Sporting director Edu is once again being tipped for a busy summer transfer window, coming after the club shelled out over £200 million on new recruits last year.
Some reports have even claimed the next window could see Arsenal break their transfer record in terms of summer expenditure, coming after they pushed Man City right to the final day and only just missed out on the Premier League title.
They finished the campaign on 89 points, which would’ve been enough to win the league in many seasons prior to this. Arsenal also scored over 90 goals, highlighting their attacking prowess, with only City scoring more than them.
2023/2024 was a marked improvement on the previous season, and perhaps next year will spell third-time-lucky for Mikel Arteta who is set for another intriguing title race, and fresh attempt to win Arsenal their first domestic crown since 2004.
Arsenal want to back Arteta again with four key summer signings, including the potential acquisition of a new goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward. Both William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are key cogs at the heart of Arsenal’s backline, but they have precious few alternatives to the centre-back pair.
Ben White is starring at right-back now, so it is believed Edu could move for another capable centre-half alternative to Saliba and Gabriel. Sporting Lisbon starlet Ousmane Diomande is attracting interest from Arsenal as one option, and has been since the turn of the year.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are also believed to be suitors for Crystal Palace ace Marc Guehi. Both targets would set the club back a pretty penny, but it is now claimed that another marquee defender is under consideration at the Emirates.
Benfica starlet Antonio Silva is the man in question, coming after a stellar campaign in the Primeira Liga. According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal have held contacts with Benfica over signing Silva, who is apparently rated at around £85 million.
The 20-year-old made 31 Portuguese top flight appearances last season as he also managed earn admirers at both Real Madrid and Paris-Saint Germain.
Silva would ideally like to move to a top club in England, opening the door slightly for Edu, but he’d also want guarantees over playing time – making it contentious whether he’d choose north London given both Saliba and Gabriel’s untouchable statuses.