Finance guru: Arsenal board to sanction ‘£100m’ outlay as ‘sweeping changes coming’
The Arsenal board could hand Mikel Arteta a transfer kitty of over £100million to spend on new signings this summer.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about how the failure to finish in the top four will impact the Gunners’ spending.
Arsenal were pipped to the post by Tottenham in the race for Champions League football in 2021-22.
As quoted by The Mirror last Friday (20 May), Arteta said of their recruitment plans for the summer: “We are going to have certain resources, not unlimited resources, some resources,”
And Plumley suggests that may mean that the North London giants are set to splash out in order to fund “sweeping changes” in the squad.
“It’s about how to bridge that gap between Europa League and Champions League,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Missing out on Champions League revenue means they are falling behind the other clubs that do it every year. It is worth at least £50m per year because of the Premier League’s coefficient rating.
“That’s what Arsenal are losing out on at the very least. But we also know they are well-placed to spend money if they want to. There are resources there. The question is, how much are they willing to pay?
“There has been some progress this year under Arteta, but it feels like there are some sweeping changes coming.
“They were quite close to 4th this season but then there is a massive gap between themselves and Liverpool and Man City. That probably means spending in and around £100m if not a little bit more.”
Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny are all out of contract next month.
The Evening Standard reported on Monday (23 May) that Elneny is set to be handed a one-year extension.
In other news, expert suggests Aaron Hickey could replace Arsenal “liability” after stance confirmed.