Arsenal already know their most important £90m signing of the summer and it is not a striker

Arsenal have an important summer ahead as they try to bridge the two-point gap which prevented them from lifting their first Premier League title in 20 years this month. Pipped at the end by Manchester City, focus has turned to what can be done to try and to overhaul their rivals.

For many, that player is a centre-forward and with Erling Haaland the opponent, few can blame people for having that view. However, as Arsenal scored league 91 goals, three more than the previous record set the season before and with the centre-forward role in a state of change throughout the campaign, they’ve finally settled on a striker, Kai Havertz.

However, the German played the majority of matches in the left central midfield slot replacing Granit Xhaka who departed in the same summer Havertz arrived. With Thomas Partey’s future uncertain and the number 29 very much attached to the striker position for the Gunners, the gap in the team and therefore the priority should be completing the world-class midfield that Mikel Arteta needs.

Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice are both world-class players and have taken the club to new heights and finding their perfect partner is a challenge the club must rise to. Names are not particularly forthcoming however and previous suggestions have since faded away.

Martin Zubimendi was spoken about heavily in the lead-up to January but this has since diminished – the Spaniard does not necessarily guarantee the quality the club would be looking for either, nor in the box-to-box position that would see Rice move back into the number six role.

Bruno Guimaraes is a Premier League-ready option and at the perfect age to join Rice and Odegaard. However, Newcastle are insisting on the Brazilian’s £100million release clause to sign the midfielder and Arsenal would need to weigh up whether he is worth it.

An established option could be Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich who has just one year remaining on his deal in Germany. Although the German would be more so a deeper midfielder, pushing Rice further forward into the eight role instead.

The biggest challenge for Arsenal this summer it seems is clearly identifying who the main targets would be of who is gettable for the club. Unlike in 2023 where the options for the club were more obvious, it seems Edu and his team will need to be much shrewder with the market.