_**Arsenal fans will be hoping Mikel Arteta can bring in several new faces – including a striker – before the new season starts on August 17 against Man United \[Alexander Canillas/SPP\]**_
MIKEL Arteta has to make sure his Gunners side are ready to go on the B of Bang come August after Arsenal were handed a nightmare start to their upcoming Premier League season.
Having finished as runners-up for three campaigns in a row, the pressure has been dialled up to the max, with some supporters insisting that they will only continue trusting in Arteta’s process if the Spaniard lands a big trophy.
But any hopes that the Arsenal boss might have had of landing a leisurely start – say with a home game against a newly promoted side – were quickly dashed yesterday (Wednesday) when the north Londoners were handed a trip to Old Trafford for their opener.
The showdown against Manchester United on Sunday, August 17, is indeed then followed by a newly-promoted side, with Leeds United first up at the Emirates on Saturday, August 23.
Then the brutal start really kicks in with the Gunners travelling to Anfield to test their title credentials against champions Liverpool, before back-to-back home fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, and then a trip to Newcastle, which has become an unhappy hunting ground of late for Arteta’s squad.
The first north London derby of the season against Thomas Frank’s Tottenham is pencilled in for November 22 at the Emirates, with the return fixture against Spurs scheduled, for now at least, on February 21.
One thing that would reassure fans is the sight of some new signings – but so far even the trusty gossip columns make for tough reading.
It’s still expected that the club will start July by announcing the arrival of Martin Zubimendi in a deal worth north of £55million from Real Sociedad, while Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga could also be confirmed imminently.
What eager Gooners are really waiting for, however, is the fast-becoming mythical figure known as a striker – but the outlook on that front remains frustrating.
RB Leipzig are said to be refusing to budge on their current evaluation of Benjamin Sesko, somewhere between £68.5m and £85.5m, resulting in a stand-off between the two clubs.
With Sporting Lisbon forward Viktor Gyokeres rumoured to boast a similar price tag, it appears that what was once a dream of Arsenal signing one of the strikers could now end with the club signing neither of them.
That’s a far cry from what Arteta predicted, some might say even promised, at the tailend of last season.
Looking ahead to this transfer window, he said: “It’s going to be a big one, and we are very excited about it.
“The way we planned the first five summers, they were going to be very big, and they were going to have different objectives. In the beginning, there were a lot of players with three, four or five-year contracts. So the turnaround of the squad and how you visualise the next five years were very dependent on that.
“There are certain positions we didn’t expect to have someone like Ethan Nwaneri or Myles Lewis-Skelly contributing to, which has been great.
“The way you start to evolve, you start to master certain things, then the changes cannot be that much. That’s where we are. The line now is thinner; the margins are smaller. But the cost of that, as well, increases.
“So it goes a little bit in a different direction. We want to increase the depth of the squad, but, as well, we want to increase the quality and the skills we need to go to the next step.
“It’s a big summer for many things because, first of all, we have to maintain the good foundations that we have, and then, obviously, how can we improve and evolve the team?”