Edu has already decided Arsenal’s next eight transfers as David Raya deal nears

After running Manchester City close in the title race last year, Arsenal have shown that they are in no mood to rest on their laurels. The Gunners have already brought in Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber for north of £200million, and it looks as though they are set to spend even more.

After Matt Turner’s £10million departure to Nottingham Forest, it is hoped that a deal for David Raya will be completed soon. An agreement has been reached with Brentford to take the Spaniard on an initial £3m loan deal with the option to make it permanent for £27million at the end of the season. Edu’s work in the transfer market will by no means end there though.

Many have viewed this summer as crucial for the Arsenal technical director to show what he’s capable of in the sales department. Thus far he has faired relatively well, drawing an impressive £21.5million fee from Bayer Leverkusen for Granit Xhaka, and managing just over a further combined £20million for Pablo Mari, Auston Trusty and Turner. More are expected to follow though.

As football.london exclusively reported last month Arthur Okonkwo has been given permission to leave permanently. The 21-year-old has not featured since taking part in the behind closed doors friendly against Watford, and has interest from teams in England and Germany. Runar Alex Runarsson is another who could move on, with Karl Hein possibly being third choice behind Raya and Aaron Ramsdale.

Cedric and Nuno Tavares are waiting for formal proposals to come in as their future hangs in the balance. Neither appear to be part of the plans at Arsenal despite returning to training at London Colney. The latter would prefer a stay in the Premier League but reportedly has interest from Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen, while the former has had informal approaches from Portugal’s big three teams and Villarreal.

Jorginho has interest from Turkey, but has previously stated his desire to stay in north London this season. Juventus have reportedly shown a desire to sign Thomas Partey, but Mikel Arteta has strongly quashed any talk of an exit. Albert Sambi Lokonga, however, is free to leave and has interest from Burnley where he could link up with his former manager Vincent Kompany.

Among the forward line, Marquinhos is closing in on a loan move to Nantes, despite having also had interest from Olympiacos. Arsenal would also be open to terminating Nicolas Pepe’s contract in order to facilitate an exit for their former record signing. The Ivorian has interest from Besiktas.

The Gunners have also turned down a bid from Monaco for Folarin Balogun. The 22-year-old has also attracted interest from Inter Milan, who would still like to buy him after missing out on Gianluca Scamacca. The American international’s future is not thought to be linked to the injury suffered by Gabriel Jesus.