Arsenal have come in leaps and bounds in recent years, both on the pitch and behind the scenes.
What was once a club that often disappointed on the pitch and struggled with talent production and retention is now impressing on both fronts.
Arsenal have been one of the best teams in the Premier League for a number of years now, and their squad keeps getting stronger and stronger.
In addition, the Gunners are now doing well when it comes to signing top players, tying them down to long-term deals in good time, and producing great academy players.
With Arsenal sailing close to the wind in terms of FFP, GRV Media’s football finance expert Adam Williams has explained how the Gunners have now acquired themselves a ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’.
Earlier this week, David Ornstein spoke of how Arsenal are fine on the PSR front, but their FFP situation is not as good.
Williams told Arsenal Insider how Arsenal may not have too much time to rectify their FFP situation, with the January transfer window falling out of the required time frame.
However, the Gunners have an ace up their sleeve – their impressive Hale End academy and the conveyor belt of talent it produces.
“Squads are assembled in cycles, and Arsenal are in their win-now phase,” Williams exclusively told Arsenal Insider.
“Their recruitment and retention has been impressive, generally speaking. That said, they have left things late this window to make sales.
“Saka, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly are the big differentiators in terms of the squad value. Together, that’s £216.5m of talent that has come through the academy.
“If they were ever to run into FFP issues – and they are not too far off their limit under UEFA’s system – then a strong academy production line is a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“I don’t like that the system rewards selling off homegrown talent, but that’s the reality.”
The main issue Arsenal have on the FFP front is the Squad Cost element of the rules.
Under this system, clubs are not allowed to spend more than 70 per cent of revenue plus player sale profits on player and manager wages, transfers and agents’ fees.
Williams continued: “Arsenal’s wage bill was £328m last year, which was a huge leap up from the previous year at £235m. That’s the cost of competing at the very top level.
“In terms of whether a club is getting good value for money, it’s the wage bill you need to be looking at.
“In 2024-25, it’s likely to be close to £350m. That’s putting them among the very biggest payers in the world.
“They are still a fair bit behind Man City and Liverpool, but that expense is growing faster.
“Under Stan Kroenke’s system, he doesn’t want the club to be relying on handouts. Self-sufficiency is the name of the game.
“He is already over £1bn deep into his investment in North London, after all.
“So there’s that money, as well as an amortisation bill of nearly £200m plus another £150m or so in other expenses.
“So player trading based on the squad value listed here is going to have to continue to be part of that process.”
