Arsenal aim to bridge gap to Premier League crown with investment this summer window

National World - LocalTV

After another campaign of near-misses and high expectations, Arsenal enter the summer determined to take that final step under Mikel Arteta. The foundations are strong: a young, ambitious squad, a defined playing style, and the belief that they’re closing in on silverware. We spoke to Jack Abela of LondonWorld to explore Arsenal’s approach to the window, the positions under review, and how the club is positioning itself to finally reclaim the Premier League crown.

Transcript

00:00After another campaign of near misses and high expectations, Arsenal enter the summer

00:08determined to take that final step under Mikel Arteta.

00:12The foundation's a strong, a young, ambitious squad, a defined playing style and the belief

00:17that they're closing in on silverware.

00:20Bridging the gap to Premier League success will require fine margins, particularly in

00:26the transfer market.

00:28Arsenal are expected to target a high-quality central midfielder and greater depth in attack,

00:33with Arteta keen to ensure the team can remain consistent across all competitions.

00:40Injuries in key areas proved costly last season and addressing those vulnerabilities is a priority.

00:46Mentality is another focus as Arteta has instilled resilience, but navigating crunch moments in

00:52title races still require growth.

00:54Leadership on and off the pitch will be key and so will rotation options capable of maintaining

01:00intensity without dropping standards.

01:03We spoke to Jacobella of London World to explore Arsenal's approach to the window, the positions

01:09under review and how the club is positioning itself to finally reclaim the Premier League

01:15crown.

01:15And, you know, we've obviously mentioned the striker situation, the number nine, the lack

01:22of goals.

01:24Who'd they go for in the summer?

01:26Who, you know, is that still the solution to this?

01:29And obviously, if they are to get a world-class number nine in an ideal world, does Arteta then

01:35run out of excuses if they aren't delivering?

01:37If he does find a, you know, 15, 20 goal a season in the Premier League striker, they've got

01:43to go all the way, you feel?

01:46Yeah, absolutely.

01:47I mean, we mentioned, you know, briefly earlier January, and I think a lot of Arsenal fans

01:52were upset that Arsenal didn't go and sign a striker there.

01:55I think, you know, what's becoming maybe increasingly clear is, you know, at that time, Arsenal didn't

02:00have a permanent sporting director.

02:01Jason Ato was in on a temporary basis after Edu left.

02:05And I think while signing a striker would have helped push for maybe the Champions League

02:11in the Premier League at that point, maybe the right thing to do was to wait for the

02:14sporting director to come in and go again this season.

02:18You know, Arsenal fans won't be happy with that.

02:20But now, Andrea Berta is in.

02:23He's an experienced sporting director from Atletico Madrid.

02:26And I think, you know, by all accounts, it looks like he's ready to come in and make

02:30a real statement and back Arteta.

02:32Who do we want?

02:34Well, look, Arteta loves Alexander Isak.

02:37That's been widely reported.

02:40That's going to be a pretty impossible get, I'd imagine, especially if Newcastle get Champions

02:44League.

02:45You know, if Newcastle beat Arsenal at the Emirates at the weekend, then, you know, they

02:52will look favourites to go second place as well.

02:54So whether Isak would even want to leave is another question altogether.

02:57It looks as if Victor Jocheres is the number one target.

03:04Andrea Berta has made it very clear that he's a big fan of the Sporting Lisbon striker, who,

03:10you know, scored 95 goals in 100 games for Sporting Lisbon.

03:14Obviously, you know, that league is slightly different to the Premier League.

03:17We know it's not as strong.

03:19But, you know, those numbers still, you can't turn your nose up at that.

03:21So if Arsenal go out and get a Jocheres or a Benjamin Sesko, I think, especially if Arsenal

03:29get Jocheres, who's, you know, looks to be a proven goal scorer, I think it will be played

03:36as the final piece of the puzzle for Arteta.

03:40And yeah, without, with a big centre forward, it does, yeah, it seems like you say that will

03:46be the final piece of the puzzle and the pressure will be on Arteta to deliver.

03:50Now, whether or not Jocheres is Arteta's dream signing is another conversation.

03:56But yeah, I think you're right.

03:57That's also, you know, you have to bear in mind, we have to try and keep all the players

04:01this window as well.

04:02I think if Arsenal maintain their squad, I can't really see anyone leaving.

04:05But Real Madrid have looked at William Saliba.

04:08If that was to happen, then suddenly you've got another situation that you need to fix at

04:11the back.

04:12And, you know, if Arsenal can keep hold of this current squad and sign a top striker in

04:17Europe, then yeah, I mean, they need another winger as well.

04:21But yeah, they've got a really good chance and then pressure really will start to mount

04:26on Arteta and Arsenal to get a big trophy over the line.

04:30It will be interesting to see how it develops for sure.

04:33But yeah, as you say, if Arsenal had the form they had last season, yeah, they'd definitely

04:39be with a shout.

04:39But I think that mental and physical fatigue has just caught up within this campaign.

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