Mikel Arteta hints at another Arsenal spending spree and defends selling five players

Mikel Arteta has suggested he will oversee another spending spree at Arsenal this summer and defended his decision to offload five first-team players in January.

The Gunners spent more than £100m on the likes of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard last summer, with Arsenal’s decision to back Arteta financially paying dividends.

Arsenal have recovered from a dismal start to the season to climb to joint-fourth in the Premier League and Arteta’s side are still in a good position to qualify for next season’s Champions League despite recent defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool.

A return to Europe will present its own challenges and Arteta expects Arsenal to be busy in the summer transfer window after trimming his squad in January.

Asked if he anticipates a busy summer at the north London club, Arteta said: ‘I am expecting so, yes.

‘I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.

‘If you can financially afford it and we don’t have to do the turnaround in the squad that we’ve had to do, if you ask me what I want it’s 22 outfield players and three goalkeepers.

‘You have to come a long way in the aspects that you see on the pitch, it’s a lot of things that have to be put in place, and that takes time.’

Arsenal’s top-four hopes have been dealt a blow by recent injuries to midfielder Thomas Partey and left-back Kieran Tierney.

The Gunners are short of bodies ahead of Saturday’s crucial clash with Brighton but Arteta insists it was not a mistake to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac and