Arsenal's £204m Spree Leaves Arteta With Squad Dilemma

Arsenal opinion Six players signed, £204m spent and Arsenal still have one glaring squad issue The Gunners have been active in the summer transfer window to give Mikel Arteta the perfect Premier League squad footballlondon Bookmark Share Comments Arsenal opinion By Lee Wilmot Head of Football 07:00, 16 JUL 2025 Bookmark Martin Zubimendi at the Sobha Realty Training Centre following his transfer to Arsenal (Image: Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) Sign up to the free Arsenal newsletter so you don't miss the latest Gunners news, straight to your inbox More Newsletters Subscribe Please enter a valid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show me See Our Privacy Notice See Our Privacy Notice × Group 28 Sign up to the free Arsenal newsletter so you don't miss the latest Gunners news, straight to your inbox Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up No thanks, close We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice Arsenal have signed three new players in the summer transfer window already and are set to add at least three more to their ranks too. Kepa Arrizabalaga made the move across London to sign from Chelsea in a deal worth £5million, with Martin Zubimendi completing a £55million move from Real Sociedad and Christian Norgaard arriving from Brentford for £12million. Those three players should be joined by Noni Madueke - £52million from Chelsea - Cristhian Mosquera - £16.5million from Valencia - and Viktor Gyokeres - £63.5million from Sporting CP - by the end of this week, just in time for the new faces to travel with their new teammates on the Gunners' pre-season tour of Asia. Gyokeres is the big signing, with Arsenal crying out for a new striker for a number of transfer windows now, but sporting director Andrea Berta will also have strengthened the back line and the midfield too. It has undoubtedly been a successful transfer window for the Gunners , but there remains something of a squad issue that may not even be solved come transfer deadline day and will leave manager Mikel Arteta with something of a juggling act. Completing those three deals this week will mean six players have come through the Emirates Stadium entrance doors, which would suggest the squad has been significantly strengthened. And while the calibre of players may well strengthen the look of the squad, it has not strengthened it when it comes to personnel. That is because Arsenal have already waved goodbye to six first-team players this summer, meaning the new signings just take the place of those departed players. This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more Sky Sports deal Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more. Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more. £35 Sky Get Sky Sports here Arsenal only named a 22-man Premier League squad last season, albeit with two U21 players in Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri regularly called upon. That would leave Arteta with 24 players from which to choose for matches in the 2025/26 campaign. That is not a bad number, all told, given Liverpool named only a 21-man squad last season, with three U21s counted upon regularly and still managed to win the Premier League title. Liverpool did not have as many injury issues as Arsenal, however, and could rely on a smaller squad, although they have bolstered it this summer by one with four big-name signings and three exits. If Arsenal suffer with injuries in 2025/26 similar to those they had in 2024/25, while they will have stronger players to call upon, Arteta could well find himself dealing with a threadbare squad once more, putting pressure on the few who remain while challenging for four different trophies. More signings could yet follow, with the Gunners linked with a move for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, but there are links with outgoings too, with Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko potential departures still. Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow Football London Facebook X (Twitter) Comment More On Arsenal Arsenal transfer news Mikel Arteta Martin Zubimendi Kepa Arrizabalaga Viktor Gyokeres Christian Norgaard Noni Madueke Premier League

Martin Zubimendi at the Sobha Realty Training Centre following his transfer to Arsenal (Image: Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal have signed three new players in the summer transfer window already and are set to add at least three more to their ranks too.

Kepa Arrizabalaga made the move across London to sign from Chelsea in a deal worth £5million, with Martin Zubimendi completing a £55million move from Real Sociedad and Christian Norgaard arriving from Brentford for £12million.

Those three players should be joined by Noni Madueke - £52million from Chelsea - Cristhian Mosquera - £16.5million from Valencia - and Viktor Gyokeres - £63.5million from Sporting CP - by the end of this week, just in time for the new faces to travel with their new teammates on the Gunners' pre-season tour of Asia.

Gyokeres is the big signing, with Arsenal crying out for a new striker for a number of transfer windows now, but sporting director Andrea Berta will also have strengthened the back line and the midfield too.

It has undoubtedly been a successful transfer window for the Gunners , but there remains something of a squad issue that may not even be solved come transfer deadline day and will leave manager Mikel Arteta with something of a juggling act.

Completing those three deals this week will mean six players have come through the Emirates Stadium entrance doors, which would suggest the squad has been significantly strengthened.

And while the calibre of players may well strengthen the look of the squad, it has not strengthened it when it comes to personnel.

That is because Arsenal have already waved goodbye to six first-team players this summer, meaning the new signings just take the place of those departed players.

Arsenal only named a 22-man Premier League squad last season, albeit with two U21 players in Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri regularly called upon. That would leave Arteta with 24 players from which to choose for matches in the 2025/26 campaign.

That is not a bad number, all told, given Liverpool named only a 21-man squad last season, with three U21s counted upon regularly and still managed to win the Premier League title.

Liverpool did not have as many injury issues as Arsenal, however, and could rely on a smaller squad, although they have bolstered it this summer by one with four big-name signings and three exits.

If Arsenal suffer with injuries in 2025/26 similar to those they had in 2024/25, while they will have stronger players to call upon, Arteta could well find himself dealing with a threadbare squad once more, putting pressure on the few who remain while challenging for four different trophies.

More signings could yet follow, with the Gunners linked with a move for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, but there are links with outgoings too, with Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko potential departures still.