Andrea Berta set to challenge Mikel Arteta amid changes to Arsenal summer transfer plan

There is a confidence that Arsenal are set to embark upon one of their most pivotal summer transfer windows. Mikel Arteta made it clear that the statement remains the same from January, the club are short in numbers and they want to add.

Unfortunately, the upheaval of Edu Gaspar’s exit before the end of the year and the interim appointment of Jason Ayto into the position before an official replacement was sorted well after its closure were damaging to efficiency in the January window, and no one was signed. It left the Gunners short and was broadly seen as a critical failure of the season.

The arrival of Andrea Berta at Arsenal is already understood to have had an impact, football.london understands. Arteta previously hinted that there was an expectation that the Italian would come in and have an immediate effect on the plans that were already in place.

“That's why I mentioned that the good thing is the strong team that we already have in place,” Arteta said at the end of March. “And all the work that the recruitment that Jason, James, and all the boys have been doing, and everything is prepared.

“And then that planning has to be tweaked because what you plan and you execute most of the time ends up being a bit different from the direction of the vision. And what we want to do is clear.

“He would jump on board of that and hopefully he would twist it and make it better. That's why he's here.”

Berta is doing just that, and with the club looking to move early for major targets like Martin Zubimendi, who is expected to join this summer, there are positive signs. Of course, there are more desires, including a centre-forward, a defender, and a backup goalkeeper, with the potential of another attacking player also wanted.

Arteta and Berta do not want to go into the new season with the side being short again. Furthermore, completing deals swiftly is also a priority and ideally before the club fly to Asia in mid-to-late July for their pre-season tour.

The centre-forward is the player whose identity most supporters are keenest to learn, and the club has multiple options, with Berta known to be a fan of Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres. However, there are alternatives such as Benjamin Sesko, whom the club could still look to pursue, but with wide-ranging interest from clubs in both, this only increases the need to move faster.

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.