Mikel Arteta insists he has no regrets about missing out on Mason Mount signing

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted he has no regrets about missing out on the signing of Mason Mount ahead of his side’s friendly with Manchester United this evening.

The Gunners were among a clutch of Premier League clubs who registered an interest in the England international after it became apparent he was ready to leave Chelsea following a bitter contract wrangle.

Liverpool also made an attempt to lure Mount to Anfield, but the 24-year-old ultimately decided on a move to Old Trafford given Erik ten Hag’s determination to sign him.

Arteta switches focus to Havertz

Arteta, instead, switched his focus to recruiting Mount’s former teammate Kai Havertz and plans to restore him to the attacking midfield role he rarely featured in during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Havertz, along with fellow new signings Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice are likely to feature against United this evening and Arteta declared himself more than satisfied with the players Arsenal have already recruited this summer.

Arteta happy with Arsenal’s signings

“We are so happy with the players that we’ve signed and the players that we’ve got in our squad,” said Arteta when asked about Mount’s decision to join United.

Having already spent in excess of £200million this summer, Arsenal focus is currently on raising money through the sale of players deemed surplus to requirements, but Arteta refused to rule out the possibility of more signings.

“I don’t know. ‘Obviously there will be movements still. There will be ins and outs. ‘It’s still very early, the market seems to be a little bit quieter in the last week or so. If we can improve the team we will try to do so, but we don’t get any weaker, so we have to be really cautious of that as well.”

Partey staying at Arsenal

One player, however, who who won’t be leaving is Thomas Partey who Arteta insists remains ‘super important’ amid speculation he could leave before the window closes.

“Thomas Partey is a super important player for us and for me and we want him to be in the team, that’s for sure,” he said.

Conclusion

Mikel Arteta insists he has no regrets about missing out on signing Mason Mount from Chelsea earlier this summer. The Gunners were among a clutch of Premier League clubs who registered an interest in the England international, but ultimately decided to switch their focus to signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Arteta declared himself more than satisfied with the players Arsenal have already recruited this summer and refused to rule out the possibility of more signings. One player who won’t be leaving is Thomas Partey who Arteta insists remains ‘super important’ amid speculation he could leave before the window closes.