Arsenal transfers: David Ornstein reveals ‘top priority’ in summer market for Gunners after UEFA Champions League final heartbreak

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The Athletic's football correspondent David Ornstein said that Arsenal are in "fantastic shape" to sign players this summer after their heartbreak in Saturday's UEFA Champions League final.

‘Last summer’s outlay could be exceeded’ - Ornstein on Arsenal transfer targets

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Speaking after Arsenal were beaten by Paris-Saint Germain on penalties in Budapest, Ornstein explained that the future looks bright for the club.

"The finances are in fantastic shape, so I would say this is a season of success and of progress and nearly even greater history," Ornstein told TNT Sports. "They're on track to break records in terms of revenue."

Ornstein said that Arsenal's revenue could reach £770 million, a mark which he said had never been reached before. He also added that the club will surpass £300m mark for television money, another figure Ornstein said The Gunners had not matched before.

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"This is fantastic. The revenues are going through the roof at Arsenal, it's a period of milk and honey which wasn't always the case," he said. "They were a team that were struggling post the Emirates Stadium move.

"They posted profits but that was because they were selling a lot of their best players. They weren't competing. They went 15 or more years of making profits, but in the last seven years, they are going to post losses but that is because the Kroenkes have backed [Mikel, manager] Arteta in the market.

"They've invested very heavily and they've even put their own money in, which everyone was asking for. They wanted success now, and it's been vindicated."

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According to Ornstein, Arsenal have already earmarked a few positions they will target for improvement over the summer, as well as tying down manager Mikel Arteta to a new long-term contract.

Ornstein said that the left side of their attack is a "big priority" in the transfer market, with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard struggling for form over the season.

He added that strengthening at right-back, adding another midfielder and possibly once again looking at the striker position could all be on Arsenal's summer agenda.

If Arsenal were to spend big again this summer, it would be the second year in a row that the club had seen a big influx of players.

Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera all arrived in the summer transfer window last year, with Ornstein reporting that they spent £267m on new players.

Although trying to improve a Premier League-winning squad would likely be a costly endeavour, Ornstein said it might be a case of "make hay while the sun shines" for Arsenal.

"They know the need to improve at that top end. They're behind, statistically, and you can see it with your eyes, the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich and so on," he said.

"When you tally up the amount they've got to do, you could see that outlay in the market from last summer repeated or even exceeded. As [TNT Sports pundit Steven Gerrard] says, make hay while the sun shines. The money is big now and so it's almost like investing when you're on top."

Ornstein also said that Arsenal will need to sell players to recoup money and balance the books if they want to bring new additions in.

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TNT Sports pundit Martin Keown said that his former club will "without a doubt" strengthen in the summer, and Gerrard concurred.

"This was the 63rd game tonight for Arsenal so you need more than one top striker. You might even need more than two to go the distance," Gerrard told TNT Sports. "You need to keep refreshing the squad.

"You need to fix the roof when the sun is shining. Arsenal are in a magnificent place, but with the amount of games over the course of a season if you're aiming to win the Premier League and Champions League, you have to keep adding to it."

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