(Credit: Imago)

Oliver Walton

Sat 14 June 2025 17:32, UK

Arsenal have been told to be ready to break a transfer record and spend over £200million to compete with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title.

The Gunners ended the last Premier League season in second place, 10 points behind eventual winners Liverpool, who won the title with four games remaining in April.

They have been runners-up in the top-flight in the last three seasons, behind Manchester City on two occasions and now the Reds, so it is clear that they still need to make improvements to their squad to finally clinch a title soon.

Mikel Arteta’s main summer priority looks to be a striker, with RB Leipzig hotshot Benjamin Sesko linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, while Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres is believed to be the Gunners’ main target.

Former Aston Villa chief Keith Wyness recently told Football Insider that the Arteta is plotting a move to sign Villans talent Morgan Rogers this summer too, but the Gunners are still yet to make any moves in the transfer window so far, with deals allowed to be completed again from Monday (16 June).

Arsenal told Benjamin Sesko is not enough

Gunners supporters are likely to get restless with their lack of transfer activity before long, especially with title rivals Liverpool set to sign Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz in one of the biggest deals in English football history.

Any deal to take Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak to Arsenal looks unlikely following recent reports, and so it is imperative that they pursue other targets and bring in quality in priority positions over the coming months.

Speaking live on talkSPORT on Saturday (14 June), former Chelsea striker and current pundit Tony Cascarino urged Arsenal’s chiefs to back Mikel Arteta with a marquee capture that could break a transfer record this summer, and namechecked Sesko, Gyokeres and Isak, saying: “They need a couple of really big signings. People might look at [Martin] Zubimendi…I think it is way more than that, I think Arsenal need two or three big ones.

“I think he (Sesko) is a really good player, but I think they are having to go bigger. That’s why I said if anyone could get Isak out of Newcastle, I would rather they try that one.

“I just feel they’re ready to break a record. I can’t remember the last time, or if Arsenal have ever broken a record on a transfer. Gyokeres I really like. I think he is better than Sesko, his numbers are far better. I think he is a more complete player.”

Cascarino continued on to urge the Gunners’ hierarchy to complete a record-breaking window with a huge overall spend of at least £200m, stating: “I do think they are a club that need to spend the sort of money, which is £200-plus-million, to give them a golden opportunity of just really lifting the club again.”

Arsenal need a marquee signing to push to Premier League glory

Football Insider verdict

Arsenal have certainly not been shy of spending big in recent transfer windows as they aim to win the Premier League or the Champions League, but there was no real marquee signing last summer after Declan Rice’s 2023 arrival for a club record £105million [Sky Sports].

Instead, smaller fees were spent on the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and David Raya, and so the Gunners may well look to spend big on a single player in the coming months to bolster Arteta’s ranks.

The striker position is one that needs particular attention, with Swedish international Gyokeres and Leipzig frontman Sesko both linked, but Football Insider have recently revealed that Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta are at odds over which to sign this summer.

Arsenal will need more than either Sesko or Gyokeres this summer if they are to compete for the Premier League and the Champions League next season, though, but they want to sell AC Milan-linked pair Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior before they can sign a new centre-back.

Arteta certainly needs to be backed heavily, and a marquee signing of any kind would go a long way to helping them achieve success next season and in the years to come, especially with Liverpool and Man City both making serious moves in the market so far this summer.