Arsenal’s focus has turned to player sales after spending a fortune on incomings this summer.
The expectations were at an all-time high when Andrea Berta was announced as the new Gunners sporting director, and he has delivered.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres have all joined the club, while Arsenal are on the verge of signing Eberechi Eze as well.
Arsenal have to sell a few players now – not just to free up space in the squad but to balance their books as well.
There are at least six players at Arsenal who are surplus to requirements right now.
Gabriel Jesus is currently injured and will not be on the move, but there is no place in Mikel Arteta’s side for these players:
- Reiss Nelson
- Fabio Vieira
- Albert Sambi Lokonga
- Oleksandr Zinchenko
- Jakub Kiwior
- Karl Hein
All of the above names were left out of the Arsenal squad that beat Manchester United in the opening game of the new Premier League season.
The aim now is to move all of them on, but what are the financial implications if Berta fails to get rid of any of them before the window shuts?
GRV Media’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content, Adam Williams, tells TBR that Arsenal, owned by Stan Kroenke, have a £100 million credit facility which they can make use of if the finances become an issue due to a lack of sales.
Williams said: “If Arsenal get the Eberechi Eze deal over the line, they are going to be at around £250 million net spend for the summer. The owner, Stan Kroenke, doesn’t really want to put any more money into the club if he can help it, so that cash has got to be sourced from somewhere.
“Historically, Arsenal have relied quite heavily on transfer debt – i.e. paying for new signings in instalments to smooth out their cash requirements over a number of seasons. In their last set of accounts, only Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea had higher transfer debt.
“That said, they did have a pretty modest season in terms of net spend in 2024-25, so I expect that balance will have come down a little. The Viktor Gyokeres deal was reportedly in three instalments. Of that potential £250m spend this summer, I think you can expect £80-90m to have been paid upfront.
“In terms of PSR, they have no issues, particularly given that they are going to post a profit when they release their next set of accounts for the first time since Stan Kroenke bought the club outright. UEFA’s squad cost rules could be a tighter squeeze, but I think they should be just about okay regardless for 2025 relative to the revenues they are going to bring in.
“If they didn’t sell any of the players they want to get rid of this summer, I don’t think it would cause any immediate issues in terms of meeting the day-to-day cash needs of the business – i.e., paying wages, the transfer instalments, other operating costs. They also have a £100 million credit facility with Barclays that they can use if cash flow is tight.
“However, just because Arsenal can get by without sales, it shouldn’t decrease the urgency. There are quite a few teams in the Premier League now in this position with less than two weeks to go in the window of having loaded up their credit cards and perhaps losing some leverage with would-be buyers.
“Player trading isn’t just for the Brightons and Brentfords of this world anymore. If you don’t want to rely on handouts from the owners or risk running into PSR or FFP trouble in future seasons, you have to look at the exit door.”
If Arsenal were at risk of breaking UEFA’s squad cost rules and had no credit facility to ease the pressure, Berta would be forced to make a few panic sales.
That would’ve seen the Gunners potentially accepting lower-than-market-value bids for some of their players, just so that they can balance the books.
However, the £100 million credit facility they have will give Berta right until the end of deadline day to hold out for the right money.
That is a big boost for Arsenal, who have always been terrible sellers.
It remains to be seen now how Berta will take advantage of the situation when bids start coming for the six players that Arsenal have put up for sale.
