Nobody, not even Mikel Arteta, seems to know how much money Arsenal will have to spend on new players this summer. The Gunners have a habit of throwing even their own fans with messages of caution. Last summer, for instance, saw reports that only £25million would be made available in the transfer market before Nicolas Pepe arrived in a club-record £72m, albeit spread out across instalments.
This year feels a little different, though. The global pandemic has hit the finances of almost every elite club in Europe and Arsenal, having missed out on Champions League and Europa League qualification this season, look set to be hit harder than most. The Gunners might be forced to get creative in their transfer market thinking.
Of course, the timing of this could barely have been any worse for the North London club. Arteta has made a good start on eradicating the culture of mediocrity that had been allowed to fester at Arsenal over a number of years, with the Spaniard slowly turning things around, but he will need new players if that progress is to be accelerated heading into next season.
Arteta, along with Raul Sanllehi and Edu, is tasked with closing the gap on Arsenal’s rivals, but it’s possible the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, who all look set to spend big this summer, could widen it even further. And yet the Gunners still have leverage that they could use to their advantage in the transfer market.
It’s true that Arteta will likely need new players to truly impose his own ideas on Arsenal and take them to where he wants to go, but this also means there are a number of figures free to leave the club this summer. Matteo Guendouzi, for instance, hasn’t featured for the Gunners since the defeat to Brighton, when the Frenchman grabbed Neal Maupay by the neck.
Guendouzi’s potential is obvious, but Arteta has concerns over the youngster’s attitude and commitment. The 21-year-old could, therefore, be used as a makeweight in any deal for one of Arsenal’s summer targets, with it already suggested in some quarters that Guendouzi has been offered to Atletico Madrid as part of a proposal to sign Thomas Partey.
Lucas Torreira can be categorised in a similar way. The Uruguayan lost his way after a promising start to life at the Emirates Stadium but still retains some transfer market value. He could be used in a swap deal. The same could be said of Granit Xhaka, who despite a recent upturn in form is still a player Arteta would surely like an upgrade on.
A lot has been said and written about Arsenal’s transfer strategy in recent years. Indeed, at times it has appeared scattergun, like last summer when players were signed, but with no real overarching idea of how to fit them into the first team. The upside of this is that while Arsenal’s current squad is poorly balanced, there are a number of surplus players who will still be attractive to suitors.
Even Alexandre Lacazette could be used in a deal for a top-tier target, with the French striker unsure of his future at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta might not want to lose a goalscorer of his track record and calibre, but if it helps move the Gunners a little closer to the Spaniard’s long term vision for the club then using him as a makeweight might be worth it.
This isn’t the scenario Arteta would have ideally wanted, but this is the hand he has been dealt. There are, however, still some aces in the pack, even if they are hidden somewhat. Arsenal’s current squad is much-maligned and largely ill-suited to the new man in the dugout at the Emirates Stadium, but it could still hold the key to long-term success, in an inadvertent way.
