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What is Arsenal's top priority for the summer transfer window?

What is Arsenal's top priority for the summer transfer window?
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Ahead of the summer transfer window opening on Wednesday, Sports Mole looks at the priority for Arsenal in the transfer market over the next few months.

Ask almost any Gooner, and the responses will be overwhelming. Mikel Arteta's midfield fulcrums have served him well this season, but with his engine room options ageing, Arsenal have earmarked reinforcements in the middle of the park as priority number one.

While Jorginho has proven to be an ideal stop-gap signing, the Italian is already well into his 30s alongside Mohamed Elneny, who has been beset by long-term injuries more often than not recently. Both players are out of contract in 2024 too, while Thomas Partey - whose form tailed off towards the end of the season - will turn 30 in a couple of weeks.

Furthermore, Granit Xhaka appears destined to end a turbulent seven years in North London with a summer switch to Bayer Leverkusen, and Arsenal have apparently given him their blessing to leave as they prepare for perhaps their biggest summer splurge yet.

West Ham United's Declan Rice and Brighton & Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo are understood to be Arsenal's top summer targets, and the consensus is that the former will certainly be on the way out of the London Stadium this summer - even David Moyes and David Sullivan have admitted that there is a good chance of a parting of the ways.

Despite Rice's contract situation, Arsenal may still need to break the bank and their own transfer record to win the race for the England international, whose yearning for Champions League football can be fulfilled in the red half of North London.

However, having failed with two January bids for wantaway Brighton star Caicedo - who confessed to wanting to leave the Amex on social media before performing a U-turn and signing a new contract - Arsenal may be given the cold shoulder by the Seagulls in any summer talks.

Whether Arsenal can indeed twist Brighton's arm remains to be seen, and the Gunners have been linked with cheaper, but older alternatives such as Ilkay Gundogan and N'Golo Kante ahead of an imminent midfield revamp, although the latter now seems destined for the Saudi Pro League.

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Ben Knapton
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Granit Xhaka celebrates scoring for Arsenal on May 28, 2023
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool18143145172845
2Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1911442619737
3Arsenal18106235161936
4Chelsea19105438231535
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle1995532211132
6Manchester CityMan City199463226631
7Bournemouth198652923630
8Fulham197842825329
9Aston Villa198562831-329
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton196942928127
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1973941281324
12Brentford187383232024
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham196582335-1223
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd196492126-522
15Crystal Palace194872027-720
16Everton183871524-917
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1944113142-1116
18Ipswich TownIpswich1936101833-1515
19Leicester CityLeicester1935112242-2014
20Southampton1913151239-276


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