Arsenal have started making their moves in the transfer market as they completed the £65m signing of Chelsea’s Kai Havertz and made a record £105m bid for West Ham’s Declan Rice..
Arsenal were eight points clear at the top of the league at the start of April but ended up finishing five points behind Manchester City, who went on to win the Treble.
Injuries in key positions played a part in their end-of-season decline.
As well as Havertz and Rice, they also have a £30m bid in for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber..
BBC Sport looks at what the trio could bring to the Gunners this season – if they all go through – and how Arteta’s side could look.
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Flexible Havertz adds to Gunners’ options
Havertz never quite lived up to expectations at Chelsea – although he scored one of the biggest goals in their history with the winner in the 2021 Champions League final win over Manchester City.
The 24-year-old Germany international scored 32 goals in 139 games for the Blues after his £71m switch from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020.
He will give Arsenal increased options all along midfield and the front line with his high level of flexibility.
Havertz played as an attacking midfielder, winger and striker or false nine for Chelsea. For Leverkusen and Germany, he has played in central midfield too.
There are suggestions he will take the place of Granit Xhaka in Arsenal’s midfield. But he will give competition for Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Leandro Trossard and potentially Reiss Nelson further forward.
Havertz ended last season as Chelsea’s joint top scorer in all competitions – although the fact he did so with nine goals shows how underwhelming the Blues’ season was.
By contrast, Martin Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka and Jesus all hit double figures for Arsenal, with Xhaka and Nketiah hitting nine each.
Havertz only made one assist all season for Chelsea, with 12 Arsenal players managing more.
Can Rice be the difference?
It now appears likely Arsenal are going to beat Manchester City to the signing of England midfielder Rice.
The Gunners have offered a deal worth a club-record £105m, with City not willing to match that. West Ham have not accepted the offer yet.
Rice’s development over the last few years has been notable.
In 2018, the Londoner was playing for the Republic of Ireland and often deployed at centre-back – but since then he has become an automatic pick for England in the heart of midfield and West Ham captain.
Last season, Rice won possession more times (334) and made more interceptions (63) than any other Premier League player.
Only three players – Brighton centre-back Lewis Dunk and Manchester City duo Rodri and Jack Grealish – carried the ball further than Rice’s 7.1km. Arsenal’s Saka was fifth on 6.8km.
So how does he compare to his potential rivals for a place in the Arsenal team?
With Xhaka playing further forward these days, Thomas Partey and Jorginho, after moving from Chelsea in January, were the Gunners’ defensive midfielders last season.
Ghana’s Partey and Italy’s Jorginho played more successful passes and touched the ball more – but they played in a team that won 26 games to West Ham’s 11.
Rice won the ball more times, created more chances and had a slightly better passing accuracy than the pair.
| How Rice and his potential rivals compared (per 90 minutes in 2022-23 Premier League) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Declan Rice | Thomas Partey | Jorginho | |
| Successful passes | 50.5 | 62 | 58.6 |
| Touches | 71.3 | 85.4 | 80.5 |
| Chances created | 1 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| Tackles | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Interceptions | 1.7 | 1 | 1.3 |
| Possession won | 9.2 | 8.2 | 7.9 |
| Passing accuracy | 88.1% | 88% | 86.3% |
Timber could bolster defensive options
The other player known to be on Arsenal’s wish-list this summer is ball-playing Ajax and Netherlands defender Timber.
It is thought Ajax want more than the £30m that Arsenal have bid, while other Premier League clubs have been linked with him too.
The 22-year-old, who came through the Ajax youth system, is primarily a centre-back – that is where he played all his games last season. But he has played at right-back in the past for club and country.
That puts him in a similar position to Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
| How Timber and his potential rivals compared (per 90 minutes in 2022-23 league) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurrien Timber | Gabriel | Ben White | William Saliba | Takehiro Tomiyasu | |
| Goals conceded | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.03 | 0.93 | 1.52 |
| Tackles won | 1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
| Clearances | 2 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.1 |
| Interceptions | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Errors leading to shots | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.15 | 0.14 |
| Fouls conceded | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
Who else are Arsenal after?
The players mentioned above are those who have been signed or approached – but Arsenal are being linked with others too.
Arteta still wants Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, having failed with a £70m bid for the Ecuadorian in January.
BBC Sport understands even if they sign Rice, they might still go for Caicedo even though they play in similar positions.
They could also have the fourth joint top scorer in France’s Ligue 1 last season in their team.
Folarin Balogun netted 21 times during a loan spell for Reims last season and is due to return to the Gunners this summer – although there is a suggestion they could sell him.
My potential 2023-24 Arsenal line-up
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