Here are three players Arsenal must target in the summer 2025 transfer window if they want to reach the next level.
Atalanta ST Mateo Retegui
Everyone knows that Arsenal need a new striker in the summer 2025 transfer window, and after balking on signing a new No. 9 last summer, Mikel Arteta and friends are paying dearly for their lack of ambition by falling out of the title race entirely in 2024/25, especially amidst Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury.
From Viktor Gyokers and Benjamin Sesko to Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, Arsenal have been linked to everyone under the sun, no pun intended, ahead of the summer market.
But one name that should get mentioned more often is the free-scoring Italian international Mateo Retegui, who has been wanted by virtually everyone in Serie A but has been flying under the radar in Premier League circles.
Retegui has broken out this season at Atalanta after disappointing a little at Genoa. Once anointed as the future of Italian football at striker, Retegui is starting to live up to that expectation at the age of 25.
He is the best pure scorer in Serie A right now with 22 goals, and he’s quietly improved as a creator, too, with 4 goals and 1 key pass per game. Arsenal would do well to show heavy interest.
AC Milan LW Rafael Leao
Staying in Serie A, which is a league that has served Arsenal very well over its history in the transfer window (see: Henry, Thierry of Juventus), the Gunners should look for some goals on the left wing – not just at striker.
Leandro Trossard is a nice backup, and, ideally, Gabriel Martinelli would be a rotational piece, too, because after one great season, he has proven far too inconsistent to trust as a weekly starter on the left wing.
Even though Rafael Leao gets accused of being inconsistent, his worst is better than Martinelli’s average. Leao is a former Serie A MVP who pretty much carried AC Milan to the Scudetto, and he carried them to a Champions League semifinal in 2022/23, too.
The Portuguese international often bails Milan out in 2024/25 amidst their horrible season, as his sneaky return of 13 goal contributions would best every other Arsenal attacking player besides Bukayo Saka himself.
Real Sociedad DM Martin Zubimendi
It’s time for Arsenal to move on from Thomas Partey and sign a better player who actually suits the starting 6 for a team with Champions League and Premier League title aspirations.
The best possible name for Arsenal is Martin Zubimendi, who has been one of the best midfielders in LaLiga over the past couple of years, blossoming into the world’s finest possession-based anchor.
A classy passer and an intelligent reader of the game, Zubi can defend and playmake from deep at a high level, retaining possession flawlessly. If Arsenal can beat Barcelona and Liverpool to the punch, Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Declan Rice, and Martin Odegaard could form the best midfield quartet in English football – maybe even in the world, if Real Madrid don’t have anything to say about it.
