Arsenal are reportedly working on as many as six transfer deals barely two weeks into the summer window, according to football.london and the Daily Mail. The north London club has already completed the permanent signing of Piero Hincapie, and activity is expected to ramp up throughout July under sporting director Andrea Berta and head of scouting Maurizio Micheli.
Champions League and World Cup delays
The relative quiet on arrivals so far is attributed to Arsenal's deep Champions League run, which extended their season to the very last moment, combined with the ongoing World Cup. Nevertheless, behind-the-scenes work is said to be well advanced.
The Daily Mail notes that Berta has a pattern of conducting several negotiations simultaneously. This is reflected in the Gunners reportedly holding talks over Morgan Rogers while also preparing to test Paris Saint-Germain's willingness to part with Bradley Barcola.
£55m bid for Bruno Guimaraes
Arsenal have a genuine interest in both Rogers and Barcola, alongside Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes, for whom they have reportedly submitted a £55 million bid. The club has also made enquiries regarding Alex Scott and held talks with representatives of Kerim Alajbegovic. Christos Tzolis, reportedly made available to the club, is another player Arsenal are genuinely keen on.
Of the six players being monitored, Alajbegovic, Barcola, Guimaraes, and Rogers are currently involved with their respective nations at the World Cup. Scott trained with England ahead of the tournament, while Tzolis featured for Greece in friendlies last month.
Arteta calls for ambition
Mikel Arteta recently challenged the club to improve further following their Champions League final defeat. He said: 'We will start the process to review what we've done. If you want to reach another level, we're going to have to show that ambition because we are more than capable of doing it, but it demands to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart. We need to do better, to improve and find different margins to get the outcome.'
