There's a Lot Going On in the Offseason While summer is technically the "offseason" for Premier League and Women’s Super League teams, that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. For club teams, the summer is about a few things for both the men’s and women’s sides: International tournaments Player movement Kit releases Pre-season tours This week, we’ll look at each of the above from an Arsenal perspective for both the men and the women. International Tournaments Because Arsenal did not qualify for the new version of the Club World Cup, there wasn’t a great deal happening on the pitch for the men this summer. Mikel Merino and new signing Martin Zubimendi featured for Spain in the UEFA Nations League final in early June. Gabriel Martinelli played for Brazil at about the same time in the CONMEBOL version. Beyond those couple of matches, the summer was a rare time to rest and recover between the end of one Premier League season and the start of the next. The summer has been more active for many of the Arsenal women. The Women’s Euros are being held this month in Switzerland and Arsenal are well represented, with twelve players being called up to represent their countries. Here are the Arsenal players competing and which country they are representing: England: Michelle Agyemang, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Alessia Russo, Leah Williamson Netherlands: Victoria Pelova, Daphne van Domselaar Norway: Frida Maanum Spain: Mariona Caldentey Sweden: Stina Blackstenius Switzerland: Lia Walti For those interested in watching, Women’s Euro matches are being televised in the US by Fox (mostly on FS1). Player Movement With the men’s and women’s sides having finished last season second in the Premier League and Women’s Super League respectively, this is an important summer for both when it comes to strengthening their squads as they look to move up a spot in the standings in 2025-26. Player movement in club soccer is a little different from American sports. There are no drafts, and there are rarely trades. Players are typically acquired in cash, or as free agents when their contracts expire. Players can be bought and sold during the so-called “transfer window” from July 1st through August 31st, as well as the “January window” which offers a mid-season opportunity to adjust rosters. Despite the summer window being less than half way through, both the Arsenal men and women have been busy with both headline-grabbing moves, as well as smaller ones to build depth. Here’s a rundown for each side: Men’s Transfers Mikel Arteta’s side entered the transfer window knowing that it was going to lose Jorginho and Tomas Partey at the base of midfield, Neto as a second choice goalkeeper, and Takehiro Tomiyasu as a utility defender. They also had a big gap at the center forward position where Gabriel Jesus has struggled with injuries and Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino were more makeshift solutions rather than first choice. Beyond those clear needs, there was a desire to improve depth across a squad that showed cracks when injuries hit key starters like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, and Gabriel last season. New Sporting Director Andrea Berta has come in and gotten to work quickly to address his “to-do” list. Here’s a quick summary of confirmed arrivals for the 2025-26 season: Martin Zubimendi: This one has been percolating for over a year with Mikel Arteta looking to bring in his countryman to control the base of midfield for the Gunners. Zubimendi is not going to be a flashy presence but has a reputation for being in the right place at the right time to snuff out trouble and then making the right passes to get the ball out of danger and where it needs to be to start an attack. His presence should allow Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice to play further up the pitch without worrying about leaving gaps behind them. Victor Gyökeres: Since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club in 2022, Arsenal have been looking for a top-level center forward. In Victor Gyökeres they may have finally gotten their man. A late bloomer, Gyökeres broke out as a 23-year-old in the Championship scoring 17 and 21 goals for Coventry City which earned him a move to Sporting Lisbon where he absolutely exploded with 68 goals in 66 Premeira Liga matches over the past two seasons. The move from the Portuguese first division to the Premier League is not to be dismissed but Gyökeres has also been prolific for Sweden in international play (10 goals in six matches) and in the Champions League for Sporting (6 goals and 2 assists in eight matches). Both fast and powerful, Gyökeres will be counted on to lead Arsenal’s attack for the foreseeable future. Noni Madueke: The good news is that Bukayo Saka is one of the biggest young stars in world football. The bad news is that while he seems super-human at times, he can go down to injury as he did for a significant chunk of the second half of last season. Enter Noni Madueke. The 23-year-old winger can play on either wing but, as a left-footer like Saka, is likely to play on the right more frequently as Saka does. That he is being brought in as depth shouldn’t cast shade on the player so much as highlight Arsenal’s desire to have depth in top level talent. Madueke scored seven goals and added three assists across 32 matches in the Premier League last season and has represented England at every age level, including seven appearances for the senior national team. Christian Norgaard: The 31-year-old Danish holding midfielder arrives from Brentford as an experienced Premier League campaigner who can play a role when called on, provide leadership in the locker room, and be counted on not to understand that Zubimendi and Rice are ahead of him in the pecking order for minutes in midfield. This isn’t the type of transfer that makes headlines but is one that can save a match or even a season if the injury bug strikes. Kepa Arrizabalaga: Arsenal’s new second choice goalkeeper holds the distinction of being the most expensive goalkeeper in football history when he made his move from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea in 2018. While that move didn’t move out as Chelsea had hoped, Kepa is more than qualified as a back-up for David Raya and comes much cheaper this time around. Still only 30, Arrizabalaga has been selected for the Spanish national team 13 times and has won the Champions League twice, the Europa League, La Liga, and the UEFA Nations League among other titles. Cristhian Mosquera: Nominated for 2024 Golden Boy award given to the best young player in Europe, Mosquera represents depth at center back immediately and a potential replacement for William Saliba should the Frenchman decide to leave the club at some point. In addition to the six players above arriving, there is plenty of talk about further activity as Arsenal continue to look to strengthen the squad as they look to close the gap between themselves and 2024-25 title-winner Liverpool. Women’s Transfers Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the Arsenal women have been busy acquiring talent in an effort to build on their second place finish in the Super League, as well as defending their Champions League crown. Their initial forays into the market were of the lower profile variety, but the third week of July saw them break the women’s transfer record to bring in 20-year-old Canadian national team forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool. Here’s a look at the new players that have been confirmed so far this summer: Olivia Smith: At age 20 and already the veteran of three seasons as a professional, Olivia Smith was Liverpool’s top scorer in her lone season on Merseyside and was voted the Reds Players Player of the Season last term. The youngest player ever to play for Canada at 15 years and 94 days, she has scored 4 times in 18 matches for her country after a prolific 22 goals in 22 appearances at the U20 level. Taylor Hinds: England-born Jamaican international Hinds played at Arsenal as a youth player and is returning to the club after two seasons at Everton and five at Liverpool. The left back was a vice captain at Liverpool for multiple seasons and has captained the club on occasion. Hinds arrives on a free transfer after her contract at Anfield expired and will likely start her second stint at Arsenal as a reserve. Chloe Kelly: Another Arsenal youth product who left the club only to rejoin, Kelly actually returned to Arsenal ahead of last season on loan from Manchester City. She started eight matches in the Super League, scoring twice, and started five times in the Champions League, including the final. With the expiration of her contract at Manchester City at the end of her loan period, Kelly has elected to rejoin Arsenal on a free transfer. Kelly and fellow returnee Taylor Hinds came through the youth ranks at Arsenal together and were teammates at Everton. Anneke Borbe: Despite being relatively young for a goalkeeper at 24, Borbe has been playing professionally in Germany for eight years. Borbe has been up and down between Germany’s top two leagues with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg, and has featured 87 times between the two clubs in her eight seasons. Her 2024-25 Wolfsburg side made it as far as the quarter finals of the Champions League. She has also been selected for Germany at multiple youth levels. One for the future, Borbe arrives on a free transfer and will likely start her Arsenal career as a reserve. As with the men, there is certainly time for more new players to arrive. The fact that three of the four new arrivals so far have been free agents means that there may be some budget left for another higher profile arrival or two. Kit Releases It used to be that soccer clubs, like most American sports, changed their kits infrequently and, when they did, only made minor alterations. Those days are long gone, yielding to a cycle where clubs release three kits - home, away, and a third - each year along with a training range or two and a variety of other options for the supporter who wants to show their allegiance. As an Arsenal supporter of many years, I have my favorites and some that I am not as fond of but this year is off to a solid start. Here is right back Jurrian Timber unboxing Arsenal’s new home kit . The home kit rarely strays too far from Arsenal’s traditional red torso with white sleeves and this season is no exception. The differences from year-to-year tend to be in the details when it comes to the home kit. The away kit tends to provide more flexibility for designers as Arsenal have used a variety of secondary colors as the basis for the away kit. Blue has figured heavily into the away kit from the earliest days of the club having multiple kits and this season adds heavy graphical elements. Here is a video of a number of players unboxing the new away kit . The third kit will be announced later in the summer, and from what I’ve seen via unofficial leaks on the interwebs is correct, it is going to be gorgeous. Pre-Season Tour Finally, to wrap up our guide to all things Arsenal over the summer, we arrive at the club’s pre-season tour. Global soccer clubs, recognizing a chance to expand their fan bases outside of their home countries, have turned their pre-season into a combination of training and goodwill-building tours, with the US, Asia, and Australia being popular destinations. Over the past two summers, DC’s Audi Field has hosted both the men—facing off against the MLS All-Stars in the summer of 2023, and the women—who played Chelsea’s side in a doubleheader that also featured the Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current. This season sees the Arsenal Men traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong where they will play AC Milan (July 23rd), Newcastle United (July 27th), and rival Tottenham Hotspur (July 31st). The Arsenal Women, at least those not participating in the Euros, have just returned to training outside of London and have yet to announce any pre-season friendlies or tour plans.