Arsenal’s dream final month of transfer window as Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez moves sealed

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Speaking in the wake of Arsenal 's agonising Champions League final penalty shootout defeat to PSG in May, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta made no attempt to hide what he expects from the club in the transfer market.

"If you want to reach another level, we're going to have to show that ambition because we are more than capable of doing it, but it demands to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart," Arteta said.

So far, however, the Premier League champions have not lived up to those words. With sporting director Andrea Berta at the helm of transfer business, their cautious start to the window has already come at a cost, with Jeremy Monga and Morgan Rogers both moving to rival Premier League clubs in a somewhat damning turn of events.

To put it into context, the Gunners completed six signings during July alone last summer — yet only two new arrivals have been announced so far this time around. The quality of those deals has not been hugely impressive, either.

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Piero Hincapie's loan was made permanent, Illan Meslier arrived on a free transfer as a third-choice goalkeeper option, and Greek winger Christos Tzolis — largely unproven at this level — was signed from Club Brugge for £34m.

That said, Berta and Arteta are understood to be pushing hard behind the scenes on a number of fronts, and there are signs that progress is being made. Now, Mirror Football takes a look at the deals Arsenal need to get over the line before the window closes to put themselves in the best possible position to challenge for honours this season.

Arsenal have, understandably, shown reluctance to splash the same extravagant sums that rivals Tottenham spent on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes on a central midfielder this summer. They are currently engaged in third-party negotiations with Newcastle over a deal for their primary summer target Bruno Guimaraes.

Arsenal have been informed they must produce a transfer fee in the region of £80m for the Magpies captain, or the deal will collapse. Despite reports suggesting the Gunners had submitted a £70m bid, there have been no direct club-to-club negotiations between the two sides as it stands.

Intermediaries - namely super agent Kia Joorabchian - have reportedly been heavily involved in the potential deal. The two clubs are yet to reach an agreement over the 28-year-old, however.

£80m in today's market for a Premier League-proven talent of Guimaraes' quality is far from an outrageous figure. Arsenal should pay whatever is necessary, and swiftly, to reinforce their midfield before the campaign kicks off, particularly given Declan Rice's recent injury concerns.

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There are very few players in today's market who truly fire the imagination of fans. Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Junior are among those rare footballers who seem to carry a certain world-class aura in the modern game.

Atletico Madrid's Alvarez has been a long-standing target for Arsenal, with Arteta widely understood to be an admirer. The Argentine's preference is plainly to join Barcelona this summer, yet Atletico's firm stance against allowing him to move to a La Liga rival hands the Gunners a genuine opportunity to land his signature.

The striker represents a clear step up from both Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, with the latter potentially featuring in a player-plus-£51.7million package to secure Alvarez, given Atletico's reported interest in the Swede. The crucial question, therefore, is whether Alvarez would rather remain in Madrid or make a return to England.

Arteta and Berta must pull out all the stops to persuade him to choose Arsenal, as he would undoubtedly represent a transformative acquisition. Much the same applies to Vinicius, whose ongoing contract uncertainty at Real Madrid has fuelled reports of a potential Arsenal approach.

football.london reports that senior figures at the Emirates Stadium are prepared to bring the Brazilian to N5, despite the enormous expense involved. However, no formal discussions have yet taken place between Arsenal and Los Blancos.

Consequently, no transfer fee has been put forward regarding Vinicius, whose deal runs out next summer, although reports emerging from Spain indicate that Madrid have slapped a £137m valuation on the Brazilian.

For Arsenal, Alvarez and Vinicius represent two world-class talents capable of striking fear into any defence in Europe. The financial challenge of securing both players is considerable.

However, should they succeed, the two deals would transform Arsenal's standing on the global stage, firmly establishing them amongst the true elite.

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The Gunners are heading into the new season fully aware that they are lacking in defensive cover. Several key components of their backline, including Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White have demonstrated a susceptibility to injury, which proved problematic last season.

Exacerbating the situation is news that William Saliba could reportedly be sidelined for as long as five months with a back injury. Therefore, a right-sided defensive addition is vital.

Ezri Konsa has been identified as a potential target, though the Gunners are reluctant to match Aston Villa's current asking price, understood to be around £60m. Should Villa refuse to lower their demands, long-term target Ivan Fresneda of Sporting CP is the ideal signing.

Fresneda, 21, is a talented prospect understood to be obtainable for around £26m. Such a modest fee would enable Arsenal to preserve resources and focus their spending further forward. The Spaniard would slot in at right-back, allowing Timber, White and Cristhian Mosquera to fill Saliba's role until the Frenchman's return.

That would bring Arsenal's combined expenditure on Alvarez, Vinicius, Guimaraes and Fresneda to roughly £295m – while providing the squad with the sufficient quality to progress further this campaign.

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Arsenal need to shake off the perception that they are a poor selling club. Neither Berta nor predecessor Edu Gaspar have managed to get rid of the deadwood at London Colney, let alone secure impressive fees for departing players.

That has to change, starting with Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson and Christian Norgaard being sold. None of these four are expected to feature prominently next season and sanctioning their departures will help alleviate the wage bill, even if minimal funds can be recovered through transfer fees.