Cedric Soares

Arsenal took Southampton right back on loan in January.

He arrived with an injury and then the Covid19 suspension hit meaning he has yet to play a game for the club.

Available for free in the summer, Arsenal would do well to secure his services on a 3-year contract.

Capped 33 times by Portugal, Soares was part of the team that won Euro 2016.

The experienced right back has spent 5 years on the South-Coast, playing 138 games. He has experience, and more importantly Premier League experience.

Some are calling for us to sign Max Aarons – but at £30million it would be a misappropriate use of funds when he would not be first choice.

Soares would be solid cover for Hector Bellerin.

Pablo Mari

Like Soares, Pablo Mari is also on loan. Like Soares, Arsenal should make the deal permanent.

Arsenal are currently overloaded with central defenders. Before even signing Mari, we have 7 at the club (David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers, William Saliba, Konstantinos Mavropanos).

Signing Mari would take it up to 8, but then the challenge would be to sell or loan out at least 3.

Two of David Luiz, Mustafi and Sokratis should be moved on. Mari is better than the later 2.

Time is also running out for Calum Chambers and Rob Holding.

Both Englishmen have stagnated at Arsenal and unlikely ever be good enough. Neither are young enough to be considered as “having potential”.

Mavropanos has been linked away from the club in recent days. A loan deal for a season would make a lot of sense.

Whilst plenty are linking us to the likes of Dayot Upamecano, we do not have the finances to make many big money signings.

Available for as little as £7million, Mari would add balance to the defence and replace the experience we would lose in Sokratis and Mustafi. He is an organiser and leader of the defence.

Ideally, we should go into next season with Luiz, Mari, Holding / Chambers and Saliba; with either Dan Ballard or Zech Medley as 5^th choice.

Thomas Partey

If Arsenal make one big money signing this summer, it needs to be Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey.

For years, Arsenal have lacked power in the middle of the park for nearly a decade. You have to go back to Abou Diaby for the last time we had midfielder powerhouse; capable of physically destroying an opposing midfield, whilst also having the power and pose to drive forward with the ball.

Calling Partey a defensive midfielder is a disservice to him. Like Patrick Vieira, Yaya Toure and Diaby, he is much more than someone who simple wins the ball and passes it on (think Claude Makelele or Gilberto Silva).

He is the type of midfielder that dominates the game, dictates it with his physicality.

The 27-year-old Ghanaian midfielder is at his peak and would transform Arsenal.

Orkun Kokcu

Dutch-born Turkish youth international Orkun Kocku is one of the biggest prospects in the Dutch top-flight at the moment.

It was reported recently that Arsenal’s technical director Edu is a huge fan of the midfielder and wants to bring him to the Emirates this summer.

With Mesut Ozil set to leave the club on a free transfer in the summer, Arsenal should recruit his replacement this summer, enabling him to play and train alongside the German, before taking the step up for the 2021/22 season.

Our friends over at GunnersTown have an excellent scouting report on Kokcu.

At just 19-years-old, recruiting him this summer would give him a year to adapt to the Premier League before becoming a first team regular in 2021.

Ryan Fraser

Bukayo Saka is going to be a star. But he is still just 18-years-old.

Saka can not be expected to play 50 games next season, and with Nicolas Pepe and Reiss Nelson the other two “natural” wingers at the club, we are one short.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang needs to play down the middle next season, with Gabrial Martinelli backing him up (if Alexandre Lacazette leaves). Neither player is really a winger.

Bournemouth winger Fraser is available on a free transfer. The Scot would give Arsenal some Premier League proven experience alongside Saka without breaking the bank.

The pair could share the load on the left hand side, and give Mikel Arteta the option of playing left or right footed players on both wings.

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Final Thoughts: The impact of Covid19 is going to impact the finances of all clubs across Europe this summer. We are not going to see too many teams spending big this summer.

Based on reported fees, the above transfers would cost the club in the region of £80million. Once this is amortised for accounting reason, it would increase the clubs outgoings by around £16million a year.

Arsenal would look to raise funds (and make savings in salaries) by moving on Mustafi, Sokratis, Chambers / Holding and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. In the current market, Arsenal would do well to raise £25-30million.

Selling Alexandre Lacazette could double that, freeing up further wages and providing us with some very important cash to complete the transactions.

With tightening finances, Arsenal are going to have promote some youth next season. The likes of Soares, Mari and Fraser will provide experience alongside those youngsters, whilst Kocku would replace on loan Dani Ceballos as the creativity behind Ozil.

Thomas Partey should be the number one target.

Keenos

Follow @KeenosAFC