Exclusive Arsenal column: Arteta increasing pressure over striker transfer, Eze talks, Partey exit & more

Mikel Arteta pushing for Arsenal to get striker transfer done

Another week has gone by and we are no clearer to learning who Arsenal’s striker signing will be.

The Sesko vs Gyokeres debate rumbles on and it will continue to do that until the club makes a firm move to land one of them, or they throw a wildcard into the mix.

We have heard rumblings from Germany this week of reported interest in Hugo Ekitike.

I’m sure Arsenal have considered him, just like every other top club which is scouring the striker market, but I still believe that it’s Sesko and Gyokeres who are sitting at the top of the club’s list.

Ekitike is a talent, that’s very clear, but the messages Frankfurt have been sending out this summer suggests they want a fee of around £85 million for the young Frenchman and I would be surprised if Arsenal went close to that for him.

So as it stands there is still plenty of uncertainty around the striker situation, certainly looking at it from the outside anyway. I’m sure internally they have a grasp on what they want to do, but right now they continue to keep everyone guessing.

One thing I am certain of is that Mikel Arteta will be putting an increasing amount of pressure on those above him to get something sorted quickly.

The first batch of players return for pre-season next week before flying out to La Manga soon after for a short training camp ahead of the tour to Asia.

Arteta will certainly want his new striker on board before the squad jet out to Singapore.

So I’m sure he will be knocking on doors at London Colney reiterating how important it is that a deal is done sooner rather than later.

Who that will be, however, remains to be seen.

Arsenal yet to reach agreement with Valencia over Cristhian Mosquera

Arsenal’s move for Cristhian Mosquera was one of those deals that suddenly comes out of the blue.

There were tentative links a while back, but nothing massively serious, and then all of a sudden an offer had gone for the defender.

At the time of writing this column there is no agreement between Arsenal and Valencia for the defender, with Arsenal’s opening offer having been rejected.

Arsenal are expected to return imminently with an improved bid and with reports suggesting that personal terms have already been agreed with Mosquera, this feels like one that could be wrapped up pretty quickly.

I can’t pretend to know lots about him, but he looks like a decent young defender with all the attributes needed to be a success in the Premier League.

The key thing is that he is a right footed centre-back and Arsenal did need to bring in cover in that position.

Ben White and Jurrien Timber could cover for William Saliba if needed, but both have had their injury issues so it looks like smart squad building to move for someone like Mosquera.

He’s young, so will have plenty to learn, but he couldn’t have two better centre-backs to learn the ropes from than Saliba and Gabriel, should a deal get done.

Eberechi Eze transfer could be ideal for Arsenal

I’m a huge fan of Eberechi Eze and have been pretty vocal this summer about my desire to see Arsenal make a move for him.

There have now been discussions with his representatives to learn about the potential terms of any deal, but that is as far as things have gone so far.

And Arsenal have had discussions with the representatives of lots of wide players so far this summer as Andrea Berta looks to assess all the options that could be available on the market.

So these talks with Eze’s agents do not mean that an offer is forthcoming from Arsenal, but I have to admit I hope one does come this summer as I think he would be perfect for this Arsenal squad.

It’s clear that this squad misses a maverick type attacker, someone who can do something out of nothing that can just open a game up.

In tight games against packed defences, Arsenal struggle. That was what really cost them last season, along with the injuries.

Someone like Eze could provide that spark. He could add that extra bit of creativity that Arsenal have been crying out for in the past year or so.

He scores goals and he makes goals. He can play on the left or he can move inside and operate in the central areas, in place of Odegaard when he is struggling or alongside him.

I think Eze would provide Arteta with so many new options. He would be a fabulous signing.

It’s a gamble, but Arsenal have probably got it right with Thomas Partey

I think Arsenal have made the right call on Thomas Partey.

They will miss him next season, I’m sure of that, but I don’t think they could have been able to justify giving him a pay rise or even giving him terms that matched what he was on previously.

Yes, he had arguably his best season in an Arsenal shirt last season and his availability was excellent for once.

But he is now 32 and one good season of availability does not mean you should just forget about the previous season when injuries  were a constant issue.

There is no way you could say with any confidence that those injury problems wouldn’t have returned next season, so I just don’t see how Arsenal could have given him what he was asking for.

Had he agreed to take a wage reduction I’m sure that an agreement would have been reached, but he didn’t and that’s understandable on his part.

He does have interest from elsewhere and it wouldn’t surprise me if he now ended up in Spain, but for Arsenal it’s a good opportunity to move on.

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I think Christian Norgaard is a smart signing. It doesn’t excite me hugely, but it makes sense when you break it down. He’s coming in to replace Jorginho in the squad and that’s a perfectly adequate replacement for the experienced Italian, who only started nine league games last season.

He knows the Premier League well and so you would expect him to be able to hit the ground running and fill the position in the squad that has been left by Jorginho’s departure.

With Martín Zubimendi coming in to replace Partey it represents a big shift in the midfield for Arteta and how both players adapt to their new surroundings could be key to Arsenal’s chances this season.