Arsenal given green light to complete five easy transfers as Mikel Arteta braces for huge summer

Andrea Berta is expected to be a busy man in the summer transfer window.

The arrived at the Emirates Stadium at the end of March, as sporting director at .

He will be tasked with freshening up 's squad to give the manager the best possible chance at ending what looks like being three runners-up finishes in the in a row.

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The are close to the Premier League title, but just cannot get over the line, with Liverpool this season proving to be the dominant force in the top flight.

A number of changes will be made to the squad before Berta even has to make any decisions. Raheem Sterling will return to Chelsea following the conclusion of his season-long loan, while goalkeeper Neto will do the same at Bournemouth.

Neither loan deal has been a success.

Midfielders and Jorginho will see their contracts at the club expire this summer and they will be allowed to leave north London for free, which is likely to be the case.

There have been reports that is in discussions over a contract extension, but at this moment in time, both players are free to depart.

Arsenal named a 22-man squad in the summer. That means there were three spots open for other new signings had they made more, either in the summer or in January.

One of those would have had to have been a homegrown player, however, with only seven named in that 22. Premier League rules stipulate that of your 25-man squad, eight must be homegrown, or the list is reduced by one for each homegrown player you cannot name.

In that situation, Arsenal could have only named a maximum 24-man squad. With Sterling departing, that number drops to 23 this summer.

So, with four players to leave and one spot lost if no homegrown players are signed, it still leaves Arsenal in a very strong position.

Berta and Arteta have no restrictions when it comes to making five new signings in the summer transfer window. the squad size would reduce to 18 with those four players leaving and they could happily sign five new players without having to worry about the homegrown rule.

The Gunners have been linked with a striker in the summer, with the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak all heavily linked. Martin Zubimendi is expected to join from Real Socieded, while there are persistent links with Athletic Club's Nico Williams too.

That's three signings that could be made without any tuoble - bar the usual complications over negotations - and still Berta could bring in two more for Arteta. A new back-up goalkeeper is a necessity with Neto returning to Bournemouth.