A new chapter of British football history is set to be written this week, as Arsenal belatedly close in on the £105m capture of England international Declan Rice from West Ham United.
The Gunners saw two bids turned down by the Hammers before striking gold on the nine-figure sum, which would see Rice become Arsenal's record signing and the second-most expensive British footballer ever.
On Tuesday night, it was reported that Arsenal and West Ham had finally shaken hands on a payment structure, which was the sole roadblock left to overcome as Rice prepares to undergo his medical.
Following Rice's arrival, Arsenal are also expected to intensify talks with Ajax over a deal for Jurrien Timber, having supposedly already reached an agreement in principle over a £40m transfer.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Arsenal could line up next season with Rice and Timber, as well as the already-acquired Kai Havertz.
While much may depend on Arsenal's midfield outgoings in the coming weeks, Rice will surely be one of the first names on the teamsheet for Arteta, who may see fit to deploy the England international as his new number six.
Thomas Partey occupied that role to good effect last season, but the Ghana international cannot be relied upon to stay fit or maintain a strong streak of form for an entire campaign, and an exit could still be on the cards amid interest from Juventus and Saudi Arabia.
As a result, Rice ought to form the one-man screen in front of Arsenal's two centre-backs, although should Partey remain at the Emirates, there is every chance that the former's ball-winning and box-to-box qualities could be utilised in a number eight role.
However, Arteta has already confirmed that he plans to use Havertz as a midfielder, seemingly suggesting that the German will slot straight into Granit Xhaka's spot on the left of the trident as the Switzerland man heads to Bayer Leverkusen.
Captain Martin Odegaard's spot in the midfield is not up for debate, while Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny represent two ageing midfielders who are set to stay on, but the duo have surely already accepted backup roles for the new season.
Unless Havertz is required to fill in up front, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli should no doubt begin the campaign as the Gunners' attacking triumvirate, but there are plenty more questions to be answered in the rearguard.
Despite finding consistency at right-back, Ben White is apparently set to revert to a central role to compete with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, the latter of whom is still on the road to recovery from a back injury.
Timber was also largely deployed in the heart of the backline for Ajax last season, but the 22-year-old is equally competent as an inverted right-back and will likely line up out wide from the off alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko, who also needs no second invitation to come inside and overload the midfield. body check tags ::
