Arsenal have been thrown a curveball ahead of the summer transfer window. Throughout January, Mikel Arteta regularly called on higher-ups at the Emirates Stadium to bolster his squad following injuries to numerous players.
Despite publicly asking for reinforcements on several occasions, the Spaniard's requests ultimately fell on deaf ears, leaving him disappointed. Arteta said: "We had a clear intention which is always when a window opens for us to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can make an impact.
"With players injured, we've been impacted - and we haven't achieved it. We are disappointed in that sense but as well we are very aware that we only want to bring certain kinds of players and we have to be very disciplined with that as well. I think that we were.
"It's in the profile, a player that we believe can make us much better. Financially there is a lot of ways, and a lot of things that we must stay in the lane that has taken us this far and from there try to improve."
After a quiet start to the year, Arsenal will be expected to splash the cash. But, as Arteta prepares to strengthen his squad, the North Londoners have been thrown a curveball which will impact their ability to welcome new players to the Emirates Stadium - with deals able to completed earlier than usual for the likes of Alexander Isak and Martin Zubimendia.
The Premier League have announced the transfer window will open early this summer. An official statement reads: "Premier League clubs have today agreed the dates for the Summer 2025 Transfer Window.
"The window will open early, between Sunday 1 June and Tuesday 10 June, due to an exceptional registration period relating to the FIFA Club World Cup. It will then reopen on Monday 16 June and close on Monday 1 September."
Isak has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal for a while now as Arteta looks to bolster his frontline. But, when recently quizzed on his future by Swedish publication Fotboll Skanalen, the Newcastle United star brushed off speculation of an exit from Tyneside.
Alexander Isak remains an Arsenal transfer target for this summer
Alexander Isak remains an Arsenal transfer target for this summer (Image: (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))
"From within the club and from our side there are absolutely no discussions," said Isak. "It's just full focus on playing for me. There is a lot of writing outside but within the club no one is talking about anything like that. I just want to perform for Newcastle.
"Now we won the cup, but we want to finish strong and reach the Champions League games. It's pretty normal, pretty much the same as it was before. I do my best to relax and live as usual. But it's clear that it's hard to avoid everything that is written on social media."
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Magpies' defeat to Manchester City last month, Eddie Howe revealed his desire to keep Isak at the club. The Newcastle boss said: "We have to try and keep our best players.
"That's crucial to our short-term success and our long-term success, so sitting here as the manager of the football club, I'd be saying we need to keep the group together and we need to add the other way. We haven't added [to the first team] in a long time in various transfer windows for the reasons we've all discussed."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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