Mikel Arteta has revealed that he is expecting another busy transfer window this summer as he continues his squad overhaul at Arsenal.
The Gunners brought in six new players in the summer, the most of any top-flight club, while over 15 players left the club across the summer and January transfer window.
This has left the north London outfit stretched thin for the remainder of the campaign, with just 18 outfield players available for Mikel Arteta to call upon, meaning that youth prospects often fill out the substitutes bench.
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And at least three of these outfield players are expected to leave this summer with Mohamed Elneny, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah all out of contract in June and not expected to be offered new ones.
Despite this, Arteta wants a bigger first team squad. Speaking ahead of the game against Brighton, where three points is a must following a disappointing loss to Crystal Palace that saw them drop out of the top 4, the Arsenal boss claimed he wanted a squad of 22 outfield players.
‘If you ask me what I want, it’s 22 outfield players and three GKs’, he told the media.
Loanees to return?
There is scope for some of these holes to be filled by loanees. The likes of Folarin Balogun, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and William Saliba are all youngsters starring on loan away at other clubs, while January signing Matt Turner is expected to replace Bernd Leno as second-choice goalkeeper.
William Saliba has impressed for Marseilles, and was handed his France senior debut last month (Photo by John Berry/Getty Images).
But, from a purely numerical standpoint, this would still leave Arteta four players short of his magic 22, before any further departures are considered, with question marks over the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Granit Xhaka.
It could be another record-breaking summer at the Emirates Stadium.
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