Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal’s owner to show “ambition” in the summer transfer window after winning the Premier League title and coming close in Europe, with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rodgers among his targets.
Morgan Rodgers is attracting a lot of interest (Image: Alex Livesey – AVFC/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta is keen to begin summer planning to build on this season’s success and has Morgan Rodgers firmly in his sights. Gunners manager Arteta has sent a clear message to Arsenal bosses after their side lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
Arteta said he needed to make “important decisions” to demonstrate his “ambition” to take the club to “another level” after winning their first Premier League title in 22 years. It was a fitting move as Arteta is looking for a big signing and Aston Villa’s England star Rodgers is firmly on Arsenal’s list of potential targets.
Rodgers has also attracted interest from the likes of PSG after another excellent season for Unai Emery’s side, with it thought Villa could be sold to make ends meet. It remains to be seen whether Villa will sell him, but Rodgers has drawn admiration from Arsenal as he can play as a number 10 and also as a left wide, a key area that Arteta wants to strengthen.
Arteta likes players who can play multiple positions and is looking for more attacking threat and quality in a possible reshuffle this summer. The difference this time around is that Arsenal spent £250m last summer on players including Victor Gokeres, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zvimendi, Noni Madueke and Christian Norgaard, and they also signed Piero Hincapie on a permanent deal.
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They hope to add quality this summer, but also need to prepare the squad to make way for new faces, with Gabriel Martinelli likely to leave. The Brazilian star has one year left on his contract and is in no hurry to leave, but there is also interest in Gabriel Jesus.
Arsenal are looking to make a summer signing, which will put the focus back on attack, but signing a new No. 9 will likely require a departure. Arteta clearly believes the deal should be done and his message immediately after the final showed that he wants to improve quality.
This may also suggest that, having won the title and crossed the line, he is considering changing his style in order to win more trophies. This was their fifth straight defeat in a European final dating back to 1995, including the 2006 Champions League final, the 2019 Europa League final and now the loss to PSG in Budapest.
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Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal board to back him (Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
Although Arsenal are a dominant force in European football, their performance has been poor compared to their domestic performance, winning only two trophies: the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1970 Fairs Cup. Arteta is keen on this and wants to start off with a season that will be remembered as one of the best in the club’s history, and arguably the best of his reign so far.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s England squad (Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eze and Maduke) will have another week to join up with England at their training base in Miami ahead of the World Cup. The majority of the team will arrive by plane on Monday.
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