The forgotten Arsenal transfer Andrea Berta must complete as major injury worry arises

Arsenal have a lot of work to complete in the summer transfer window with needs in many different positions. There is hope that the new sporting director combined with what is believed to be a considerable transfer budget will see that through.

Andrea Berta is close to being announced as Arsenal’s new sporting director football.londonunderstands, and he will lead the strategy alongside Mikel Arteta and others in the executive group. The forward line remains a priority for the club.

Links to strikers and wide players are rampant already, and it is thought that the likes of Nico Williams and Alexander Isak remain high on the club’s agenda. Central midfield is also key, and football.londonunderstands there is a strong belief a deal will be secured for Martin Zubimendi in the summer.

However, there is one position that is not in the priority of focus for many, but could prove equally important. Arsenal signed Neto on loan from Bournemouth until the end of the season having failed to sign a permanent back-up option to David Raya.

Arteta has dealt with major injury concerns throughout the campaign, but fortunately, Raya has remained fit across the season. He only missed one match due to a problem suffered at Manchester City, 16-yeaer-old Jack Porter came in for the League Cup clash with Bolton as a result – with Neto cup-tied and third-choice keeper Tommy Setford also injured at the time.

However, into the next season, Neto will have returned from his loan and while Karl Hein has been playing regularly on loan with Real Valladolid, there remains a gulf in quality to Raya. Were he to get injured at any point, it could have serious ramifications to the Gunners' trophy ambitions.

football.london understands that interest in Espanyol’s Joan Garcia has persisted from the previous summer window. At the time, the Gunners were put off by the Spanish side’s demands to pay his release clause in the region of £22million.

However, after another strong campaign and the club well positioned with the player already on personal terms, they could indeed return and the price might instead drop with Espanyol having more time to source a replacement. Garcia has been very impressive and would certainly cover Raya much more effectively than the current options available to Arteta.

It will therefore be Andrea Berta's job to get a deal done. Having worked for more than 10 years in La Liga with Atletico Madrid, he is sure to have strong links to other Spanish sides like Espanyol to help with any potential transfer.

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