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Arsenal playing the long game in the summer transfer market

John Brewin

While Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta once led recruitment decisions, new sporting director Andrea Berta’s expertise will not be ignored. PHOTO: REUTERS

UPDATED Jun 28, 2025, 03:35 PM

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When Arsenal fell short last season, the widespread assumption was that personnel issues had cost Mikel Arteta’s team. If only the Gunners had been able to call on a finisher with the level of Mohamed Salah or Erling Haaland, then second place in the Premier League and a run to the Champions League semi-finals would have been exchanged for silverware.

The transfer market is a jumble of such equations, and as summer business resumes, the expectation is that Arteta will soon have his man. Which man? That appears the first issue in a situation that is trying Arsenal fans’ patience when their peers are signing big.

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