UNAI EMERY has revealed that Arsenal expect to sign “three or four expensive players” before the end of the transfer window.
The Spaniard is frantically trying to overhaul his depleted squad after losing four senior players this summer then seeing skipper Laurent Koscielny go on strike.
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And he is confident he will get the injection of fresh blood he needs before the season kicks off next month.
The only new arrival so far has been £6million teenager Gabriel Martinelli but the club are working on deals for William Saliba and Kieran Tierney while also interested in Dani Ceballos and Wilfried Zaha.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s high-profile friendly against Bayern Munich, Emery claimed: “Our target is to get three or four players who really improve our squad.
“We are being very demanding about the possibility to sign very expensive players.
“We have very good young players who can progress but we need others to come here to help us.
“We are having a lot of meetings with the club, with Edu and also with Josh and Stan Kroenke in Denver.
“We have a clear idea and that is to sign the players in the positions we need who can help us with big performances.
“We start with our first target and if we cannot achieve that we move on to the second target. But every time it is someone who will improve the squad.”
IS DAN THE MAN?
Asked about Real Madrid midfielder Ceballos, who is available on loan, Emery said: “I don’t want to speak about specific names, but Dani Ceballos is a very good player.”
There was a further worry for Emery when £60m record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang limped away from training yesterday with a huge ice pack on his right knee.
But Arsenal’s medical team are confident that it was not a serious issue, although he might not be risked against Bayern tonight.
With Koscielny kicking his heels back in London, Granit Xhaka is likely to be named the club’s new captain.
The Swiss midfielder said: “I have been the captain here and in Germany and with my national team.
“If the coach gave me the armband of course I would be happy because it is something special.
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“But what we need is for everyone to work together on and off the pitch and to take leadership from all the players.”
Emery added: “We have spoken about the captaincy. Last year we had Aaron Ramsey and Petr Cech who have left us and Laurent Koscielny who has a contract who he told us he wants to leave.
“I want between three and five captains in the team. We have Granit, we have Mesut Ozil and Nacho Monreal and there are other players who can also take this position.”
