Arsenal miss £100m transfer deadline but midfield priority remains despite uncertainty

It is understood by football.london that a central midfielder is the key priority transfer that Arsenal wish to pursue. This of course does not mean that there is not a desire to strengthen other areas of the team, and the forward line, defence and goalkeeper remain key points of interest.

However, the midfield remains an intriguing part of the squad for Arsenal to work out which target they decide to pursue and how. Names have not been particularly forthcoming despite the priority that the middle third presents to Mikel Arteta.

Bruno Guimaraes, Martin Zubimendi, and Amadou Onana have all been mentioned, and Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino has also been discussed of late but nothing has so far advanced beyond pure speculation. All these players are different in both style and position, which does raise questions over the profile of player the club want for the position.

There is certainly an understanding of a preference toward the No.6 position as opposed to the No.8, but depending on the potential targets that could of course change. Guimaraes’ £100million release clause deadline has now expired, although any move at such a figure was always unlikely.

Declan Rice arrived as a six but spoke recently of how things changed under his new manager. "My first discussions with [Mikel Arteta] was to go to Arsenal and play as a six," he told the press ahead of England’s game against Slovenia. "But, as we started to play more Arteta liked me in the eight role and it gave us more balance - I can play both and I am happy to play eight or six."

Thomas Partey's uncertain future also provides something of an obstacle in what the club do. Despite links to Italy, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, so far nothing concrete has come forward regarding a departure and he could still stay.

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Many saw Partey as the deeper player with Rice playing ahead of him but interestingly there were times when Jorginho started that he would play further ahead of Rice. Kai Havertz too provided an option in midfield that would also push the England international to the deeper role, assuming Martin Odegaard is also starting.

Yet Arteta has seemingly enjoyed Rice playing in forward positions and finding the perfect foundation player for him could transform his numbers. Equally, we know of his world-class ability playing deeper and therefore should a box-to-box target emerge there is flexibility for the Gunners thanks to Rice's quality in both roles.

It remains to be seen how Arsenal will proceed, but what is vital is they prioritise the correct fit for the team. Arteta has cultivated a squad with balance, and strengthening that will be key to next season's title race.