Arsenal to spend big this summer, says Mikel Arteta as Bukayo Saka returns

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are planning a “big” summer transfer window as he prepares to welcome Bukayo Saka back from injury after three months sidelined by a torn hamstring.

Saka was on course to record his best figures for combined goals and assists in a season before he suffered the injury in the 5-1 win away to Crystal Palace on December 21. That victory took Arsenal to within three points of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table but his absence played a sizeable role in derailing the north London club’s title bid. They are now 12 points behind the leaders after ­dropping 11 from a possible 36 in the matches he has missed since then.

Arteta admitted he was ­“disappointed” that Arsenal failed to sign a forward in the January transfer window with Saka injured and Gabriel Jesus ruled out for the rest of the season before Kai Havertz suffered the same fate. However, he said he is “excited” to strengthen the depth of his squad, with Arsenal in pole position to sign Martin Zubimendi, the Real Sociedad midfielder, and Viktor Gyokeres, of Sporting Lisbon, among a handful of ­strikers being considered.

Zubimendi, the Real Sociedad midfielder who the Euros with Spain, is among the big-money names on Arsenal’s shortlist GETTY

“We want to increase the depth of the squad but as well we want to increase the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step,” the Arsenal manager said. “It’s going to be a big one [summer] and we are very excited about it.”

Saka’s return is timely. He will also have the match against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday to rebuild his match fitness and sharpness before Arsenal host Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie next Tuesday.

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“Bukayo is ready to go,” Arteta said. “It’s another massive weapon with him. It is a massive boost for him and the team to have him come in at the most important part of the season. We know his impact [and] how important his role and contribution is to success.”

Saka, 23, has five goals and ten assists in the league this season. He was involved in 25 league goals in each of the past two seasons. In the league, he scored a career-best 16 times last season and two seasons ago he recorded a career- best 11 assists. In his absence, Arteta tried five different players in his position, underlining his impact. “There is not a single player in the squad that has produced the numbers of Bukayo in the past three seasons — that’s it,” Arteta said. “We have ­remained very competitive without him and many other players. That’s a big credit.”

Saka has taken part in six consecutive training sessions and featured in an ­internal friendly fixture, leaving Arteta in no doubt he has recovered and he will not worry about a reoccurrence of the hamstring injury when he steps on the pitch against Fulham.

The manager is wary of the risks of rushing players back too soon. “You ­haven’t played for three months but you’ve played for the past 48 months, so three in 48 is a very small percentage,” he said. “Especially to get that out of your head. I haven’t done maybe the housekeeping duties for a week but I’ve done it for ten years so I know what to do, I know how to sustain it and I’m clever enough to maintain that.

“The habit is certainly there, so don’t think about that. We have managed to replicate almost every scenario — except 60,000 fans in a stadium, a different competitive level, a referee.”

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Saka has suffered from minor muscular issues in recent years — and missed a 2-0 defeat by Bournemouth in October — but this was his first lengthy absence due to injury. He saw a ­specialist before it was decided that he would have an operation, rather than wait for the hamstring to heal naturally. In the short and medium term there might be questions about whether the injury could happen again or if he has to adapt his game.

Arteta acknowledged that Arsenal and other clubs are looking into the possible reasons for the increasing numbers of hamstring issues.

Arteta has backed Berta, the former Atletico executive, to be a success at Arsenal DAVID S. BUSTAMANTE/SOCCRATES/GETTY IMAGES

“It doesn’t mean it has to happen again,” he said. “He needs to be fully aware that obviously everything is ­increasing: the level, the speed, the time you have to execute is shorter. You want to do things slower? Forget about it, you won’t be efficient. So, you probably have to be faster, sharper, at the maximum speed and you have to train and prepare for that.”

Ethan Nwaneri, who turned 18 last week, became the first choice on the right wing in Saka’s absence. The speed of his and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s development from the academy has been a surprise given neither spent time out on loan. Lewis-Skelly, 18, marked his breakthrough season with an England goal on his debut against Albania at Wembley. “You have a lot of players leaving top clubs in England young [and] they go on loan in the Championship,” Arteta said. “These guys haven’t played professional football. It’s like going from go-karting to Formula 1 the next day. Exceptional.”

Arteta has previously suggested that the emergence of Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly will have a bearing on his potential signings this summer. He said ­Andrea Berta, the new sporting director, has a history of getting deals over the line and will bring his own recruitment ideas in addition to the club’s existing targets. Berta has previously shown an interest in Gyokeres.

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“Planning has to be tweaked because what you plan and you execute most of the time ends up being a bit different from the direction of the vision,” Arteta said. “He would jump on that and hopefully he would twist it and make it better — that’s why he’s here. New blood with people that are so ambitious [is great, as is] that they are so attached to the club.”

Berta will be supported by Jason Ayto, who has deputised in the sporting director role since Edu resigned in November. Arteta claimed he mapped out a vision for the first five summer transfer windows when he became manager in December 2019; this is his sixth summer. “The margins [to improve] are smaller but the cost of that increases,” Arteta said. “We want to increase the depth of the squad, increase the quality.”

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