Arsenal’s defeat at the hands of Newcastle on Monday did more than damage the club's chances of qualifying for the Champions League. With the transfer window looming, persuading the players they so desperately need to join the club will prove a tougher task.
This is made even harder when taking into consideration that Newcastle will be targeting the same type of players, as Arsenal and they have the financial advantages if and when transfer battles commence.
It will be imperative for Stan Kroenke to once again spend heavily in this transfer window, but not on the same type of profile that was seen last summer. Arsenal needs players who are to ready to compete with the best in the league, and already have Champions League experience.
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Last summer the foundations of Edu’s summer recruitment strategy was largely successful as the Gunners have a good young core to work with. However, the team now needs quality players around these youngsters to elevate their level. The likes of Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares have done little to raise standards in the squad, despite the success of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Gunners missed out on a Champions League spot this season due to the lack of star power in their squad. Tottenham is being spearheaded by two stars in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, which has propelled them to the fourth spot.
Arsenal must do the same in the summer transfer window, but this will not be without Kronke heavily investing in the market. Other clubs will be chasing similar players, and with Newcastle likely to knock on the door of European qualification next season after a show of Champions League form in the second half of the current campaign, Kroenke must be aggressive in the transfer market.
The Gunners have been heavily linked to players such as Youri Tielemans and Gabriel Jesus. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners are preparing the opening bid for Jesus. Manchester City want around £50m to sell the forward, even if his current deal won’t be extended. Alongside this, CBS Sports have reported that the Gunners are currently the front runners to sign Youri Tielemans, in what could be a summer spending spree.
Eddie Howe added Bruno Guimaraes to his team in the January transfer window, despite Arsenal also reportedly being interested in the midfielder, which caused unrest amongst the fanbase.
The Gunners failed to sign a midfielder in the winter window, which made losing out on Guimaraes feel even worse for the north London side, as he certainly would have improved Mikel Arteta’s midfield, who will be set to suffer from a lack of depth in the summer, due to the huge number of offloads in this position.
Kroenke can not repeat this approach to the summer transfer window, otherwise, Newcastle will continue to beat Arsenal to the top signings. For Arsenal to finally achieve Champions League football, marquee signings will be needed in the summer, with Kroenke needing to play a huge role.
