ready to go big this summer.
He explained: “It’s going to be a big one and we are very excited about it.
“The way we planned the five first summers, they were going to be very big and they were going to have different objectives.
“In the beginning there were a lot of players with three, four or five-yearcontracts, so the turnaround of the squad and how you visualise the next five years was very dependent on that.
“There are certain positions we didn’t expect to have someone like Ethan Nwaneri or Myles Lewis-Skelly contributing to, which has been great.
“The way you start to evolve, you start to master certain things then the changes cannot be that much. That’s where we are.
“The line now is thinner, the margins are smaller. But the cost of that, as well, increases. So it goes a little bit in a different direction.
“We want to increase the depth of the squad, but as well, we want to increase the quality and the skills we need to go to the next step.
“It’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.”;
Berta, 53, introduced himself to journalists at London Colney ahead of Arteta’s press conference previewing tonight’s home clash with Fulham.
He is a quiet, unassuming man, preferring to stay out of the spotlight and has his work do the talking, just like he did for over a decade at Atletico Madrid, recruiting players and building squads that won LaLiga in 2014 and 2021 and reached two Champions League finals.
Berta is ready to shake up the status quo of the transfer team that includes managing director Richard Garlick, executive vice-chair Tim Lewis, co-owners Stan and Josh Kroenke and director of football operations James King.
Arteta said: “It’s a big addition to the club, to the team, a team that is already formed with a lot of great people. That's what we need. New blood with people that are so ambitious.
“He’s got this personality, this charisma and this drive to win that is going to be very contagious.
“What we want to do is clear, for [Berta] to jump on board and hopefully twist it and make it better. I’m veryconfident he is going to make everyone better. I want to add value.
“Straight away the words that come out of Berta’s mouth are always winning, improving and demanding. He’s very honest, very straightforward.
“There’s a very clear vision of what he wants to do.
“He was so willing to join us, which is a very positive thing as well because he had many other possibilities and he’s chosen to come to us.
“And now it’s about us giving him the support and the understanding of the situation and context straight away.
“And to start to do what he’s already done for many, many years at the highest level, which has been very impressive.
“To have people with different expertise, experiences, and they have already done it. It’s very, very helpful.”;
Arsenal have confirmed they will play the first North London Derby outside the UK in a pre-season clash against Tottenham in Hong Kong on July 31.
