Arsenal are undergoing a major restructure of their squad ahead of the 2025/2026 campaign, with manager Mikel Arteta desperate to end the club’s long wait for a Premier League title.
Arsenal in discussions for £85m Serie A star as "close" circle contacted
The north Londoners have a number of targets they’re exploring.
ByEmilio GalantiniJun 20, 2025
New sporting director Andrea Berta’s arrival in north London three months ago brought plenty of anticipation with it, and the Italian has already been busy for a long time behind-the-scenes.
Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi is set to join Arsenal after the Gunners and Berta agreed to pay over his release clause. While Arteta’s side need to stump up a larger fee overall for the Spain international, this cost will be spread out across installments, allowing Arsenal to both navigate PSR regulations and take less of a chunk out of their summer transfer kitty for this year.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is also still joining Arsenal from Chelsea as David Raya’s new back-up goalkeeper (The Times), and the experienced 30-year-old is set to compete for Arteta’s number one spot between the sticks.
While Arsenal are yet to bring in a new striker, despite talks for both Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Arteta’s dire need for a centre-forward means it’ll surely only be a matter of time.
19/20 – winter
£0
20/21 – summer
£81.5m
20/21 – winter
£900k
21/22 – summer
£156.8m
21/22 – winter
£1.8m
22/23 – summer
£121.5m
22/23 – winter
£59m
23/24 – summer
£208m
23/24 – winter
£0
24/25 – summer
£101.5m
24/25 – winter
£0
Amidst all of this activity, when it comes to recruitment, players deemed surplus to requirements have been going the other way as well.
Jorginho and Kieran Tierney have officially departed Arsenal, with the former terminating his contract early so he can link up with Flamengo for the Club World Cup, and the latter re-joining former club Celtic on a free transfer.
Now, amid challenging talks over a new deal for star £200,000-per-week midfielder Thomas Partey, the Ghanaian is close to joining them.
Thomas Partey could leave Arsenal in the next few days
He made over 50 appearances under Arteta last season in what was his best-ever campaign for Arsenal, prompting the club to open discussions over an extension, but these negotiations have gone nowhere.
As things stand, Partey could now leave Arsenal in a matter of days, as explained by Fabrizio Romano.
The 32-year-old seemed nailed-on to quit the north London club before 2024/2025, given his well-documented past injury problems, but Partey’s resurgence has suddenly made the star’s exit a much bigger blow for Arteta.
Arsenal’s manager was public in his desire for Partey to remain in N5, after the ex-Atletico Madrid man thrived playing in both midfield and as an emergency right-back last term, which included some pretty big performances against the likes of Real Madrid.
Amid serious interest from AC Milan and José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe, the curtain appears to be drawing on Partey’s five-year stay at the club, which could now leave Arteta one “sensational” player short in the engine room.