Malick Fofana deal, Eberechi Eze signs, five leave - Arsenal's dream end to the transfer window

Arsenal-linked Malick Fofana during Lyon's clash against RC Lens. (Image: Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

Arsenal have less than two weeks to go to wrap up any remaining business before the transfer window shuts. The Gunners have already forked out nearly £200m on new players, this summer, while only making about £7m in sales, yet they've shown no sign of slowing down .

Andrea Berta started by snapping-up Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea and Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. After parting ways with Jorginho and Thomas Partey, Arsenal needed another new face in the middle of the park , so they prised Christian Norgaard from Brentford.

While shopping in west London, Berta paid the Blues another visit and signed Noni Madueke . Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres followed the England international to the Emirates Stadium - taking the Gunners' total spend to about £190m.

Arsenal sign Eze and Ligue 1 wonderkid

Arsenal should do whatever it takes to sign Eberechi Eze and Malick Fofana before the summer transfer window slams shut. The Crystal Palace star would be a significant upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli on their left side, and he'd also provide cover for Martin Odegaard in an attacking midfield role.

Then, late on Wednesday, Arsenal made an approach - and they quickly agreed terms with the south Londoners . Fortunately for Arteta, Eze would rather join the Gunners over Spurs, having grown up as a supporter of the club .

Eberechi Eze after Crystal Palace's win against Man City in the FA Cup final. (Image: Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Fofana - who can operate on the left and right - would provide Arteta with an outlet. The Olympique Lyonnais winger would breathe new life into the Arsenal frontline ahead of a fixture-filled season.

According to French outlet L'Équipe , the Gunners, as well as Bayern Munich, have shortlisted Fofana as a possible target. The report claims that the Ligue 1 outfit need to make about £34m (€40m) in player sales this summer, and they value the 20-year-old at a similar price.

It's said that Everton tried to sign Fofana earlier this summer, but he wasn't keen on that move. L'Equipe indicates that the Belgian wants to join a Champions League club before the transfer deadline.

Malick Fofana celebrates after scoring a goal for Olympique Lyonnais. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Berta offloads five Arsenal players

If Arsenal are to spend in excess of £250m on new players this summer then they need to balance the books, so Berta should cash-in on Fabio Vieira, Jakub Kiwior, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Reiss Nelson.

Having only so far raised about £7m in sales, the Gunners can't afford to send either of the five players out on loan unless they genuinely believe that they'll return to the Emirates Stadium, a year later, with a far greater reputation.

According to Transfermarkt , they now have a combined market value of €84m (£72.6m). If Arsenal end up signing Fofana from Lyon, they could always try to cash-in on Martinelli.

Gabriel Martinelli in action for Arsenal. (Image: Getty Images)

Back in July, the BBC reported that the Brazil international had been linked with a transfer to the Saudi Pro League this summer. When quizzed on Martinelli's future by reporters in Singapore, Arteta said: "With all our front players, I think they are very dependent on the environment we create around them.

"We always want better and more from every single player. I think Gabi has performed very well and very consistently in the past three or four seasons. Last year, he had the bad injury that he picked up and he missed a lot of games - but I'm very happy with what he is doing with us."

Saliba finally signs new Arsenal contract

Once Arsenal welcome a couple more new faces to the Emirates Stadium, and offload any dead wood, they need to tie William Saliba down to a new long-term contract. Berta has done well to have already agreed extensions with Gabriel Magalhaes and Ethan Nwaneri, but now he needs to turn his attentions to the France international.

Saliba, who sees his current deal expire in June 2027, has been thinly linked with a move to Real Madrid for a while now. The north Londoners have plenty of time to negotiate a contract with the 24-year-old defender but, this time next year, he'll only have 12 months left to run.

As we all know, Los Blancos are partial to a free agent, having recently prised Kylian Mbappe and Trent Alexander-Arnold from Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, respectively. It would be a tremendous failure if Arsenal lost Saliba for free - especially if they have no silverware to show for it.