Arsenal transfer news: Unai Emery will have only £40m to spend this summer
Underinvestment in players, the Ozil obstacle and why Gunnersaurus should get a game
Arsenal are clearly a club in desperate need of wholesale personnel changes but they won’t be implemented this summer.
The Daily Mirror claims that manager Unai Emery will have just £40m to spend in the off-season despite the glaring deficiencies in the Arsenal squad.
A lack of finances prevented the Gunners from signing any new players in January’s transfer window, with the arrival on loan of Barcelona winger Denis Suarez the only activity at the Emirates.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Mirror says there’s an £18m option to make the Suarez deal permanent at the end of the season. If Emery goes ahead he will be left with just £22m for other signings.
Give Gunnersaurus a game
As Arsenal’s abject display against Manchester City on Sunday demonstrated, it’s not wingers that Emery needs but reliable defenders.
The club shelled out £70m on back-four players last year but Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner have proved inadequate.
The Sun reports that some Arsenal fans are even suggesting that the club’s mascot, Gunnersaurus, would be a better back-four bet than Lichtsteiner.
So far this season Arsenal have conceded 36 goals, more than any other club in the top nine of the Premier League.
Ozil obstacle
Arsenal had to pay £17m to get rid of Arsene Wenger last May but according to the Mirror a big part of the problem is “falling into line with the Premier League’s strict spending rules on both transfers and wages”.
The club’s owner, Stan Kroenke, would risk breaking Financial Fair Play rules if he splashed out on new players in the summer.
One solution would be to get shot of Mesut Ozil, whose £350,000-a-week salary makes him the club’s top earner. Yet despite being reduced to a periphery player this season under Emery, the German seems happy to bank the money while warming the bench.
The Mirror says another option is to offload the “struggling” Shkodran Mustafi and use the money to bring in a more effective defender.
Going nowhere
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has expressed his sympathy for Emery’s predicament, blaming the board for poor management.
“The frustration level must be very high for Emery as in only his second transfer window as Arsenal manager he was told he cannot sign anybody,” the Frenchman told the Irish Independent.
“You look at the money Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City spend and unless you join them and put the cash on the table to compete for the best players, you are going nowhere.”
Premier League results, fixtures and TV guide
Latest results
- Tottenham Hotspur 1 Newcastle United 0
- Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Watford 0
- Burnley 1 Southampton 1
- Chelsea 5 Huddersfield Town 0
- Crystal Palace 2 Fulham 0
- Everton 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3
- Cardiff City 2 AFC Bournemouth 0
- Leicester City 0 Manchester United 1
- Manchester City 3 Arsenal 1
- West Ham United 1 Liverpool 1
FixturesWednesday 6 February
- Everton vs. Manchester City (7.45pm)
Saturday 9 February (3pm unless stated)
- Fulham vs. Manchester United (12.30pm, live on Sky Sports)
- Crystal Palace vs. West Ham United
- Huddersfield Town vs. Arsenal
- Liverpool vs. AFC Bournemouth
- Southampton vs. Cardiff City
- Watford vs. Everton
- Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Burnley (5.30pm, live on BT Sport)
Sunday 10 February
- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leicester City (1.30pm, live on Sky Sports)
- Manchester City vs. Chelsea (4pm, live on Sky Sports)
Monday 11 February
- Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Newcastle United (8pm, live on Sky Sports)
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
5 simple items to help make your airplane seat more comfortable
The Week Recommends Gel cushions and inflatable travel pillows make a world of difference
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
How safe are cruise ships in storms?
The Explainer The vessels are always prepared
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The Premier League's spending cap: levelling the playing field?
Talking Point Top clubs oppose plans to link spending to income of lowest-earning club, but rule could prevent success gap from widening
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is a new English football regulator an own goal for the game?
Talking Point PM hails 'historic moment for football fans' but West Ham owner warns it could 'ruin' Premier League
By The Week UK Published
-
English football and the etiquette of leaving the stadium early
Talking Point The belief that 'true fans stay to the end' does not always apply
By The Week UK Published
-
2023-2024 Premier League predictions: champions, relegation and golden boot
feature A look at the top flight talking points and pundit picks for the new season
By Mike Starling Published
-
Man City: can ‘one of the best sides in history’ win the treble?
feature Guardiola’s Premier League champions have two more trophies in their sights
By The Week Staff Published
-
Premier League: Man City vs. Arsenal predictions
feature What the pundits say about tonight’s title race showdown at the Etihad
By Mike Starling Last updated
-
Antonio Conte leaves Tottenham after ‘extraordinary’ rant at players
feature After another year without a trophy, Spurs are now searching for a new manager
By The Week Staff Published
-
Liverpool 7 Man Utd 0: ‘welcome to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool 2.0’
feature Anfield’s ‘new front three’ were on fire in the humbling of their bitter rivals
By Mike Starling Published