Arsenal could be set for an incredible summer transfer window

There were so many rumors linking Arsenal to forwards as well as midfielders, and yet those rumors remained only whispers. Nothing was ever cemented in regards to adding to this squad, and for that, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal could end up paying a sad price for the negligence.

While many players left the team – Sead Kolasinac, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Calum Chambers, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Pablo Mari – only Auston Trusty joined, a centre-back for the Colorado Rapids in MLS, and he will remain in America on loan for the rest of the season.

Arsenal will have Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah – who will both be out of contract after this season – up top as their strikers, while I wouldn’t be surprised to see other options used as a number nine either.

Gabriel Martinelli, for me, will be the option that will allow for Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe to play in together in the starting lineup. Arteta is going all-in on his young team, and if that team can hold and maintain a position in Europe for next season, the payoff could be absolutely incredible.

Arsenal getting into the Champions League via the Premier League top four will mean a massive summer of transfer activity

Through 21 matches, the 36 points the team has collected so far has Arsenal in sixth position on the Premier League table. Should Arsenal be able to stay in fourth position at the end of this season they will find themselves in the Champions League while having opened up great swaths of their salary space in the process.

This circumstance, the best case scenario one might say, would leave the Gunners as a serious player in the summer transfer market once again, as it was last summer. Now, who this team might get is anyone’s guess, and while one imagines that some big-name midfielders and at least one notable centre-forward would be on the list, just exactly who those players are is still up for prognostication.

Speculated names like Dusan Vlahovic and Arthur Melo could very well be replaced by Alexander Isak and Ruben Neves, or someone else different still. The bank account and European qualifications could really open the opportunities up for Arsenal to stock up on some really young and talented players this summer, but Arteta must first guide this squad into a top-four position in order for the pay-off to be as massive as it should be.

Getting into the Europa League or Europa Conference league would still allow for big summers, but without anywhere near the same zeal as with a Champions League berth. While the money and depth allotments will be great innovations as well, it will be the elusive elite competition that is the most attractive to big-name signings.

This is precisely why it will be so important for this gritty football team to figure out some way to stay as a great shape throughout this Premier League campaign. Getting through February, March, April and May will be no easy task, and the schedule, even without any FA Cup or European competition, will be daunting to be sure, but if these young players play up to the level they have displayed during sections of their season, it will be really fascinating to see how the season and positioning all plays out.

This team has been doubted before just as they have been counted out before. Now, Arsenal do not have as loaded a squad as might be expected for a team in their position, but they do have loads of youth that Arteta will give a chance to make a difference when the situation permits.

Failing to bring someone important in during this winter window could prove to be massive. but if the bet pays off, the transfer window will be absolutely incredible in the summertime.