Arsenal have been very busy in the summer transfer window despite not yet having announced officially any of their deals. A fortnight ago supporters were concerned, in some cases prematurely angry, that nothing was supposedly getting done.
Fast forward to the present day, and by the start of July, the Gunners could potentially have landed as many as four players, with the potential for two or even three more to come in before the end of the window. Arsenal have had a bid rejected by Valencia, football.londonunderstands for Cristhian Mosquera, whom the club want to be their new defensive option, with the 21-year-old keen on the move to the Premier League side.
Many may wonder why all of a sudden it appears deals have kicked into gear for the Gunners, and outside of players and executives returning from end-of-season holidays (yes, that is a genuine reason that can delay talks and moves), as of next week, we will be entering July. This threshold is important for accounting reasons for clubs, either through Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) or the more restrictive Financial Fair Play, which hamstrings those involved in UEFA competitions.
The long-awaited deal of Martin Zubimendi is expected to be announced. The club have had this deal advanced for many months and even after a late scare from Real Madrid, Mikel Arteta’s dream defensive midfield signing is about to become a reality.
Having activated the £5million release clause in Kepa Arrizabalaga’s contract, the Spaniard is due to be announced as the club’s brand new competitor to David Raya. He will complete an all-Spanish goalkeeping line-up with Raya and coach Inaki Cana.
Then there is Christian Norgaard, with whom the club have agreed a deal with Brentford to sign and was due to undergo a medical at Arsenal. He, too, will be announced as the replacement for Jorginho and will help to deal with the expected exit of Thomas Partey from the club.
The hope is now with talks on for the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres that the completion of these three moves, plus the prospective transfer of Cristhian Mosquera, will begin to accelerate the complicated, expensive marquee moves. With July also comes the return of players to pre-season training on the week commencing July 7 and then the tour of Asia with the players understood to be flying out on July 19, the first match against AC Milan four days later.
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