A tough summer appeared in the offing for Arsenal at the end of last season. The Gunners reportedly had no money to spend after being crippled by decisions of the past and while they have been forced to work hard in the market they have at least added to the squad for Mikel Arteta.
While Arsenal supporters may lament some things still, there are clear signs the club are at least moving in the right direction on the pitch under their former midfielder. For instance, Arsenal have come off better against Liverpool in three of their last four meetings in the last few months alone when they had only won three of 15 games against the reds prior to Arteta's arrival.
Nevertheless, they remain a work in progress. Securing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's long-term future earlier this summer was massive and they are working towards more deals before Monday's deadline. Here we assess their weakpoint, who they are looking at to address that and what the priority should be.
Where they are weak
The narrative of Arsenal's transfer window in recent weeks makes it clear where Arteta sees the main point of concern within his squad. With Lucas Torreira close to joining Atletico Madrid and both Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi firmly out of favour, Arteta is desperate to sign another central midfielder to help Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka.
Their calibre of midfield they are chasing suggestions Arteta is not looking for back-up options either, but rather upgrades on both. Ceballos and Xhaka have both played key roles in Arsenal's transformation under Arteta but perhaps lack the substance to enable the Gunners to really kick on towards the top four and beyond.
Some would argue Arsenal aren't quite right at the back either, though having already made one high profile defensive acquisition this summer there spending in that area of the squad is done for at least this window.
The Transfer Targets
Arsenal have made it clear they want either Thomas Partey from Atletico or Houssem Aouar from Lyon. Arteta's side are resigned to missing out on Partey due his release clause being out of reach, while Lyon have laughed off what Arsenal have so far been able to offer for Aouar, believed to be less than €40m.
Both are clearly wildly different from the other. While Partey is capable of breaking up play and increasing the tempo, Aouar adds finese and an eye for goal in the final third. The problem for Arsenal is that money is the only obstacle in the way of landing both. Partey and Aouar are both open to joining Arsenal but the Gunners simply don't have enough left in the budget at this moment to get a deal over the line.
Failure to land either this summer may be curtains for their chances completely. With clubs around Europe expected to be in at least a better financial position than they are now, Arsenal may not have a free run if they miss out before Monday.
🇬🇭 Thomas Partey 🆚 Huesca
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 2, 2020
🥅 Shots - 2
🤤 Dribbles - 4
💯 Dribble Success Rate - 100%
💪 Tackles - 4
🎯 Pass Accuracy - 89% (85/95)
📈 Rating - 7.73
✅ First start of the season
✅ Man of the Match
✅ Place in the La Liga Team of the Week pic.twitter.com/osyI3EaTE4
Who they should sign
Contrary to who Arsenal appear to be gunning for hardest, Thomas Partey may actually prove more significant a purchase than Aouar in the short-term. Arsenal's greatest strength is their ability to hit teams on the counter and do it quickly. Even breaking through the press and launching an attack quickly. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian give them that ability but the issue for Arsenal remains keeping their opponents out at the other end.
There has been a clear improvement at the back under Arteta but the presence of Partey would just add that extra shield in front of their back three. The Atletico midfielder is more than just a defensive midfielder too. Partey is capable of building play from the back and shifting the ball forward rather than side-to-side. In fact, 34.9% of Partey's passes were played forward in LaLiga last season, compared to returns of 27.9% for Xhaka and 24.7% for Ceballos.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, the only way they can sign Partey is if they match his reported €50m release clause. Unable to offer more than €40m for Aouar at present, it's going to take another player sale to fund a move for one of their midfield targets. It's likely Arsenal will invest what money they can generate to getting a deal for the Lyon midfielder over the line but perhaps they should think again and target Partey.
