Lavia, Zubimendi, Diaby - The Arsenal squad Mikel Arteta wants for Premier League start

Although it was impossible not to view last season as progress, when it came to an end, Mikel Arteta made it very clear that he had no intentions of resting on his laurels.

«We have built that core and foundation,» he said prior to the penultimate match of the campaign against Nottingham Forest. «It’s a lot of quality, youth and enthusiasm surrounded by a lot of good people with the right experience and leadership around them. We have to continue to do that because the demands, expectations and challenges next season will be even higher. We cannot get confused of what we are today but have a lot of clarity of how we’re going to get what we want in the next seasons.»

Thus far the clarity Arteta spoke about has been evident for all to see. Edu revealed to football.london in March that plans had already begun for the summer transfer window. «I always make myself comfortable going into the transfer window when we’ve prepared how to face those challenges,» he said at the London Football Awards when asked about the work Arsenal had done in the transfer market. «In the Premier League there’s a lot of clubs and a lot of good managers so the competition is hard. So as soon as you prepare well, you feel comfortable.»

This preparation has allowed them to their business done early. While many of the rest of the footballing world have been taking a break over the past few weeks Arsenal have been hard at work. The deal to bring in Kai Havertz was completed remarkably quickly. Arteta identified the German as someone to help him develop the left eight position and having informed Edu the transfer was swiftly enacted. It's yet more proof of how smooth Edu, Arteta, Richard Garlick and the rest of the Arsenal transfer team are working now.

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