Something doesn’t quite add up about Arsenal’s transfer window finances
There have been contradictory reports regarding Arsenal’s transfer window finances.
The first came from The Athletic’s inside look at Arsenal’s summer. They heard from multiple sources that without substantial player sales, the Gunners risked breaching squad cost ratio rules.
That is why, they say, Arsenal would only offer a loan for Malick Fofana on deadline day, who Lyon wanted £30million for permanently.
The Athletic made sure to point out, though, that Arsenal refute this, and that “technical reasons” and Mikel Arteta’s doubts about Fofana’s physicality swayed them from the move.
Now, Miguel Delaney is sure that Arsenal did have the financial means to make another signing.
Discussing the Julian Alvarez pursuit on the Libero podcast, Delaney said: “Arsenal had the money. They could do the deal. But he wanted Barca, still Barca, who couldn’t do the deal because they didn’t have the money.
“They still have that attraction, they still have the huge revenue, but it’s not quite the financial power of the Premier League.”
So Arsenal had the money for a £128million deal for Alvarez, but not for a £30million permanent deal for Fofana?
What is actually going on with Arsenal’s transfer finances?
The honest answer is that we don’t know for certain. But there are a few possible explanations.
One is that Arsenal were prepared to breach their UEFA limits for the right player. As The Athletic themselves noted, they might have been willing to sail closer to the wind for Vinicius or Alvarez.
A transformative marquee signing could justify that risk. With all due respect, someone like Fofana would not.
Another is that the club’s financial picture changed as the window went on. The sales of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira alleviated much of the pressure, but those deals came late.
A third possibility, and perhaps the most intriguing, is that Arsenal had a big sale lined up in anticipation of landing Vinicius or Alvarez.
A Viktor Gyokeres exit, maybe. That would go some way towards explaining his lack of involvement in the opening games of the season.
Or perhaps a permanent move for Ethan Nwaneri. Possibly, although hopefully not, Myles Lewis-Skelly, as there was of course a lot of noise around him.
If Alvarez had said yes, would a player have left to fund it? That would explain a lot.
None of this adds up to an obvious reason for the contradictory reports. But something about Arsenal’s financial position this summer doesn’t quite stack up.
