Mikel Arteta admits season finale will decide Arsenal's transfer plans: 'We have to be flexible and creative'

Arteta says a final league position will have a major say on incoming - and outgoing - deals.
PA

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal's form until the end of the season will define how adventurous they can be in a "unique" transfer market, but the Gunners boss knows the club must be flexible.

Arteta has a number of summer plans drawn up dependent on different circumstances, with the lack of Champions League football over recent years and the threat of no European football at all next term posing a serious threat to their circumstances.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the accounts of all clubs, meaning the income gained from even Europa League football is crucial to Arteta's long term plans for the club.

Arsenal are ninth in the Premier League but could qualify for the Europa League by winning a first trophy under Arteta in the FA Cup.

The Spaniard's side face his former club Manchester City in the semi-final on Saturday, and Arteta's says they can address question marks of transfers and the future of players such as Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a strong end to the season.

In Pictures | Arsenal vs Liverpool | 15/07/2020

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"We don’t know exactly what is going to happen or what we are going to be able to do, or not to do, to keep players or not to keep," said Arteta. "It will depend a lot on what we do on the pitch in the next three or four games. That is in our hands so we have to maximise that.

"After that we start to put all the question marks out as quick as possible to try to do what we want to do."

Asked about the factors he has considered when it comes to his various plans for the summer ahead, Arteta said: "There are many different aspects. Obviously the financial one, depending on where we finish, is one.

"Depending on the future of a few players and obviously depending on the transfer market. We don’t know the type of transfer market we are going to find. It is something unique, it never happened and there are a lot of question marks around that.

"So we cannot stick to something that maybe is not possible to do, so we have to be flexible and creative in order not to react when that happens but to have clear ideas of: in that scenario, what do we need to do and how are we going to do it."

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