It is transfer deadline week and a time when every fan needs optimism for the final days of business that could help define the Premier League season. This has not been the busiest summer on record, and has not seen anything like the spending levels of a year ago, yet there is still plenty of work going on in the background that suggests we are in for a hectic few days. Here, we look at key areas for each of last season’s top eight as we count down to Friday’s crunch time.
Arsenal Talk of a new forward has been rife for months, all the way back to when Ivan Toney was being heavily linked at the start of the year. Arsenal decided not to move forward with that one after a meeting about the prospect in March, and since then have actually reviewed the type of player they want to sign up front. It is expected that if a new figure is signed, it will be a more versatile player who can play on the right side as back-up to Bukayo Saka, as opposed to a traditional No.
9. Nico Williams would be top choice, but the Athletic Bilbao talisman's wage demands are one of the factors that have made a deal difficult, while Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich has been offered and Atalanta's Ademola Lookman has been linked. Reiss Nelson has not left Arsenal and, as it stands, would be the Saka back-up.
But there is some potential for him to still leave. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Bukayo Saka has made 228 appearances for Arsenal since breaking into the first-team, chalking up 59 goals and 55 assists.