Mikel Arteta's transfer wish granted by Arsenal board after he admitted 'we need players'

Mikel Arteta publicly relayed Arsenal's need to invest in his squad, and his transfer wishes were surely granted by the club's hierarchy. Just under two weeks since the summer transfer window ended, the Gunners forked out around £250million on new signings, which ranked as the fourth-highest outlay in Europe.

In what was a third consecutive season of finishing as the Premier League's runners-up and a fifth campaign in a row without silverware, the Spaniard was aware new arrivals were needed if the club wanted to take the final step in their evolution.

It was after their 1-0 win over Newcastle last season, which clinched their participation in the Champions League, that Arteta pledged his faith in his superiors and their plans to bolster his squad through significant investment.

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When asked whether he felt he possessed the support of the board, the Gunners boss confidently answered: "Yeah, but that’s not something new. They always backed the team, the club in the best possible way.

"They’re not going to be different in the summer. We have to be very smart with the decisions that we take. Obviously we need players because the squad is really short and on top of that we are losing four or five players that are going to end their contracts and their loans are finished.

"We need to be sharp, very disciplined in what we want to do and make sure we are stronger next season. I mean, the plan is done, and the time will be dictated by many parties, many circumstances that unfortunately we don’t control."

Arteta was clear in the faith he has with the club's bosses while admitting the importance of keeping the strong core they've already created, shown by the new contracts that were given to Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly earlier this summer.

"But we have great people in charge of that, and they’re going to be leading that with the board and ownership," he continued. "And as well, make sure that the ones that we have, they feel valued, they feel loved, and we make sure that they want to continue with us in the right manner.

"And then the whole environment is excited. That is not just about if we make it, because we cannot start a season like that. And I want to feel that from day one, and I'm going to be very insistent on that."

It wasn't only Arteta who was calling for summer additions as his wishes were echoed by Declan Ricesoon after their Champions League semi-final exit by eventual winners PSG.

The England star said: "Hopefully, we strengthen in the summer, sign more players because we are probably gonna lose a few as well." While the likes of Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Takehiro Tomiyasu departed the club as free agents, they welcomed eight new players to the Emirates.

Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madeuke, Martin Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard and Piero Hincapie all arrived in recent months with Arteta impressively improving his depth in quality.

Three games into the new season, Arsenal sit third but have already tripped over one hurdle in the title race after losing 1-0 to Liverpool prior to the international break. However, Arteta will be hoping for a response from his side as they welcome an Ange Postecoglou-led Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

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