Arsenal: Priorities made clear in summer transfer window

Arsenal had to be smart, sharp and frugal in this summer transfer window, and in the process, they’ve shown clear priorities.

It’s a rare Arsenal transfer window when we can transparently see the club’s priorities right from the off. In the past, when Arsene Wenger was in charge, we’d oftentimes head into transfer windows knowing good and well what we needed, but also knowing that we would never accomplish any of it.

It was a frustrating time, watching all of our rivals sneak away with all their needs, while the Gunners were left picking up whatever they could.

This summer, I think a lot of us were prepared to be a bit let down by the lack of prolific signings, given the slashed transfer budget, but again, we knew the needs of the club, and we knew what the priorities were.

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We needed: central midfield, defense, wingers, keeper. If there was room left, another rightback. It was obvious.

I’m actually incredibly relieved to see these needs properly approached thus far into the summer. Stephan Lichtsteiner was a free and they pounced on him to knock out a tertiary need. Sokratis is on the docket to be announced in July, with Caglar Soyuncu also a distinct possibility, making the defense, as a unit, a clear priority.

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Then there is Jean Michael Seri and Lucas Torreira, both of whom have either been strongly linked, or have openly admitted to concrete talks.

Midfield, check.

Wingers have been there as well, with Gelson Martins being pursued.

At keeper, it’s more of the same – plenty of links, plenty of names.

Now obviously links don’t mean much of anything. We know what better than perhaps every other fanbase in the world. But these aren’t just blank links from crap sources. These are talks with agents, with the players themselves, with people who would actually know what’s going on.

So, at the very least, we know the club is in the right frame of mind, and that, for the first time in ages, we are actually on the same page as the brain trust running the club. I don’t know about you, but that feels pretty good.

It feels good to know that, when I scroll through rumors, that I can find the logic behind each one. Even if I don’t agree with the individual in question (Sokratis), I can still see why he would be of interest.

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It isn’t random, unknown links anymore. These are substantial talks and it’s wonderful to see.