Arsenal: What’s the bare minimum to get back into the top four?

Arsenal have a limited budget this summer, so let’s ask ourselves this all-important question – what it the bare minimum required to get back in it?

Arsenal are in a position they haven’t been in for over 20 years. They are actually in a position where they have to reinvent themselves to get back to where they’ve always been – the top four of the Premier League. Also known as the Champions League.

Getting back there, without the added budget that qualifying for the Champions League entails, is going to be a task and a half, but they have a lot of the right guys in charge in order to fight back to the top.

But, given the limited budget that the Gunners are facing, we need to ask ourselves what the bare minimum is to get back into that hallowed zone where you can attract just about anyone and win just about anything.

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We have transfer rumors coming at us left, right and center, everyone from centerbacks to wingers to midfielders and keepers are rumored to be on the move, but, assuming that the limited budget is as limited as they say, we have to be realistic.

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The absolute bare minimum, barring any extra losses in the window, would be entirely defensive. I want a winger as much as anyone, but if we have to limit ourselves, then scratch the need for a winger and focus on other things.

For starters, we need another midfielder. Mainly because we will likely be facing some exits in the central midfield, but even if we don’t, we need improvement there. We need to be able to control the center of the pitch. Address that.

Once you address the midfield, we need help at defense. I would be happy with one, really, really good centerback signing. Someone like Benjamin Pavard would be perfect. There’s no need to buy two, because once you buy two, you might as well have just bought one and then used the second signing to address a peripheral need.

Bare minimum, that’s it. I want a keeper badly, but if you can solidify the defense around Petr Cech, he can hang on for another year until we have a bigger transfer budget to mess around with.

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I want to see more action than that. I wouldn’t mind some sales to fund it. But if you want to talk the least possible incoming deals, we need a midfielder and an improvement at centerback. Not just another body, but an improvement.