MIKEL ARTETA is on the verge of spending nearly £200million this summer as Arsenal prepare to seal three new signings in the coming days.
Title hopeful Arteta has already splashed £70.8m on midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, as well as goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga.
But after sealing a second-place finish for the third straight season, the Spaniard is in full business mode.
And with the help of new sporting director Andrea Berta, Arteta expects to see three more faces join Arsenal this week – taking his summer spend to nearly £200m.
According to the Times, the Gunners have now agreed an initial £54.5m deal to sign Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swede scored 54 goals in 52 outings last season and is sure to calm the nerves of fans concerned about Arsenal’s lack of composure in front of goal.
Arteta is also close to landing Chelsea winger Noni Madueke in a deal worth £48m, with an additional £4m in add-ons.
The England star is back in Blighty after missing Chelsea’s Club World Cup final win over PSG.
And he has already completed the first part of his medical, with an announcement due shortly.
Finally, Arsenal’s latest hat-trick of signings will be completed by the arrival of Cristhian Mosquera.
The Valencia centre-back will cost just £13m and is seen as an ideal back-up option for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Arsenal’s next three signings will take their summer spending to £186m.
Signing this many players at this stage of the summer transfer window has not happened since the present system of windows was introduced in 2002.
But it may not stop there, with Arteta still looking at signing a left winger.
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and Real Madrid’s Rodrygo are both high on his list.
While Arsenal retain interest in versatile Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze.
However, SunSport understands they now face competition from Bayern Munich for the winger.
The Gunners will also look to sell some current players after stars like Jorginho, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu departed on free transfers.
Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Reiss Nelson, Leandro Trossard, Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Karl Hein are all available for exits.
And should they all be sold, it would free up a pretty penny for Arsenal’s stretched transfer kitty.
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