Arsenal are reportedly confident of sealing a pair of new signings and two new contracts for existing players next week.
After leading the Gunners to an unexpected second-placed finish in the 2022-23 Premier League season, Mikel Arteta has apparently been backed with a mammoth £200m summer transfer budget.
Arsenal have already dipped into their warchest to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea in a £65m deal, and the Germany international is expected to occupy a midfield role for the Gunners.
At least one new lynchpin should arrive at the Emirates before the start of the 2023-24 season, though, while Arteta is also thought to be pushing for a defensive reinforcement too.
According to The Mirror, Arsenal could complete moves for both West Ham United's Declan Rice and Ajax defender Jurrien Timber next week to take their summer spending to the £200m mark.
© Reuters
Arsenal and West Ham are understood to have had a £105m agreement in place for a few days, but the two clubs have since been locked in talks over the payment structure.
However, all parties are now confident of finalising those terms by Monday, as the Hammers captain prepares to join the Gunners in a club-record and British-record deal.
Meanwhile, Arsenal and Ajax are supposedly close to shaking hands on a £40m deal for Timber, who could be deployed as a right-back or centre-back for the Gunners.
Ben White found success as a full-back last season, but Arteta is thought to be planning to revert the Englishman to a central position for the 2023-24 season, leaving Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares as his only right-back options.
With Cedric potentially heading for the exit door and Tomiyasu consistently struggling with injuries, Timber could immediately come into the fold as Arsenal's first-choice right-back, despite mainly occupying a central role for Ajax last term.
© Reuters
As well as welcoming Rice and Timber to North London, Arsenal are reportedly also close to announcing new contracts for defender William Saliba and attacker Reiss Nelson.
Saliba was forced to wait three years for his first-team debut in red and white, but he shone for the Gunners during his breakthrough 2022-23 campaign before sustaining a season-ending back injury.
The Frenchman's current deal expires in 2024, but he is said to have reached an agreement in principle with Arsenal over a four-year extension until the summer of 2027.
Meanwhile, Nelson has officially become a free agent after running down his previous deal - which expired in June - but the Englishman is also expected to commit the next four years of his career to his boyhood club.
Nelson will snub interest from AC Milan and Crystal Palace to continue at the Emirates, despite failing to start a single Premier League game in the 2022-23 season.
Ben Knapton
