Arsenal 2023 summer transfer window preview: Incomings

Other Transfer Possibilities

While signing at least one central midfielder and right-winger look like the priorities for Arsenal this summer, there are a couple of other moves that could materialise. Most notably, there may be some new defensive players in red next season, especially if players like Kieran Tierney and Rob Holding leave the club.

Tierney’s potential departure has more to do with playing time than anything else. I don’t think that Arsenal would willingly sell Tierney due to his ability, but if he wants a bigger role than what he finds himself in with the emergence of Oleksandr Zinchenko, it would be hard to blame him. To his credit, Tierney hasn’t said anything about wanting to leave the club, and there should be plenty of football to go around next season, but Arsenal may find themselves forced to find a left-back to compete with Zinchenko this summer should Tierney leave.

Whether or not Arsenal can sell Holding this summer, it seems likely that they’ll look to sign a right-footed centre-back this summer to compete with William Saliba. We all saw the drop in quality when Saliba went down with an injury this season, and even if it isn’t Holding’s fault, it’s hard to see how he helps a team with title aspirations. Look for Arsenal to try to sign a right-footed version of Jakub Kiwior—a young defender who has shown his talent, but won’t command a massive transfer fee or wages to bring him in.

Of course, there is always the possibility of Arsenal finding a young player that they feel like is worth the investment, whether or not there is an immediate fit for the player within the squad. We’ve seen this with a signing like Marquinhos last summer, and also arguably Lokonga and Nuno Tavares (although I would argue that these players were given bigger roles than they initially deserved). One such player that Arsenal have been linked to is Ivan Fresneda, who is a similar profile of player to Zinchenko but from the right side and much less experienced.

There is likely a better fit for Fresneda at this stage in his career than Arsenal, but don’t be too surprised if Arsenal sign a relatively-unknown teenager this summer for the future.