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Mikel Arteta has suggested he will oversee another spending spree at Arsenal this summer and defended his decision to offload five first-team players in January.
The Gunners spent more than £100m on the likes of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard last summer, with Arsenal’s decision to back Arteta financially paying dividends.
Arsenal have recovered from a dismal start to the season to climb to joint-fourth in the Premier League and Arteta’s side are still in a good position to qualify for next season’s Champions League despite recent defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool.
A return to Europe will present its own challenges and Arteta expects Arsenal to be busy in the summer transfer window after trimming his squad in January.
Asked if he anticipates a busy summer at the north London club, Arteta said: ‘I am expecting so, yes.
‘I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.
‘If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers.
‘You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time.’
Arsenal’s top-four hopes have been dealt a blow by recent injuries to midfielder Thomas Partey and left-back Kieran Tierney.
The Gunners are short of bodies ahead of Saturday’s crucial clash with Brighton but Arteta insists it was not a mistake to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles leave the Emirates at the…
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Source : metro
