Arsenal are not just preparing for current success but continued triumphs in the future
04:00, 31 Mar 2026
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
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Mikel Arteta is already one step ahead of the summer transfer window(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Arsenal have already secured one new summer transfer acquisition with Mikel Arteta also having suggested a second permanent addition.
The Gunners have been on an upward curve under the Spaniard for several years and are leading the Premier League title race. Despite falling short in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City earlier this month, the north London outfit remain in the quarter-finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League with three trophies still within reach.
The prospect of the club's success hasn't prevented Arteta and the club's sporting director, Andrea Berta, from planning ahead while strengthening their first-team quality. Arsenal announced the capture of Daniel McCarron last month with the 16-year-old set to arrive at the club in the summer as a scholar.
Currently featuring for Northern Irish outfit Dungannon Swifts, the teenage centre-half is a Northern Ireland youth international. He's unlikely to be the only acquisition the Gunners will complete this summer following the conclusion of Piero Hincapie's loan spell.
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The Ecuador international arrived at the club last August from Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan with an option to purchase him for £45million. At the time of his arrival, it was reported a five-year contract between the two parties had been agreed should Arsenal activate the buy option.
Nearly eight months since joining Arsenal, Hincapie has established himself as the club's first-choice left-back and has already featured 31 times this campaign. While his long-term future remains formally unconfirmed, Arteta practically revealed his intention to retain Hincapie beyond the current season last month.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with new signing Piero Hincapie
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Piero Hincapie is a first-team regular for Mikel Arteta(Image: Getty)
Ahead of Arsenal's 2-1 triumph over Chelsea four weeks ago, the Gunners manager was questioned about whether he intends to sign the defender permanently, responding: "I would say so. Let's go through the season. We have already discussed the possible outcomes that we have after that period.
"But so far, we are very, very happy with him. He's been extremely dominant in all the defensive actions. He understands what we want in the attacking part as well much better, all the set-pieces, all the aspects that are relative to the game model that we have.
Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes, Piero Hincapie, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates after the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 22, 2026 in London, England.
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The team spirit is sky-high at the Emirates Stadium(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
"He's very much liked amongst the players, you can see that the way they interact and react with him. I'm very pleased that he's showing that level." Maintaining their strategy of recruiting emerging prospects, Arsenal have already confirmed the 2027 arrivals of several promising youngsters.
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Shamrock Rovers midfielder Victor Ozhianvuna and Independiente del Valle's twin talents Edwin and Holger Quintero are also scheduled to join the north London side next year.
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