Arsenal’s summer transfer talks dragged on until just hours after the official deadline, when the signing of Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea was finally confirmed. And thanks to a summer of shrewd business dealings, both in and out, everything is set to get back on track in January.
The Gunners are in a very strong financial position at a time when their rivals are struggling to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Newcastle were forced to consider selling star Anthony Gordon to Liverpool, eventually letting go of promising young talents such as Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson in a frantic rush ahead of the PSR deadline of June 30.
Liverpool bought one player this summer, Federico Chiesa, for just £10m and Manchester City have also kept their powder dry, with the £21m transfer of Savinho from sister club Troyes their only major influx despite raising £159m through sales.
But Arsenal, even after spending more than £100m to bring in four players, including Sterling on loan, are prepared to try again.
Arsenal swooped late in the summer to sign Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea.
Even after spending more than £100m on four new players, the club is ready to get back to playing.
“I think they are in a strong position (compared to their rivals),” says football finance expert Kieran Maguire. Sports mailwho says Arsenal have “plenty of room for manoeuvre” when it comes to PSR.
“That gives them flexibility. In January, if they want to sign a player, they won’t be one of those clubs that will be constrained. And they won’t be one of those clubs in June 2025, as we saw with Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa, Everton and Leicester this summer, that will have to get rid of players because of a real danger of breaching the PSR.”
The deal follows a major sale of players who were on the fringes of the first team. Fan favourite Emile Smith Rowe left for Fulham for an initial fee of £27m, Eddie Nketiah went south of the Thames to Crystal Palace for £30m and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale joined Southampton in a deal that could reach £25m.
They were followed on the way out by academy players Mika Biereth (£4m to Sturm Graz), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (£3.5m to Genoa), Reuell Walters (£500,000 to Luton) and Amario Cozier-Duberry (£500,000 to Brighton).
On top of that, former academy star Omari Hutchinson’s £22.5m move from Chelsea to Ipswich netted the Gunners another £4.5m in sell-on clauses.
This amounts to a record sales window for the club, with close to £100m raised.
“They’ve managed to get rid of players who wouldn’t really be in the starting XI,” Maguire said. “The revenue they’ve generated is decent, like Nketiah, who sold for £30m.”
Since Edu’s (centre) arrival, Arsenal have typically made more money from outgoings.
A significant sale of fringe players helped the club achieve a solid financial position.
Maguire estimates Arsenal will also earn an extra £4m from having an extra home game in the Champions League group stages this season in the expanded competition, which should help offset some of the wage increases that came as a result of returning to Europe’s elite competition.
Sales have historically been an area where Arsenal have not performed as well as their rivals.
Their record sale remains the £35m transfer of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017. But since Edu’s arrival as technical director in July 2019, before becoming sporting director three years later, the trend has been upward.
Smith Rowe has gone straight into Arsenal’s top five sales, while Nketiah and Ramsdale could join him if their additional clauses are met.
This follows £28m for Alex Iwobi in 2019 and £25m for Joe Willock two years later, a clear sign that Arsenal are cashing in on the best talent from their academy.
That £100m coming into play this summer is a huge jump from 2020-21 (£23m) and 2021-22 (£35m).
Emile Smith Rowe has joined Fulham and has gone straight into Arsenal’s top five list of best-selling players
Striker Eddie Nketiah (centre) has joined Crystal Palace in a deal worth around £30m.
So the decisions taken in this window have been thorough and well executed under Edu’s supervision.
He hasn’t gotten everything right at all, and it must be borne in mind that fans won’t always see a war chest built up as a good thing, especially with many calling for a big-name striker to take a chance at finally dethroning Manchester City.
Arsenal were content to not bring in a striker, having previously considered Benjamin Sesko and Nico Williams, until Sterling became available late on the final day.
Edu has learned and grown in his role. His affable nature and his effort to connect with everyone at the club, regardless of their seniority, has made a real impression.
The process began five years ago. The nine first-team contract terminations since Arteta took over in December 2019 have attracted attention. Some of the names, such as Nicolas Pepe (signed for a then-record £72m), Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang (£56m) and Mesut Ozil (£42.5m) were bought for exorbitant sums.
This made the dismissals sanctioned by Edu controversial. It is a significant amount of money that can be dispensed with.
Edu has made several controversial contract terminations that have borne fruit over time.
But Maguire believes it was a good decision and has helped him in the future.
He said: ‘Arsenal have managed to get players like Aubameyang and Ozil off the roster two or three years ago, and that has given them flexibility.
‘They are not spending money just for the sake of spending money, as we have seen at other clubs.
“I think it was a logical step and it also allowed those players to find other work. People forget that they are professional athletes and they want to play at the highest level possible.”
To Edu and Arsenal’s credit, they have stuck to their asking prices this summer and the strategy has paid off.
There was much talk of Nketiah being targeted for a move to Marseille. The French club initially offered £16.8m, before reaching a final bid of £23m. That wasn’t enough for Arsenal, so the club pulled out of the deal.
Then Nottingham Forest came along and were willing to accept a fee in the region of £30m, although terms could not be agreed with Nketiah.
Pressure and criticism from some fans were mounting around the club.
However, Edu refused to budge, resulting in Crystal Palace snapping up Nketiah in the final week for £30m after negotiations – the price Arsenal had wanted all along.
Arsenal are understood to view the arrival of talented midfielder Mikel Merino as a major coup.
The Gunners have also been unforgiving of academy players who left when their contracts expired this summer. The club have gone to court to claim compensation for Walters, Cozier-Duberry and Chido Obi-Martin, the 16-year-old who shot to fame last season when he scored 10 goals against Liverpool’s academy and left the club this summer to join Manchester United.
Of the signings in this window, which include defender Riccardo Calafiori and Sterling for £42m, as well as making David Raya’s loan from Brentford permanent for £27m, Sports mail He understands that Arsenal see Mikel Merino as a great stroke of luck.
The midfielder was signed from Real Sociedad for £31.6m and, at 28, is in his prime. Last season in La Liga, Merino won more aerial duels than any other player in Europe’s top seven leagues and made the most tackles in the final third of the pitch.
So, until the window opens again on January 1, Arsenal can look back on a summer of work that has borne great fruit.
