Arsenal are now targeting a Champions League defender for Mikel Arteta, and the Gunners are set for sit-down talks with his entourage soon as they schedule a transfer meeting.
Arsenal's summer transfer plans explained
The north Londoners have an outside chance of pipping Liverpool to the Premier League title at best, with last weekend all but ending their hopes of winning a first domestic top flight crown in 21 years.
Arsenal's 1-0 loss to West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium, combined with Liverpool's win against Man City at the Etihad, means Arne Slot's side now have one hand on this year's Premier League winner's medals.
| Arsenal's next five Premier League games | Date |
| Nottingham Forest (away) | Today |
| Man Utd (away) | March 9th |
| Chelsea (home) | March 16th |
| Fulham (home) | April 1st |
| Everton (away) | April 5th |
The Gunners were hamstrung by recent long
-Arsenal are targeting new strikers this summer to finally end their long search for a prolific target man. According to recent reports, the likes of Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins, Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, RB Leipzig ace Benjamin Sesko, Juventus' Dušan Vlahović, Sporting CP sensation Viktor Gyokeres, Eintracht Frankfurt talisman Hugo Ekitiké and ex-Liverpool favourite Roberto Firmino are potential options for Arteta.
There are even suggestions that Arsenal are looking to sign two new strikers, rather than one big name, with Watkins and Sesko among Arteta's top striker targetsheading into the summer window.
However, the bulk of Arsenal's transfer kitty won't only be going on strikers. Kieran Tierney appears set to join Celtic on a free transfer, while uncertainty surrounds the future of Oleksandr Zinchenko after he was linked with a move away from the Emirates in January.
term injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, leaving Arteta without a recognised centre-forward, while both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are not expected back until March.
This situation has even prompted Arteta to utilise midfielder Mikel Merino as an emergency striking option, and while the Spaniard's late brace helped Arsenal to a recent 2-0 win at Leicester City, he's hardly a permanent solution up front.