Those three signings were all completed early in the close4 season meaning Arsenal should be ready to hit the ground running when they kick off at home to Nottingham Forest next Saturday. While Rice's price tag appears over-inflated, he looks capable of giving Arsenal the drive their midfield began to lack in the closing months of the campaign. Timber offers the sort of defensive depth Arsenal sadly lacked after France's William Saliba was injured in March. "The players will have learned a hell of a lot with that title run, and this year is about going that one step ahead. ($1 = 0.7843 pounds)($1 = 0.9112 euros)Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Arsenal's Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Peter Cziborra, Mikel Arteta's, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Havertz, Mikel Arteta, Granit Xhaka, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Rice, Arsenal's, Martyn Herman, Ken Ferris Organizations: Soccer, Arsenal, AS Monaco, Emirates, Peter Cziborra LONDON, Manchester City's, Premier League, City . Arsenal, West Ham United, Ajax Amsterdam, Nottingham Forest, Bayer Leverkusen, Timber, City, Barcelona, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, West, Chelsea, Arsenal's, California