Former Arsenal and Brazil midfielder Gilberto Silva has backed Arsenal to achieve their goals for the 2022/23 season and believes that new Signing Gabriel Jesus will be the catalyst to the Gunners challenge for a Champions League place.

Man City and Liverpool look sure to take the top two places, but the last two Champions League spots look like they will be contested between Arsenal, Spurs, Man United, Chelsea and Newcastle.

The competition will be fierce, but with Jesus and Arsenal’s other new signings in the squad, Gilberto believes he will score goals and help Arsenal achieve their goals.

Gilberto Silva played 170 games for Arsenal between 2002 and 2008, and the midfielder managed a respectable one goal in ten matched return. The Brazilian played 83 times for his country and netted three international goals during a career in which he won the Premier League as well as the FIFA World Cup.

“I’m very happy for him and very happy for Arsenal”, the Brazilian said on Talk Sport.

“I think he’s the kind of player who deserves to be in a club where he has the conditions to play for the whole season.

“I hope he can be one of the main players for the team and bring the club what the club expects from him.

“I think for the club it will be great because he’s a good player and a very good guy and he has already shown from the beginning that what everyone expects from him is to score goals and to help the team achieve what they want.”

It will be such an exciting season, and I think Arsenal will fly under the radar a bit which will take the pressure off Arteta’s squad and give them a real chance at finishing fourth or even third with this better, deeper and larger squad.

I think Jesus will be our saviour (excuse the pun).

Despite the likes of Spurs and Liverpool signing some exciting talents in the early stages of the transfer window, Gunners fans can be quietly confident that Arteta’s plans for his Arsenal project are slowly but surely taking shape.

The most successful EPL club in North London have already spent over £86m since the transfer window opened bringing in some absolute quality in the form of Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira as well as some interesting future potential in Marquinhos and Matt Turner.

According to reports from Goal Brazil, Arsenal’s technical director and former player Edu is ready to start negotiations for Brazilian international midfielder Lucas Paqueta.

However, the Lyon ace will come at a very high price as the French outfit will be looking for a staggering 80m Euros for one of their prized assets.

Edu, is reportedly ready to start negotiations with Lyon for the former AC Milan player and should he succeed in this signing then it will be a serious statement of intent by The Gunners in their bid to establish themselves once more as a regular Champions League team.

Newcastle have also been linked with the player but Arsenal’s Brazilian contingent both on and off the pitch could really help to sway the player in choosing North London should a deal be possible.

Lyon paid 20m Euros for Paqueta so quadrupling their investment would be great business for the team who recently signed Alexandre Lacazette after his contract at Arsenal expired.

Exciting times for Arsenal although we still really need some backup in defence. Hopefully, there will be more to come from Edu and Arteta in the current transfer window.

Ahead of what will be surely the most competitive EPL season with Newcastle, Spurs, Man Utd and Chelsea all aiming to claim Champions League spots along with bookies favourites Liverpool and Man City, Arsenal need to make some really big moves in the transfer market to avoid the capitulation of last season.

Quite simply, we need a deeper and stronger squad after injuries, and a lack of quality replacements led to Spurs grabbing the last Champions League spot just weeks after The Gunners looked certain to finish fourth.

Arsenal have offered £6.4 million for Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo after entering negotiations with the Portuguese club.

The 26-year-old has become the latest summer target for Mikel Arteta, who is looking for more back-up for Kieran Tierney who has been troubled by injuries since his move to the North London club.

The Arsenal boss is adamant that he needs more strength and depth in his squad following an injury-hit end to the season which saw Arsenal narrowly miss out on a Champions Lague place to their bitter rivals Spurs.

Arteta’s number one choice of new defenders is Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, but he faces stiff competition from Man United, and the transfer is seemingly less likely.

If Arsenal believe they are genuinely losing the race to sign the Argentinean then working on getting a player like Grimaldo into the squad as soon as possible looks like a sensible strategy.

Grimaldo has spent time at Barcelona, so the Spaniard certainly has some pedigree. Do you think he could be a good player for Arsenal? Let us know in the comments below.

Matteo Guendouzi, the hardworking young Arsenal midfielder, has reportedly joined Marseille for £9 million after a successful loan stint with the French club.

Last season, Guendouzi, who is 23 years old, played in all of Marseille’s matches and also made his debut for the French national team.

The move became permanent when the club used a clause in the player’s contract.

Guendouzi played for Arsenal 82 times, but he hasn’t featured for The Gunners since June 2020.

The Frenchman put in some good performances for Arsenal and always seemed to play with passion, although he sometimes looked like he could lose his composure in certain situations.

The news came out on the same day that Jorge Sampaoli left his job as manager of Marseille.

This is good business for Arsenal as they seek to generate more income as they look to add some big money signings to their squad ahead of the new season.

Ajax have turned down Arsenal’s second offer of £38 million for Lisandro Martinez, the Argentine defender who plays for Ajax in Holland.

The Dutch club want a staggering £43 million for the 24-year-old player, and The Mail says the Gunners face stiff competition as Manchester United are also in the race and will try to sign him this weekend.

Martinez looks like a superb defensive player despite being only 175cm in height, which is relatively small for someone who can regularly play in central defence.