The first of two summer transfer windows is now open, with clubs able to make their first moves for the next ten days.
Because of the Club World Cup, a supplementary earlier transfer window was agreed by FIFA to allow those clubs taking part to add new signings to their squads for the tournament.
The transfer window will then open fully on June 16 and Arsenal will be one of a number of clubs looking to get business done early
The Gunners are in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, having failed to sign the striker last summer, when he decided to sign a new contract with the German side instead.
There is also a deal in place to bring Martin Zubimendi to north London from Real Sociedad, with the finer details of the transfer to be ironed out.
Those two signings would be for big money, so do Arsenal have any concerns when it comes to Financial Fair Play or the Premier League’s Profit & Sustainability Rules?
Speaking in February, football.london’s business of football writers Dave Powell clarified the situation. He said: “The club are predicted to be PSR net positive for 2023/24 to the tune of around £29million, meaning the three-year net PSR position will be £14million, making an allowable loss for the club for 2023/24 of £119million, meaning that they have plenty of headroom and no PSR concerns.
“Assuming the same level of allowable deductions are applied, around £42million annually, to the current financial year of 2024/25, then the forecast is that Arsenal, for the current reporting period that runs until the end of May, could lose as much £164million before tax and still be able to remain PSR compliant.”
That effectively means there is a buffer of £164million to spend before any PSR issues come into play, although there may have been potential losses between February and May to change that figure slightly
But there is more in the kitty for Arsenal because of their run to the Champions League semi-final too. The Gunners pocketed around £97million from their Champions League exploits, which would take their total available spend to around £261million.
Talks for the Sesko deal suggest a fee of around £92.5million will be what is required to get the transfer over the line and if Arsenal were to really make a statement and sign Viktor Gyokeres too, he would cost in the region of £54.4million.
Arsenal have also been linked with a wide foward, with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo the dream signing there. Los Blancos will not entertain anything lower than €80million (£67.4million) to sell the Brazilian.
Then there is Zubimendi, who is expected to be the Gunners’ first signing of the summer, at around £51million.
If they were to sign all four – which would be some summer transfer window – that would set them back £265.3million. Just £4.3million over what they are predicted they could spend without any issues, which would mean only one player would need to depart the Emirates Stadium to make up for it.
