Arsenal News and What to Expect in a Fast-Paced July, 2025

Andrea Berta, Arsenal Sporting Director

Top of the month to you. It’s July 1st, 2025, which feels like it’s come quickly in the wider context of time, given we're now more than halfway through another year. Exciting? Scary? However you feel about it, I expect time to feel like it’s moving even quicker now in the football context, as clubs can now ramp up activity in signing players to their financial books as the new fiscal period starts today. Particularly for Arsenal, as we’d been hearing for weeks that this was a significant reason why new players hadn’t been signed or announced yet, so it should be an active and exciting month ahead. I expect this to be a busy week to kick off the month for signings, with Kepa, Norgaard, and Zubimendi all to be announced. Probably in that order as well, since the Arsenal social media team will likely want to build up to the Zubimendi announcement, which is worthy of a grand reveal as a major signing and significant showing of intent for the club's pursuit of a major trophy this season. The signing that sets the tone for our transfer business. I’ll share my thoughts on each of those signings in additional posts later, after the official announcements are made.

Speaking of midfielders on the move, Thomas Partey has officially left Arsenal as a free agent with his contract expiring today. I loved Partey as a player, so it's somewhat bittersweet because his skill set offers elements that I don't think we will get even with Zubimendi and Norgaard as replacements. His combination of forward passing, power, and poise in the midfield will be a significant loss, and he finally had a mostly injury-free season last season, and looked three years younger! I really wanted to see him and Zubimendi in the team together as DM options. That would have been a level of depth and quality in the midfield that we haven’t had in…two decades at least? Partey would have also helped Zubimendi transition into the team and a new playing style, which I thought would be important to help ensure the team starts the season strongly. Instead, we have Norgaard coming to essentially replace Jorginho and provide midfield depth and premier experience. That’s a lot of change in the spine of the team, which is why it was so crucial that we got both players in as early as possible, ahead of pre-season, so that they can get acclimated. Still, I've concerns, especially given our tough start to the season (ranked the second most difficult first five games), but I do think we’ve done OK in the circumstances once we realized a new deal with Partey wasn't going to be reached. Time will tell, but best of luck to Thomas Partey in his next chapter.

In less concrete Arsenal-related news, if the transfer gurus are to be believed, Arsenal are still in pursuit of three to five more players — Sesko/Gyokeres, Mosquera, Eze, and Rodrygo. Eze is the most recent addition to that list of targets, as discussions were reportedly held with his representatives this past weekend, and he has given the green light to join Arsenal. Eze would be a perfect addition to Arsenal, as he possesses a level of unpredictability, ball-carrying, and goal threat (he actually shoots) that complements the slower, more methodical build-up that Odegaard provides in the 8/10 spaces. I don’t view Eze as a winger per se. He has the pace and dribbling to be a player there, but he’s much more effective starting in a more central role and dictating play with his directness, bringing athleticism, creativity, and attacking aggression to the midfield. Crystal Palace are said to want his roughly £68M release clause met, which in this market seems reasonable for a 26-year-old in his prime, Premier League-experienced, England international. The current market price for attackers is why I said that I wouldn’t sell Martinelli for less than £75M to Bayern or whoever, by the way. You can read more from that piece here.

Miles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal

In young adult player news, Miles Lewis-Skelly has signed a new long-term contract, reportedly making him one of the highest-paid young players in the world. What an amazing story and a hell of a year in his first year with the first team, stepping in at left back on the biggest stages, including with the England national team, and ultimately getting financially rewarded for it. I can't wait to see what's in store for him next season and whether he'll play more in the midfield or continue to solidify himself as the starting left back. Ethan Nwaneri won the U21 Euros with England, beating Germany in the final. This is going to be such an interesting year for his development, and he will be the young player I will be watching closest given he’s now a mainstay in the first-team, has dropped his academy number and will be wearing #22 next season which feels like a conscious announcement of himself as a staple in the team. His new deal is reportedly on the verge of completion, tying him to the club for the long term as well. Yet, he still is only 18, and he doesn’t have a clear position tied down, at least in Arteta's mind, so it will be intriguing to see how much time he spends in the midfield, on the wing, or dare I say it, AS A NUMBER NINE? You can tell which one I'm most excited about, so it will be fascinating to watch how more comfortable he is in the team, given the experience he gained last season. All the talent is there to have a great season, so I’m excited for year 2 of Nwaneri!

I'll leave it there for now, but it should be an exciting month ahead and a huge opportunity for Andrea Berta to really show what he and the transfer team have been working on and have in store for the team and Arsenal fans in this summer transfer window. He'll need to, as Arsenal start their pre-season on the third week of July, with the first pre-season match against AC Milan on July 23rd, 2025. Truthfully, all essential transfers need to be done by then. We've seen how important it has been for the team in the past to have new players join ahead of pre-season to build cohesion and learn how to play within the team. Wishful thinking, probably, but one can hope.