Arsenal could be closing in on their first signing as Premier League champions.
The Gunners ended a 22-year wait to lift the Premier League trophy once more when they beat Manchester City to top spot in the 2025/26 season.
But manager Mikel Arteta is not resting on his laurels and is keen to freshen up his squad ahead of an assault on the crown once more in 2026/27. To that end, the Spaniard is working on deals behind the scenes with sporting director Andrea Berta, both incoming and outgoing as the Gunners look to defend their crown.
A new forward is the top priority for Mikel Arteta
Morgan Rogers
The main area for improvement in the squad is at left-wing, with Arsenal looking at a number of potential options, including a dream deal to sign Morgan Rogers. Club Brugge star Christos Tzolis has also been heavily inked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli have both been linked with an exit, hence the need for attacking reinforcements in that area of the pitch.
However, Arsenal are also looking at adding strength in depth in the central midfield department and that is where they could complete their first signing. According to reports in Italy, a deal has been agreed between the Gunners and Roma midfielder Manu Kone.
Kone is a 25-year-old France international, currently on duty in America at the 2026 World Cup - he was an unused substitute in their opening 3-1 win over Senegal on Tuesday night.
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Kone, whom France boss Didier Deschamps descirbed as the "complete player", was almost an ever-present when he was fit and available in Serie A last season, playing 29 of Roma's 38 games, starting 28 of them, only missing nine due to hamstring injuries during the campaign.
Gazetta dello Sport report that the Gunners are closing in on the signing of Kone, with personal terms already agreed over a move to north London this summer.
Kone wants to make the move to Arsenal
Manu Kone Roma
Atletico Madrid have also been linked with signing the 25-year-old, but it is understood that Kone would prefer a move to north London.
Arsenal have yet to agree a deal with Roma, but with personal terms with the player already sorted, once a fee has been thrashed out the transfer should move quickly for Kone to become Arteta's first signing of the summer.
Roma are demanding €50million (£43million) to let the midfielder leave, with it unknown as yet as to whether Arsenal will get close to that figure or not.
Speaking ahead of France's opener at the World Cup, Kone responded to transfer speculation by saying: "Honestly, right now I’m only thinking about the World Cup. It’s my first major international competition, a tournament I’ve always dreamed of playing in. I want to stay focused exclusively on that.
"We’ll talk about the future after the World Cup and see what happens.”