Arsenal’s priority revealed after White & Lokonga deals

Momentum is building at Arsenal this summer after a quiet start to life in the window as two deals draw increasingly close to completion, which will spark the club into the next phase of activity.

It’s getting rather interesting in north London. A club-record deal for a defender edges ever nearer as Ben White looks set to join on a £50m move from Brighton, a transfer that will land Mikel Arteta his preferred man in an area deemed as a priority before the window opened.

Quite possibly being announced before the 23-year-old is Albert Sambi Lokonga, a player few knew much about but are now entirely certain he is an elite signing because that’s exactly how these things are supposed to work.

With Arsenal and Premier League rivals Brighton finalising how the remaining £5m of the £50m deal will be paid, the Lokonga situation is in similar territory with the final agreements over the payment structure and what will be included as add-ons being discussed.

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Arsenal’s next priority revealed after Ben White & Albert Sambi Lokonga deals are wrapped up in summer transfer window

Barring any sudden damaging u-turns, the pair will be Arsenal players shortly.

In the grand scheme of this window, those two signings probably account for about 7% (ish?) of the total work that needs doing prior to, and on, August 31. There is still a lot left to do before Arsenal can consider the window successful in regards to feasibility, since there will obviously be no chance of completing everything inside these 12 weeks.

Next on the agenda, as per football.london’s Chris Wheatley, is player sales.

Should opportunities arise in full-back areas, goalkeeper or elsewhere it isn’t to say they won’t be pursued, but at this stage shifting on the heap of deadwood one log at a time takes precedence for a number of reasons.

The obvious aim is to accrue the money needed to launch the bids Arteta wants to lodge for his targets, with the club also needing to free up the wage bill and trim the squad dramatically for a season without European football.

Nobody is entirely sure just how much money Arteta has to play with this summer, and likely neither will he until he moves players on. Arsenal will have their valuations while also keeping in mind Europe is not a buying market this summer and they’ll be hard pressed to garner the fees they desire. When the ball starts rolling for those moving out, then there will be a clearer picture.

With pre-season to begin in early July, in an ideal world, for both player and club, having those who are due to depart leave early enough so that pre-season preparations can begin with the preferred roster is important. No need for disruption in the camp with players whose futures are destined to be away from north London such as Lucas Torreira or Matteo Guendouzi, for example.

It’s all about selling now. Not just selling, though, but selling well. It can’t be stressed enough how vital this stage of the process is.