4 positions Arsenal need to upgrade this summer

Look, I know we’ve got to “fight until the end” and all, but it now looks incredibly unlikely that it’ll be Martin Odegaard holding the Premier League trophy aloft on 28 May. 

A four-game winless run which culminated in a critical humbling at the Etihad saw the title pendulum swing firmly in Man City’s favour. It’s their crown to lose, but a 90-point haul is still in the sights of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Now that would be some achievement.

No matter how the conclusion to a sensational 2022/23 season plays out on the red half of north London, a big summer lies ahead. Similar issues that plagued the Gunners down the stretch in 2021/22 have resurfaced in 2022/23, only in a more significant context. Arteta has moved along with his project at an exponential rate, and he now needs a squad to fully match his ambition.

The club has taken massive strides on the recruitment front in recent times, and their work in the most recent summer and January windows were crucial in Arsenal sustaining their majestic form for much of the current campaign.

Further strides must be taken, however, because holes remain in Arteta’s squad.

4 positions Arsenal need to upgrade this summer

Here are four positions Arsenal must upgrade in the 2023 summer transfer window.

William Saliba proved to be a revelation before his injury. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

1. Centre-back

Arsenal went into the season with a myriad of centre-back options, if you include the converted Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, but will likely end the season with just three viable options thanks to injuries.

Tomiyasu’s setback combined with William Saliba’s seemingly chronic lower back problem forced Rob Holding into the fray, and the Englishman, while he hasn’t been disastrous individually, has compromised the Gunners’ collective.

In Saliba and Gabriel, Arsenal may well have their centre-back partnership for the next five years. They’ve been imperious this season. Jakub Kiwior, meanwhile, could be a useful backup to the Brazilian.

However, they desperately need an upgrade on Holding this summer. Arteta requires a player capable of fulfilling Saliba’s role, perhaps not to the same level, to ensure his entire framework doesn’t collapse. Marc Guehi has already been linked.

Continued on the next slide…