Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein made one of his periodic appearances on Sky Sports to discuss Arsenal’s summer plans and Arsene Wenger’s will to win.

Dein is still keenly involved with Wenger despite leaving Arsenal in 2007, with the two being close friends.

Fabregas

Dein, who’s son Darren is Cesc Fabregas’s agent, seemed to think it was a possibility for the Spanish midfielder to return to Arsenal this summer. When asked if he thought it was a possibility, he replied:

“You can never say never in football. I know Arsene Wenger will try and improve the squad if he can.”

Not exactly a shining confirmation, but then Dein isn’t involved in Arsenal’s hierarchy these days and so can’t really comment. However, he is connected to the Fabregas camp and his refusal to rule it out is cause for optimism.

Restricted

Dein also pointed out that despite the calls for Arsene Wenger to ‘spend big’ this summer, the manager could only buy the players that were available to buy in the market:

“Arsène can only buy who’s available. The scouting network has now changed with fierce competition.”

He’s got a point. Arsenal can compete for any player but when City, Chelsea and PSG (among others) get involved there’s very little Arsenal can do to change the player’s mind.

You only have to look at things like the Mata deal to see how hard it is to beat oil-funded clubs to the punch.

Mitrovic

*young unknown striker KLAXON*

According to reports from Italy, Arsenal are working on a deal to sign 18-year-old Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic. He impressed for Partizan this season and attracted the attentions of Porto and Fiorentina among others.

The signing could be announced next week or has only just begun early stages, depending on what reports you read. Mitrovic himself has admitted contact has been made but refused to confirm a deal had been done.

It’s easy to be annoyed at Arsenal’s continued signing of young players over established quality, but Arsenal released 16 youngsters at the end of the season. They need to be replaced from somewhere, and the youth academy only has so many players.

Mitrovic is a bright talent, and fans would be complaining if they’d missed out on him and he went elsewhere. So what’s the issue? First-team signings will likely follow, remember it’s only early June.

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