After a difficult season which saw the title contenders falter at the last, Arsenal will be looking to complete a pitch-perfect summer transfer window.
With a need for recruitment in the midfield, and defensively, identified, Mikel Arteta is beginning to craft his new-look starting XI ahead of pre-season.
Arsenal have been quick off the mark to get their transfer window going, with moves for West Ham captain Declan Rice, Chelsea star Kai Havertz, and Ajax academy product Jurrien Timber all currently in contention as the club looks to complete their business swiftly.
With reportedly an upwards of £200million to spend during the window, and Champions League football to anticipate next season, moving to the Emirates represents a more-than attractive prospect.
But should Arsenal secure their key targets, what could their starting XI look like? Here, Mail Sport runs the rule over a potential line-up for Arteta to consider ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Ajax’s Jurrien Timber has emerged as a key defensive target for Arsenal during the window
The Gunners tabled an improved bid of £60million for Kai Havertz (left) on Tuesday morning
Declan Rice has long been the No 1 transfer target for the north London side this summer
GOALKEEPER
Aaron Ramsdale
Ramsdale was among the first of the stars of the last campaign to be tied down to a new contract at the season’s end in a show of his worth to the Gunners.
The Arsenal keeper played a key role in ensuring Arsenal’s title charge, keeping 13 clean sheets in 36 league games for the north London outfit.
At just 25, Ramsdale will likely wear Arsenal’s No 1 shirt for a number of years to come.
Aaron Ramsdale was a dependable presence between the sticks for Arsenal last season
DEFENDERS
Ben White
White has recorded another strong season for the Gunners, keeping out Takehiro Tomiyasu as Arteta’s preferred option at right back.
He has also been stronger on the front foot, making seven goal contributions across his 38 Premier League appearances.
The 25-year-old also rose above a challenging spell with the England World Cup squad in Qatar in December, which saw him leave the camp ‘due to personal reasons’.
Ben White (left) has established himself as Mikel Arteta’s first-choice right back this season
Timber (right) honed his skills at Ajax’s famed youth academy, where he has played since 2014
Jurrien Timber
Timber snubbed a move to Manchester United last season, but the Ajax defender – who is equally comfortable as centre back or playing on the right – feels all the more keen to seal a Premier League move 12 months later.
The Ajax academy product has excelled at his boyhood club and in turn stepped up for the national team. Playing alongside Virgil Van Dijk prompted the Liverpool defender to claim that the 22-year-old was even better than he was at the same stage in his career.
Noted for his thoughtfulness and accuracy in possession, Timber picked up the highest pass completion percentage in the Eredivisie during the club’s 2022-23 campaign.
William Saliba
An excellent season for the Frenchman was blighted by injury, and his importance in Arsenal’s backline may have played a large role in overturning their fortunes in the race for theri first Premier League title in 19 years.
When fit and firing, Saliba’s ballast as a centre back has provided firm footing for Arsenal’s creatively-minded full backs.
On June 10, Arsenal agreed a contract extension to keep him at the Emirates until at least 2027, in what could be a crucial deal to the north London club’s hopes both domestically and in Europe.
William Saliba’s absence for Arsenal in the later half of their title charge made a fatal difference
Oleksandr Zinchenko provides trophy-winning experience after his Manchester City move
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Capable of sneaking forward and working with potential incoming defensive midfielder Declan Rice, Zinchenko has most regularly been deployed at left back since his move from Manchester City.
The Ukrainian has proven himself a key figure in the dressing room, with his experience at the very top of the game likely lifting Arsenal’s title chances last season.
His rival for the position, Kiernan Tierney, is believed to be moving on this season, but Zinchenko has rarely been troubled as Arteta’s No 1 choice.
MIDFIELD
Declan Rice
Long the Gunners’ primary transfer target, Arsenal are edging closer and closer to securing the No 1 player on their summer window wish list.
Should Arsenal prove successful in their bid, Rice would instantly bolster Arteta’s side’s defenses in midfield, with his impressive capabilities for reading the game and shutting down swift-moving counterattacks providing a crucial anchor for his more advanced midfield partners.
The Europa Conference League-winning captain has played a similar role for both club and country, and his experience and coolheadedness in the position is sure to elevate the team as they look to vye again for the Premier League title.
Martin Odegaard
The club captain was one of Arsenal’s standouts during the last season, and at times the playing XI would visibly falter with his removal as a substitute.
Odegaard has played as both a No 10 and No 8 during Arsenal’s formation tweaks, and whilst his creativity as a playmaker is undeniable, he possesses the ability to drop a little deeper in the midfield.
With the additional of a versatile, more attack-minded player such as Havertz, Odegaard may find himself dropping back, but with the freedom to flood forward protected by Rice’s not-inconsiderable defensive heft.
Arsenal’s captain Martin Odegaard has been unplayable for large swathes of the season
Havertz and Rice may yet find themselves on the same side after a busy summer for Gunners
Kai Havertz
One of Arteta’s primary reasons for chasing the Chelsea star is his versatility: the Germany international has played in a variety of different roles for both the Blues and Bayer Leverkusen, as well as for his country, and Arsenal will be keen to test him in the midfield as much as they might upfront.
But after a difficult season in an out-and-out No 9 role in west London, Havertz has lost some of his clinical firepower in front of goal, and may be used in a more creative role by his coach-to-be as he settles into life at the Emirates.
Edging further forward as a No 10, as Odegaard did at points during last season would see the 23-year-old back in what he has referred to as his favoured position, with the flexibility to find pockets of space and test his opponent’s backline.
Havertz also has experience playing as a No 8 from his time at Leverkusen, which could see the player switch roles with Odegaard as Arteta finds his preferred new-look midfield.
ATTACKERS
Bukayo Saka
Saka has been in undroppable form for both his club and country, most recently picking up his first-ever international hat-trick on duty against North Macedonia in England’s European Championship qualifiers.
But Arsenal fans can attest that some of his finest work has come in red and white, and there will have been an enormous sigh of relief upon the 21-year-old’s signing of a bumper new contract to keep him at the club until 2027.
Bukayo Saka signed a bumper new deal with Arsenal to make him one of their highest earners
The talismanic forward became one of Arsenal’s highest-paid players upon confirmation of his new deal, and with good reason – the Gunners would be loath to lose his generational talent.
Gabriel Jesus
Despite an enforced spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury at the very start of 2023, the 26-year-old Manchester City transplant provided an instant impact during his debut season at the Emirates.
Jesus made a combined 18 goal contributions during his 26 appearances for the Gunners, and has provided level-headed experience leading the Arsenal line in a season where tried-and-tested strikers are in short supply.
Havertz played as an out-and-out No 9 at Chelsea for much of the season, but Jesus’ dependability at the front of the pack could mean that the Germany international will have a difficult time replacing him in the position should Arsenal’s shape change.
Gabriel Jesus has made an instant impact since moving to the club in the summer of 2022
Gabriel Martinelli (left) has frequently impressed on the left wing for Arsenal during last term
Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal’s lightning-fast starter, Martinelli excelled during the 2023-24 campaign, netting 15 goals and five additional contributions in his 36 Premier League appearances.
When combined with Saka, Arsenal are capable of full-throated attack on both wings, leaving their opponents unaware of how to contain their firepower.
Martinelli’s league xG is superlative – registering 0.37 expected goals per 90 minutes, the Brazil international is in the 95th percentile of his Premier League peers.
And on the bench?
Southampton’s Romeo Lavia remains a lingering target for the north London side after they all-but dropped out of the race for Moises Caicedo.
With the Brighton defender eyeing a more-than £80m move to Chelsea, Arsenal identified the recently-relegated Lavia as a potential replacement for the Ecuadorian midfielder.
Despite the Saints’ relegation, promising teen Romeo Lavia seems fated to stay in the top flight
The 19-year-old only joined the Saints last summer, but impressed in his debut season despite the misfortunes of his club.
Should Arsenal decide to make a move for the teenager, they could find themselves up against familiar opposition.
Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United are all tracking the player, who is seen as a cut price alternative to big-name transfer targets Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani.
