Arsenal: 10-step summer plan to solve team

Sign an elite centre-back to partner William Saliba

With those sales made, Arsenal could raise as much as £100-150 million in transfer fees as well as ridding over £1 million per week off the wage bill (including offloading Ozil at £350,000 per week). That then gives them the chance to sign three or four players at other positions in the squad, thus spreading their resources across the team more evenly.

This starts at centre-back. William Saliba will return from his year-long loan at Saint-Etienne after his £26 million acquisition last summer. He is expected to slot into a starting role, despite only being 19. Arsenal will need to find a partner for him. This is their greatest need in the summer window and should command the greatest investment.

Dayot Upamecano is the man everyone wants. The RB Leipzig man, however, will not come cheap and is courted by Manchester City, among others. Realistically, Arsenal would be better chasing Jonathan Tah or Even Ndicka, two high-potential central defenders built in a Saliba mould: young, pre-hype and thereby slightly cheaper, but with a high ceiling. Whoever it may be, Arsenal need a centre-back who can start straight away.