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Arsenal have been tipped to make four big signings this summer with new director of football Andrea Berta at the helm.
But fans have been warned the club might have to get ‘creative’ to find the money for what Mikel Arteta is expecting to be the club’s biggest transfer window for years - including selling players they might not want to see go.
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Gooners might be about to get the big-spending transfer window they have been dreaming of for years following the appointment of Berta.
Arsenal announced the arrival of the Italian supremo on Sunday, four months after the departure of ex-sporting director and player Edu.
Berta comes with some track record, having been the mastermind behind Atletico Madrid for 12 years before he stepped down from his role in January.
He was behind some of the top deals in European football during his spell in Madrid, and has quickly been given one key task following his arrival at Arsenal - sign a striker.
European football expert Guillem Balague believes that’s not all the north London club will have up their sleeves in the transfer window, though, as he sees the Gunners looking to strengthen in three key areas.
And he’s named the targets he understands they will go after.
“Arsenal are going to have to think of five replacements to the players that are either leaving or finishing contracts, and they're going to have to get three or four players that go straight into the line-up,” Balague said on TNT Sports ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash at Everton on Saturday.
“I would say a left winger, a centre-forward, a holding midfielder.
“We heard the names, Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres perhaps, certainly Benjamin Sesko or Nico Williams - those are the names they will try to get.”
talkSPORT understands Gyokeres is open to a move to the Emirates this summer and Arsenal are set to open talks with Sporting Lisbon.
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Sesko has also made it clear he would prefer a move to Arsenal over their Premier League rivals this summer, with both strikers deemed by the Gunners to be more attainable options than Alexander Isak, who is said to be valued at £150m by Newcastle.
Spain star Williams is also high on the north London club's wishlist, while talkSPORT reported in January that a deal with Zubimendi was already in the works.
That’s not all, though, as Arteta’s team could see some major surgery this summer after a third failed Premier League title bid.
Three players are already set to leave at the end of their contracts in Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney.
More could follow them out the door, with questions over the futures of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior, while there have been doubts about Gabriel Martinelli’s form throughout the season.
Balague admits the Gunners don’t have the money in the bank to make multiple big signings without generating funds through sales.
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And decent bids for Martinelli and even Mr Reliable Leandro Trossard might see them go if it means signing top quality replacements.
“Berta is going to have to be creative,” explained Balague.
“Arsenal are not here with the intention of spending £200m or £300m. They just want to be creative with what they've got and what they need.
“They don't have a huge amount of money they can use. So they're going to have to sell as well.
“Arteta has said he's the biggest transfer window for a long while and having Berta next to him, in a partnership with him, will definitely help.”
But fans have been told to put their faith in Berta, who has a track record of shrewd deals, big-name signings and helping to create ‘winning culture’.
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On the new Gunners chief, Balague said: “He's been described to me by one of the decision makers, he's experienced, he's a hard worker and he's got... I cannot use the word… he's very brave, let’s say it that way. Very brave.”
He’s got big cajones, is what he means.
Balague added: “He worked in a bank to start with and then as a 27-year-old man, got in charge of a team as director of football, an amateur team, and took them professionalism, two divisions, three divisions up.
“From then he went to Parma, Genoa and there he met Peter Kenyon who recommended him to Atletico Madrid.
“You have to say that he was the architect of Atletico Madrid that won the league twice, managed to get to the Champions League final twice, won the Europa League. That's him working alongside Simeone in a very discreet way.
“He doesn't give interviews, doesn't give press conferences. We don't know personally much about him, but certainly he's a top negotiator and considered one of the best in the business.
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“There's a bunch of very good stories. Antoine Griezmann returning twice for instance, Jan Oblak is a really good player for Atletico Madrid. He was the one that got Thibaut Courtois to Atletico Madrid as well. You can list a long list of players that have got quality and have been consistent.
“Perhaps the worst of all is Joao Felix. Felix is somebody Simeone did not want, but both the club and Berta felt that investing a lot in him was a good thing to do. It didn't work.
“Arsenal went for Berta because he wants to create alongside Mikel Arteta a winning culture.
“This is a guy that's done very well in the context of Real Madrid and Barcelona - they have more money, and yet he managed to get to that extra bit that Arsenal doesn't seem to get to.”
