The worrying reason Arsenal decided not to sign Malick Fofana on deadline day
Arsenal had considered bringing in Malick Fofana on deadline day.
The Lyon winger emerged as a market opportunity in the final days of the window, and the Gunners were weighing up a move for him.
However, they ultimately decided not to, leaving Sunderland and Crystal Palace in an eventful tug of war over him right up until the deadline.
Fofana chose Sunderland in the end, but he obviously would’ve wanted to join the Premier League champions.
Now we know why Arsenal pulled out of the deal.
Why Arsenal didn’t sign Malick Fofana
It emerged yesterday that Arsenal were unwilling to meet Lyon’s asking price and were only willing to offer a loan deal for Fofana.
The Athletic’s inside look at Arsenal’s transfer window has confirmed that, but more details have emerged about why they wouldn’t make a permanent move for the winger.
Sources close to the talks say Arsenal were in danger of encroaching on UEFA’s spending limits, making a permanent deal impossible.
Lyon wanted around £30million to boost their own finances after missing out on Champions League qualification.
The French club understandably weren’t interested in a loan and so the deal quickly fell apart, and Fofana joined Sunderland instead.
Welcome to Sunderland, Malick Fofana! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8wfuQXznQQ
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) September 1, 2026
The Athletic say, however, that Arsenal have refuted this version of events, saying they withdrew from the pursuit for “technical reasons”.
Mikel Arteta apparently had reservations about whether Fofana could handle the physicality of the Premier League, and with opinion divided internally on the deal, Arsenal chose not to proceed.
We have to say, it did feel like a half-hearted pursuit and that the club weren’t fully convinced he’d improve the team.
But both things can be true at once: Arteta may have had doubts but the finances may also have been tight.
Arsenal have spent north of £600million on players across the past three seasons, with a net figure of around £400million, even accounting for this summer’s sales.
Multiple sources suggested that without substantial player sales, the club risked breaching UEFA’s squad cost ratio rules.
That may partly explain the reluctance to really push for Morgan Rogers or Bradley Barcola — the two primary targets at the time — for their respective quoted prices.
But ultimately, Arsenal head into this season with a worse attack than last. Fofana might not have ‘changed our lives’ but would bringing in another body have been better than no one?
The Gunners are pretty short in attack now, and will be relying on Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz to stay fit, and will need Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres to step up a level.
They will also need the Christos Tzolis signing to work out, with the Greek winger set to have more responsibility than first planned.
