Arteta’s €300m transfer plan to solve Arsenal’s biggest problem

Robin Bairner

• 25 Sept 2024 06:50 BST
• 4 min read

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has a major transfer plan for next summer and has drawn up a shortlist of players worth nearly €300 million in order to achieve it.

FootballTransfers has long detailed how signing a No.9 has been a priority for Arteta in order to increase Arsenal’s competitiveness in the Premier League. Indeed, it may be the final step required for them to overhaul defending champions Manchester City, who they so unfortunately drew with at 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium,

Already the manager has drawn up a shortlist ahead of the 2025 summer window in order to land one of six players designed to give the Gunners the cutting edge they don’t currently have.

Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres heads up this list, which was revealed by TeamTalk, and contains five definite players the Emirates club are chasing.

Indeed, the players who Arteta is chasing have all been linked with the club previously, including Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram and Lille’s Jonathan David.

Only five names from a supposed six-man list have been revealed, yet it is not unfair to assume that Napoli striker Victor Osimhen could also appear on this list given the Gunners’ interest in him this summer.

Arsenal following €300m worth of talent

The Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of these players comes to around €300m, yet Arsenal will want to spend just a fraction of that on their No.9. They did not make moves for Gyokeres, Sesko or Osimhen last summer after being quoted a €100m or more asking price for each.

Of the names mentioned as being on the shortlist, none truly fit the bill of a player Arteta typically signs, with the exception of Gyokeres.

Vlahovic, Sesko, Thuram and David all lack the experience in England, and particularly the Premier League, that the coach favours.

Serbia international striker Vlahovic, meanwhile, could be dumped by Juventus for not being good enough for them.

“Compared to the other strikers in the Italian championship like Inter’s Lautaro Martinez of Napoli’s Osimhen, Juventus don’t have a top-level first striker,” journalist Paolo Paganini told Rai2 (via TMW) earlier this week.

This begs the question: is Vlahovic even strong enough for Arsenal? Data analytics firm SciSports suggest that even at his peak, he would be no more than a rotation option. Good luck to Juve landing the €80m that they are said to be demanding for Vlahovic in this case.

It has been suggested that Vlahovic’s situation may end up mirroring that of Federico Chiesa, who moved to Liverpool in a cut-priced deal in the summer of 2024, and while value for money is important to Arsenal, Arteta’s side will not want to sacrifice quality.

Arsenal may have €300m of talent lined up, but who they sign is still uncertain.