Exclusive: Finance expert shares truth on Arsenal transfer inactivity
Arsenal may be in a good financial position but the club have still been slow to act in the transfer department this summer.
That is the view of football finance expert Dan Plumley, who exclusively told Football Insider there were question marks over what the club are prepared to spend in their search for new players.
After finishing as Premier League runners-up for a third successive season, and being knocked out in the Champions League semi-finals, it looked like the Gunners were set for a busy transfer window to get over the hump.
FIFA introduced an extra transfer window due to the revamped Club World Cup, allowing clubs to get a head start on their summer business between 1 June and 10 June.
Man United used the opportunity to sign Matheus Cunha, Chelsea signed Ipswich’s Liam Delap, and Man City have already made four additions to their squad.
But Arsenal, who spent much of the year relying on players playing out of position, and impressive youth-teamers Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, are yet to make any upgrades to Mikel Arteta’s team.
Arsenal have ‘no financial concerns’ despite transfer inactivity
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, finance expert Plumley explained that the Gunners’ failure to add to their squad was not due to any financial issues the club was facing.
The finance guru had previously revealed to Football Insider that despite Arsenal posting losses, the club had no PSR issues.
Instead, Plumley cited previous failed deals for Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins as evidence for the club being unprepared to spend more than they wanted.
He said: “It comes down to what they want to spend.
“And again, we’ve seen that haven’t we with the club in recent years, the move for Ivan Toney, and of course, he went to Saudi Arabia, [and] the position on Ollie Watkins.
“We have seen this before with Arsenal; there’s no financial concerns.
“What I can see from the outside looking in, Champions League football, they’ve just had a good run deep into the competition, Champions League football to come.
“The revenue’s absolutely fine. I think ultimately with them, it’s a case of who they want and what are they prepared to spend rather than any real financial concerns that I can see.”
Arsenal move for Rodrygo collapses as transfer silence continues
Pete O’Rourke exclusively revealed to Football Insider that Arsenal target Rodrygo is expected to remain with Real Madrid this summer.
In need of upgrades across the front-line, the Brazilian would have represented a major coup for the Gunners.
But instead, much like Cunha, Delap, and Leroy Sane, who is expected to sign for Galatasaray, Arsenal are set to once again miss out on one of their transfer targets.
There is still an entire transfer window ahead of the North London club, but continued inactivity could see Arteta’s team lose steam in their quest to build a side capable of winning a first Premier League title since 2004.