Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images
Arsenal brought in four new signings in the summer transfer window.
After making Piero Hincapie’s loan permanent, the Gunners spent around £160million on Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, Christos Tzolis and Illan Meslier. The depth of the squad, in most areas, is the envy of every other club in the country.
A graphic of Arsenal's squad depth for the 2026/27 season
Credit: TalkingPoints by GRV Media
But Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Mikel Arteta is already thinking about what comes next, and two specific positions are firmly in his sights.
Fabrizio Romano confirms Mikel Arteta wants a striker
Speaking on the Here We Go podcast, Romano was asked about Arsenal’s transfer priorities heading into the January window and beyond.
On the possibility of Arsenal bringing in a striker, the transfer guru said: “Arsenal are still looking at strikers. That’s the reality, they are considering options, looking at options. If you ask me for 2027, striker is an area they want to cover — it’s an area where I expect Arsenal to do something. If it’s not going to be January it might be in the summer transfer window.”
Romano also dropped a specific name into the mix. “Kroupi at Bournemouth is another player who was in the list at Barcelona, at Arsenal, at Manchester City, at PSG. Let’s see if Arsenal will go back in conversations for him or not.”
Eli Junior Kroupi is the obvious January target. The 20-year-old is a profile that suits Arsenal’s system, and it was reported the Gunners would have made a move for him before his injury.
Arsenal also want to sign a right-back
The striker priority will surprise nobody given the ongoing Viktor Gyokeres situation and the questions around the attack that have persisted since the window closed. But Romano’s second area of interest raised some eyebrows.
“I will keep an eye also on right-back,” Romano said. “At that position, probably Arsenal could consider new opportunities, probably in the summer of 2027 unless there is a big name available in January.”
Of course, Arsenal have Ben White and Jurrien Timber — two of the best right-backs in the Premier League. And yet Romano is flagging it as a position they want to strengthen.
White’s injury record remains a concern and Timber has only just returned from a lengthy groin problem. The Gunners had been rumoured to be ready to sell White early in the summer amid links with Tino Livramento, but an injury to William Saliba shifted their focus to a centre-back.