Arsenal secured their first signing of the summer transfer window yesterday as they confirmed Bosnian defender Sead Kolasinac is set to move to the Emirates Stadium on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with Schalke.

The 23-year-old is set to be the first of Arsene Wenger’s signings this summer and his arrival sets up a possible departure, with 27-year-old England international Kieran Gibbs edging closer to an exit amidst reported interest from newly-promoted Newcastle United.

Wojciech Szczesny’s permanent exit after two successful years on-loan with Roma also seems imminent and another goalkeeper is also set to leave North London, as Colombian ace David Ospina pushes for more regular opportunities.

That will leave Arsenal eyeing a new goalkeeper to play understudy to Petr Cech and Sunderland’s young stopper Jordan Pickford is one of the names reportedly being eyed by Wenger- but the major test for Arsenal is to keep key-players at the club.

Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all continue to be linked with exits from the Emirates Stadium as they enter the final 12 months of their current deals and Barcelona are pushing to sign right-back Hector Bellerin.

The Spaniard has previously made it clear he’s happy in London but his family recently returned to Catalonia and that could change his outlook, as could the fact that he struggled to start for the Gunners regularly in the back-end of the season.

Whilst any sale of Bellerin would raise significant funds for Arsenal to invest, it would also be a major blow- as would losing Alexis, Ozil or Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Arsenal will continue to push for new signings but their priority must be to try and secure the future of this trio. If any of them are to leave, then the Gunners need to move things along quickly to allow themselves plenty of time to find a replacement.

Wenger has a reported £150m to spend this summer, although a large chunk of that could be invested in Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe, and his transfer kitty will raise with outgoing deals following sales of the likes of Ospina, Szczesny, Gibbs and others.

Securing Kolasinac early gives Arsenal a big boost defensively but they now need to focus on their attacking ranks, particularly if they lose players in this area, and securing new deals for Alexis, Ozil or Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a major statement of intent.

More news is expected from Arsenal after this week’s international break and the Gunners are set to enter a decisive few weeks, which could make or break their summer.