Arsenal appear to be on a clear upward trajectory, their points total and league finish improving in each of Mikel Arteta's first three full seasons. In that time, they've done an impressive job of making the squad younger and shifting out some older players who were underperforming. They managed to do this while remaining competitive on the pitch and without the benefit of Champions League revenue (they haven't been in the competition since the 2016-17 season.)
The challenge now is going to the next level. They have one of the youngest top sides in Europe so, to some degree, you expect improvement to be organic as players gain experience. There are areas where they can strengthen further, most evidently in terms of adding depth in midfield and some more firepower up front. And there will be some players they will want to move on.
The priority at this stage will also be signing some of the gifted younger players to long-term contracts. This matters because it will likely mean the wage bill rises significantly and it may impact what they can spend on new arrivals this summer. And, in fact, they may need to sacrifice someone like left-back Kieran Tierney to raise funds in order to bolster the side elsewhere.
We agree they could use another defender; we disagree whether it's in the middle or at right-back. It may come down to who is available. In midfield, Albert Sambi Lokonga's return from loan can add depth, but obviously Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Jorginho (Mohamed Elneny too) are older and the club need to think in terms of succession as well, so we'd expect another significant young signing there. Up front, what to do with United States striker Folarin Balogun, who impressed on loan at Reims, is a big question they need to answer as well.
Editor's note: This is the second of a series of stories over the coming weeks applying the same "who to keep, who to extend and who to move on" approach to all the top clubs in the Premier League and Europe. The first in the series, Manchester City, can be found here.
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MARCOTTI: He's been very good, he's a natural leader and he's young: he's obviously a guy you want to extend now. Sources have told ESPN that they're close.
MARCOTTI: I would assume he'd want to go elsewhere to get playing time, with a view towards the U.S. national team and starting at the 2026 World Cup. He's not going to beat out Ramsdale for the starting job at Arsenal, and I'm not sure it reflects great on him to accept a No. 2 role at this stage of his career.
OGDEN: He's a decent back-up. You can keep him for another season and then decide.
Verdict: Keep if he's happy, if not, look to loan or move out
Runar Runarsson (28, 2024)
MARCOTTI: He's been a starter in his last two loans, at Leuven in Belgium and at Antalyaspor in Turkey. If Turner goes, he can be your back-up, though you'd probably want him to give him an extension.
OGDEN: You have to work on Runarsson and Turner together. Keep one or the other.
MARCOTTI: He just turned 21, but he already has 20 caps for Estonia. I don't think being a reserve is going to help him grow and he's never had a season as a starter. Loan him out somewhere where he can play regularly and extend his deal in January if he's doing well.
OGDEN: There's a parallel here between him and Caoimhin Kelleher at Liverpool and how he unseated the experienced back-up to be No. 2. If Arteta is convinced, keep him and have him challenge either Turner or Runarsson for the back-up role.
OGDEN: I've seen him be awful and I've seen him also mark Erling Haaland out of a game, like he did in the FA Cup ... but I'd look to get a commanding centre-back who can partner Saliba. To me, Gabriel and Kiwior are squad players.
MARCOTTI: I agree that at this stage I'd be looking to move him on, I'm not sure you need to get another centre-back. I think Arteta likes Gabriel a lot and it's still early to judge Kiwior. Maybe you spend that money on a natural right-back who can compete for the job there, knowing you have Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White who can also be an option in central defence.
OGDEN: I really like Tierney. I think he should be the first-choice left-back and I think he will be once he gets over his injuries. And you can move Zinchenko in midfield to accommodate him.
MARCOTTI: Good player, but I don't think he's the sort of full-back Arteta wants, which is why he only started a handful of games this year and why the alternative, Zinchenko, has an entirely different skillset. I think if you tried to move him on now, you would still get a relatively big fee that you could then reinvest. He's too good to be a backup and you have a ready-made alternative in Nuno Tavares once he returns from loan.
Senior Writer, ESPN FC