Arsenal working on six transfer deals as Mikel Arteta makes priority clear

Arsenal have work to do in the transfer window if they want to challenge Liverpool for the Premier League title next season but are yet to announce a new signing this summer

It's fair to say Arsenal haven't quite hit the ground running in the transfer window so far, to the frustration of many supporters.

The Gunners are expected to be one of the busier sides in the market as manager Mikel Arteta looks to get them battling for the Premier league title once again amid fierce competition from reigning champions Liverpool and Manchester City.

There is plenty of pressure on the Spaniard after another season without silverware and he'll need some additions in order to close the gap on their rivals. New transfer chief Andrea Berta has just arrived and is said to be hard at work trying to secure new arrivals.

There are plenty of areas Arsenal need to improve upon in their squad - not least up front after being left without a recognised No.9 for much of the 2024-25 campaign. The team need that more than ever after getting a tough start to the season after the new fixtures were announced.

Arteta could also do with a new midfielder after losing Jorginho to a free transfer and a new winger is also high up on their list of priorities in order to upgrade the squad. Here is the transfer state of play at the Emirates after the window reopened on Monday.

Confirmed signings

As mentioned, Arsenal are yet to unveil a new signing so far this summer - which is a concern considering how busy rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have been.

Even Manchester United have confirmed one buy with the arrival of Matheus Cunha. With Liverpool signing Jeremie Frimpong and set to add £116.5m Florian Wirtz and £45m Milos Kerkez, they will be even harder to stop - while Manchester City have added Tijjan Reijnders.

Arsenal have been linked with plenty of players and one that is expected to be completed soon is Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

The Spanish international is rated as one of the best midfielders in Europe right now after his stunning season in La Liga and he would add some real steel and quality to Arsenal's midfield. Last week it was revealed Arsenal would pay more than his £51m release clause to get his signature secured.

There has been reports the deal has taken longer than expected to be confirmed because Sociedad wanted it to go through in July for accounting reasons - while Arsenal were bartering over the structure of the transfer. So hopefully for supporters, it won't be too long before their first signing is unveiled.

Next targets

Alongside Zubimendi, Arsenal are hunting a new forward and have two primary targets - Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres.

Both deals have been complex to negotiate, with Red Bull Leipzig and Sporting Lisbon demanding high prices respectively.

According to a report from German outlet Bild, Arsenal have already agreed personal terms with Slovenian forward Sesko and now need to agree a fee with his club - who are reportedly holding out for a fee between £68.5m and £85.5m.

Arsenal fly out for their pre-season tour of Asia next month and confidence is said to be growing that they can thrash out a deal before then.

As for Gyokeres, that deal looks far more complicated with Sporting playing hardball over their star striker, who netted 53 times in all competitions last season and is one of Europe's most sought-after forwards.

Arsenal appear to be in the driving seat to sign Gyokeres after he rejected United, but the player has been left infuriated by his club inflating his price tag and reportedly rejected clear-the-air talks this week.

Sporting's president recently insisted he would not sell the striker for £60m, so it's likely Arsenal would have to stump up a huge fee to sign him.

Another target for Arsenal is Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, though the North Londoners face stiff competition from Barcelona to snap up the Spain international.

Confirmed departures

Arteta has already bid farewell to two players who have left on free transfers - Jorginho, who has joined Brazilian side Flamengo, and Kieran Tierney. The Scottish international has re-signed for Celtic.

Those departures have added some room to manoeuvre in the wage budget, while Arteta has also raked in some funds from permanent exits.

Forgotten left-back Nuno Tavares, who has spent the last three seasons out on loan - has joined Lazio for around £7.6m after spending the last campaign with for the Italian side.

Meanwhile, forward Marquinhos has not featured for Arsenal's first team since his first season in 2022-23 and has been loaned out in all four seasons since - and now he has finally got his exit, with Brazilian side Cruzeiro buying the 22-year-old.

Eyeing exits

One Arsenal player who appears to be close to leaving north London is midfielder Thomas Partey.

The Ghana international signed for around £45m from Atletico Madrid in 2020 and he has been a useful member of the squad, making 167 appearances across five seasons, but is expected to leave when his contract expires at the end of the month.

With no news on an extension coming in recent weeks, his future looks more likely to lie away from the Emirates. At the start of the month, the club announced "discussions were ongoing" over a possible new deal.

Even if he did commit his future to Arsenal, he would have a lesser role in the first team next season - especially when Zubimendi's arrival is announced. Fenerbahce, Barcelona and AC Milan have all been linked with snapping him up on a free transfer.

There have also been reports that forward Leandro Trossard could leave for a Saudi Pro League club after struggling to earn regular game time, with his wife even teasing a "farewell" message on social media as she captioned a post "grateful for the beautiful moments".