‘They’ve got to be careful’ – Arsenal risk sanction from UEFA and Premier League
Arsenal are teetering on the verge of a sanction from UEFA and the Premier League after a summer of heavy spending.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that there are concerns within the club relating to transfer expenditure.
Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, and Martin Zubimendi after missing out on the Premier League title to Liverpool last season.
The Gunners are now 21 years removed from the last time they could call themselves champions of England, and their aggressive moves in the summer window underlined their desire to rectify that.
For instance, Arsenal leapt at the chance to sign Eberechi Eze when it looked like he was heading to Tottenham, and whilst Mikel Arteta‘s side have made a strong start to the season, they may inevitably pay a hefty price for the 2025 summer window.
Arsenal must be careful with UEFA squad cost rules
The Times reported on 29 September that Richard Garlick, the club’s new CEO, raised his concerns over the signing of Eze.
Insiders at Arsenal said that the managing director was doing his due diligence, and that he had flagged that the £67.5million fee could be a “potential issue in terms of Arsenal’s future compliance with UEFA’s squad cost rule.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Garlick’s concerns, Plumley explained that the CEO was right to be concerned.
He said: “It’s clear that the investment in the summer was a statement of intent to really win a league title.
“You look at Gyokeres and Zubimendi, and there were a couple of others, weren’t they? They spent big on Eze as well.
“They spent a lot of money, which was with winning the Premier League in mind.
“However, they’ve got to be careful with UEFA, as we’ve seen there with that quote, that’s coming from inside the club.
“But the Premier League will move to squad cost rules at some point as well, so I do think the investment was all about winning the Premier League, but I wouldn’t see them spending big in January, as an example.
“You know, to a counterpoint, I think they’ve put their marker down in the summer.”
Arsenal undergo significant restructuring
As mentioned above, Garlick is now the club’s CEO after Tim Lewis departed Arsenal after 18 years at the club.
Additionally, Kelly Blaha and Otto Maly have joined the Gunners’ board as non-executive directors.
Ben Winston has also joined Arsenal as a non-executive director, despite the producer and director’s lack of experience working in football.
The changes represent a significant shift after so many years of Lewis helming the North London side’s decision-making team.