Twenty-two years have passed since we last entered a summer as Premier League champions, and Andrea Berta's first proper window in charge of recruitment begins with the noise around the squad as loud as it has been in a decade. Fabrizio Romano, the transfer reporter whose updates set the news cycle in this market, reported earlier this week that Arsenal are pushing to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. The X account Hand of Arsenal, a long-trusted source of inside information on the club, reported this morning that personal terms with Leicester's Jeremy Monga have been agreed. Berta is reportedly preparing an aggressive move for Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez. None of those moves is confirmed by Arsenal. The transfer window does not open in England until June 11. These are reported links, not confirmed business.

The X account Hand of Arsenal reported earlier today that personal terms have been agreed with Jeremy Monga and that Arsenal are now his preferred destination over Manchester City. Romano added on June 4 that Arsenal are "pushing to advance" the deal, with the player's camp in active discussions. The talkSPORT reporter Ben Jacobs has put the fee at over £10 million, with The Sun suggesting £15 million as the upper bound and noting the move could go to a tribunal because Monga cannot sign a professional contract until he turns 17 on July 10.

Monga is the 16-year-old winger who became the third-youngest player in Premier League history when he made his Leicester debut against Newcastle last April, at 15 years and 271 days. The two players ahead of him on that list, first and second, are both ours: Ethan Nwaneri at 15 years and 181 days, then Max Dowman at 15 years and 235 days. Monga made 30 first-team appearances for Leicester last season and is reportedly seeking a move after the club's relegation to League One.

Berta is reportedly laying out a development pathway similar to Max Dowman's: senior squad involvement combined with loan minutes elsewhere to keep his football competitive. If that materialises, Monga joins Dowman, Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly as the latest line in an academy-and-attacking-youth strategy that produced a Premier League title with the two youngest players in the league's history coming through our own system. Signing the player who sits immediately below them on that list keeps the pattern going.

Morgan Rogers is the most concrete attacking move we have in motion this summer. The football news outlet TEAMtalk reported on June 1, citing Romano, that Arsenal are accelerating Rogers' move, with the player understood to be one of three positions Berta wants resolved this summer: a winger, a midfielder and a right-back.

Rogers is 23 years old, has been one of Aston Villa's most progressive attacking players over the past two seasons, and offers versatility across the front line or in an advanced central role. With Saka untouchable and Madueke established on the right flank, the Rogers fit looks like depth-with-upside on the right and tactical flexibility in the half spaces. He is the profile we have historically signed under Arteta: early-prime years, proven at this level, with room to grow.

Julian Alvarez would be our most consequential summer signing, and is the most contested pursuit on Berta's plate. TEAMtalk's senior reporter Fraser Fletcher reported in late May that Berta is preparing what was described as an "aggressive" move, with Alvarez's representatives informing Atletico Madrid for a second time that the player wants out. Football365 carried the same reporting earlier in the same week, framing it as Atletico having confirmed the player's stance internally.

Reports in Spain say Alvarez is interested in a move to Barcelona, although nothing solid has been reported on a Barcelona approach. Atletico's behaviour, however, has been hard to miss. Over the past week the club's official social media has fired a string of pointed posts at Barcelona, and clubs do not pick fights like that without a reason.

Berta has form from his Atletico tenure for completing competitive transfers in similar circumstances, and the link with Alvarez is reported with enough detail to suggest it is a genuine pursuit. This is not going to be a quiet pursuit.

Sandro Tonali is the link that ran hot earlier in May. Fletcher reported on May 20 that Arteta is personally pushing for the move, with sources describing the interest as "deeper than outwardly reported" and Tonali being identified as Arteta's preferred profile in central midfield. Newcastle were said to want at least £75 million. The transfer reporter Graeme Bailey reported separately that the player favours a return to Serie A.

That reporting has gone quiet since. There has been no fresh update from senior reporters this week, and the Italian-return preference would complicate any bid we made. Tonali still fits a need: a deep-lying, two-way central midfielder who could give Rice the partnership that the Champions League final showed we have not quite solved.

The Tijjani Reijnders link should be read more sceptically. CaughtOffside reported in late May that Arsenal were "interested" in the Manchester City midfielder, and a handful of outlets have repeated the line since. The chain does not point back to a primary reporter we can attribute the story to with confidence.

More importantly, the football case for Reijnders strengthening this midfield is not clear. We have one of the best holding midfielders in Europe in Martin Zubimendi, who led our team for interceptions last season. We have Declan Rice in a goal-threat-from-deep evolution that no other midfielder in the league has matched this year. A Manchester City midfielder slotting into similar territory looks like a lateral move at best and a downgrade on what we already have at worst.

The Athletic, carried through Football365, has identified Tino Livramento of Newcastle and Ivan Fresneda of Sporting CP as two names Berta is following at right-back. Livramento has the higher Premier League pedigree and the established profile, but he also has an injury record that internal sources are reportedly cautious about. Fresneda is the cheaper, younger, less proven option, and a profile Berta has form for from his Atletico days.

Ben White's situation is the variable running alongside. There has been reporting suggesting White may move on this summer, although how his current knee injury plays into that picture is something the next few weeks will clarify. White has been an important part of this squad for four seasons, and any decision on his future will depend on his fitness as much as on tactical preference. If White stays, the right-back acquisition becomes a depth piece. If White leaves, it becomes a starting-quality signing. Right now, both clubs and reporters are waiting on the same information.

Two further links have surfaced without strong primary sourcing. Bayer Leverkusen winger Kerim Alajbegovic was named by a single aggregator without senior reporter attribution. Football.London has referenced striker Eli Junior Kroupi as an Arsenal "boost" but the path to confirmation remains unclear. Both belong in the periphery rather than the main picture.

Nathaniel Brown of Eintracht Frankfurt was named in the same Athletic reporting that identified the right-back targets, although on the left side of defence. Football.London has since reported that Bayern Munich have reached a verbal five-year agreement with Brown. Our interest is reportedly limited to keeping close tabs, with the move appearing to be heading to Bavaria.