Arsenal

Whoever Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes will be his side's main rivals for the Premier League, he is confident the Gunners have what it takes to win the title: "Yes I do. [But] it is getting more and more competitive each year. The level is increasing. We know that, so our demands have to increase as well.

"But we have also been very active in the market. We have to improve the players we already have which is a massive objective after that. And then, set the right fundamentals and the right principles in pre-season to get the team ready with the best possible shape and availability to start the season.

"The only thing that they were talking about at the end of last season and the first day through the door is ‘OK, how are we going to be better? How are we going to do more?’

"We know that we are so close now in two big competitions and we just want to make the next step. There are going to be a lot of details and moments that have to go our way. We have to push for that to happen."

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Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

So that's four genuine title contenders from James - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Can anyone put forward another four teams, to fit in with Mikel Arteta's claim that up to eight clubs are capable of mounting a title challenge?

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Arsenal are in the process of building a squad that they hope will bring silverware to the Emirates.

Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke have been described as "tier 1 signings", while the club has also brought in goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and central midfielder Christian Norgaard as experienced back-ups with international pedigree.

The idea is that players such as Zubimendi and Madueke have the capacity and ability to be starting players and perform at a high level for a team like Arsenal, but Arteta thinks that due to the hectic fixture schedule the tier system is changing.

"Well ‘tier 1’ means that they have the capacity to be starters basically," said the Gunners boss.

"But the tier 1, 2, 3 system I don’t believe in that much now.

"The way the game’s evolving, the demands we put in with 70, 75 games per season.

"At the end we want to build a team, like other clubs already have, where you look at the squad and you cannot really identify who is going to play tomorrow.

"If we get to that point, and that competitiveness has as well the right level of co-operation between the players, that’s what we want."

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter in Singapore

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Cristhian Mosquera is a Spain Under-21 international who can play at both centre-back and right-back and will fill the gap in the squad left by the departure of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who mutually agreed to terminate his contract.

Mosquera has made 90 appearances for Valencia and was a regular last season, playing the full match in 37 of the club's 38 La Liga games.

Arsenal play the first game in Singapore in the National Stadium against AC Milan on Wednesday before taking on Newcastle in the same stadium on Sunday.

They then travel to Hong Kong where they play rivals Tottenham Hotspur before returning to London.

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Cristhian Mosquera is flying to Singapore to join up with Arsenal on their pre-season tour as a deal for the Valencia centre-back nears completion.

Sources have said that Mosquera has been given permission to join up with Arsenal by his club, while the final parts of the transfer are finalised.

BBC Sport previously reported that Arsenal had agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old defender.

Mosquera is being added to the squad to compete with first-choice centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.

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Note that Mikel Arteta did not name the eight sides that he believes could be capable of vying for the Premier League title this season.

So we thought that maybe you could boil it down for us?

Which teams do you believe have what it takes to make a title challenge?

Get in touch using the Get Involved icon at the top of this page.

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Mikel Arteta thinks that this season there could be up to eight teams who could win the Premier League title.

Arsenal are hoping to win their first trophy since 2020 and have strengthened their squad with the signings of Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga as Arteta looks to find the right balance in his squad.

"Every year we have to see how things develop but I see the right balance in terms of maturity, experience, youth, hunger and all these ingredients are there," said the Gunners boss, during his side's pre-season training camp in Singapore.

"The thing is there are another six, seven, eight clubs in the league that have the right ingredients to win and there is only going to be one winner.

"So we have to focus a lot on the things that we can control, that we can do, to achieve what we want at the end of the season."

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Newcastle are aiming to ward off Manchester City's interest in full-back Tino Livramento by offering the England defender a new contract, according to the Times.

According to the report, City are prepared to pay up to £65m for the 22-year-old.

Meanwhile, sources have told ESPN that City are not planning to bid for the Magpies defender and are looking at other targets for the position.

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Burnley's England goalkeeper James Trafford is ''very keen'' to return to former club Manchester City this summer, according to Football Insider.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that Pep Guardiola's side are looking to hijack Newcastle United's attempt to buy the 22-year-old.

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The Daily Mail reports that Manchester United are considering signing Aston Villa's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

However, the Red Devils might be put off by Villa's £40m valuation of the 32-year-old Argentine.

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Attacking signings will always get the biggest billing, but how important is it for clubs to have a tried and tested goalkeeper in their ranks?

Some of today's hottest gossip centres around two of the most talked-about stoppers - Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez and Burnley's much-vaunted James Trafford...

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Liverpool may be busy strengthening, but reports continue to link Colombia forward Luis Diaz with a potential departure from Anfield, despite the club saying he is not for sale.

According to ESPN, the 28-year-old is determined to leave Liverpool during this summer transfer window and hopes that German champions Bayern Munich will make a new offer in the coming days.

The Bundesliga winners put in a £58.6m bid earlier this summer, which Liverpool rejected.

Liverpool may well have to push their summer spending past the £300m mark if they want to further strengthen their defence.

Both the Express and Mirror feature back-page stories on the Reds' interest in Crystal Palace's England centre-back Marc Guehi.

They are reporting that Tottenham are also keen on Guehi and could trigger a "£50m transfer tussle" for the 25-year-old Eagles captain.

Image source, Daily Express

Image source, Daily Mirror

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Liverpool were the other big movers on Monday, with the Premier League champions agreeing an initial £69m fee to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike.

The 23-year-old Frenchman is expected to arrive in the UK today before having a medical.

Frankfurt accepted a deal worth £79m, with £69m guaranteed and £10m in add-ons.

Ekitike is expected to sign a six-year contract and will fly out to join Liverpool's Asia tour later this week.

His arrival will push Liverpool's spending past £250m this summer.

They signed Florian Wirtz for a potential British record £116m, while defenders Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have arrived for a combined £70m.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford passed a medical at Barcelona in what was a manic Monday for transfer news.

The 27-year-old arrived in Catalonia on Sunday night after getting permission from United to complete the formalities of a move, which could well be completed today.

The England international was met by Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco at the training ground on Monday morning.

Barcelona have agreed to cover Rashford's wages for the duration of his season-long loan after he accepted a 25% pay cut, saving United about £14m.

The deal, which is for an initial 12 months, includes an option to buy for £30.3m (35m euros).

Rashford will be presented to the media on Wednesday.