Arsenal have had a quiet start to the summer compared to London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, who have already announced their first arrivals of the transfer window
Arsenal have yet to announce any signings this summer, but that could soon change once they can officially complete transfers when the window opens.
North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur wasted no time before agreeing to re-sign Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig last month. Chelsea have since followed suit by announcing the arrival of free agent Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham. But despite those clubs doing their deals early, Arsenal can still complete their first signing before either.
That is because Adarabioyo cannot start his new contract and officially become a Chelsea player until his old one expires on 30 June. Werner, likewise, will not technically become a Spurs player again until the Bundesliga transfer window opens on 1 July.
But, for Premier League clubs, the window is open for another fortnight from Friday (14 June). That is the date that deals between British clubs can become official.
Therefore, Arsenal can complete the permanent signing of David Raya from Brentford as soon as Friday. The club is closing in on completing a deal and activating the £27million option in his contract after spending last season on loan at the Emirates. According to Fabrizio Romano, they are at the stage of ' completing formal documents'.
Mikel Arteta spoke about the importance of the club doing their business early in the summer a month ago. "That’s the ideal scenario," Arteta acknowledged, "every club wants that.
"We want that as coaches and for the players especially you want that, and then for the team and the environment. When you do that, something clicks, something starts to build there, and that’s really important because it starts to give you momentum.
"We have the Euros this season - and Copa America - and it might be a different summer." Raya is in the Spain squad for the European Championship, as is Nico Williams, the Athletic Club winger who continues to be linked with Arsenal and Chelsea this summer.