Arsenal Transfers: $25M Signing Confirmed As Sampdoria President Reveals $34.6M Midfielder's Departure

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery along with the Gunners’ new management team that includes head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and head of football relations Raul Sanllehi have wasted no time in ringing the changes following the departure of Arsene Wenger.

The new coach identified the areas that needed strengthening and has gone about bringing in players — something Arsenal fans are not used to owing to Wenger’s relaxed approach with regard to transfer dealings.

The defense was one area that needed the most attention and Emery has wasted no time in ensuring sufficient reinforcements are brought to address the issues. Arsenal’s first summer signing was Stephan Lichtsteiner, a free transfer from Juventus.

The 34-year-old veteran was signed as a possible backup for first choice right-back Hector Bellerin and for his experience — a seven-time Serie A winner with Juventus. After the Switzerland international, the next on the list was Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Arsenal have reportedly agreed a fee with the German club but have to wait until July 1 to make the Greek international’s signing official. Emery was still not done strengthening the backline with a goalkeeper next on his wish list.

And the north London club have fulfilled his demands after they concluded a deal to sign German goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen for around £19.2m ($25.2 million) on Tuesday. He will join Petr Cech and David Ospina, currently Arsenal’s first and second choice respectively.

The club’s summer transfer business is not close to being completed as the next player on the conveyor belt is expected to be Uruguayan defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira from Italian club Sampdoria. Reports emerged this week stated that Arsenal had agreed a €30m ($34.6m) fee with the Serie A outfit for the midfielder.

It was confirmed when Sampdoria’s president revealed that Torreira will leave the club this summer after they had reached an agreement with an unnamed club for €30m. The club in question is expected to be Arsenal, with the deal only being held up due to the midfielder’s participation in the ongoing World Cup in Russia.

Once the Uruguayan international’s move is confirmed, it is expected that Emery will focus on the offensive side of the team with Arsenal being linked with a move for Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins.

While the manager has been focusing on bringing in players, there have also been players leaving the club. Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla were released following the expiry of their contract. The former will take up a role within the club as the academy manager, while the latter has joined Spanish side Villarreal.

The biggest departure, however, came on Tuesday when Jack Wilshere announced that he will be leaving the club once his contract expires on June 30. The England international has been with Arsenal since he was nine years old.

Wilshere was offered a new deal and was ready to sign it despite having to take a pay cut. But after a conversation with the new manager, he was made aware that he will not be a regular starter, which remains one of his main criteria going into the future.

The 26-year-old wrote a heartfelt note to the club and the supporters and made it clear that he was leaving the club purely based on football reasons.