I remember in the early days of the Edu / Arteta partnership, the Brazilian Director of Football was criticised for “only being able to get big deals done if there is a release clause”. This relating to Arsenal signing Thomas Partey after meeting his £45m release clause.
It was unfair criticism on Edu, with fans painting a picture of the way he conducts business based on a single transfer.
Considering that same summer we bought Gabriel Magalhães, and then a year later Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu, I am not really sure how the narrative became a thing.
Saying that, Arsenal could look to do our entire business this summer (David Raya aside) by triggering release clauses. And this could save the club millions.
Martin Zubimendi – £53m release clause
I have written extensively over the last 18-months about Martin Zubimendi.
In February 2023, I made it clear that if we were priced out of deals for Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice, then the Real Sociedad midfielder should be the man we go for.
Whilst we ended up with Rice, we have to assume that Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny will all leave in the summer. That opens up a squad place for a new defensive midfielder.
Zubimendi is a class act.
He is a calm presence who reads the game exceptionally. He does not need to cover a lot of ground, or rely on pace and power due to his fantastic positioning. And in his passing range and ability to create from deep and you have a Xabi Alonso regen.
I think Zubimendi would compliment the more “all-action” Rice in games where we want to play two defensive minded midfielders. He also has the talent to be the sole defensive pivot if Rice is out for any period of time.
That £53m release clause is still rumoured to be active. His recruitment would be a no brainer for me this summer. The only concern is whether he would want to leave his home town club.
Benjamin Sesko – £42m release clause
A year ago we were heavily linked with the Slovenian forward, but ultimately he took that well-travelled path from Red Bull Salzburg to RB Leipzig for £20m. It is a route that the Red Bull Group have used on numerous occasions, giving young starlets a step up into from Austria to Germany before selling them on for an even bigger profit.
Over the years, the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Dominik Szoboszlai and Naby Keïta have all taken the journey, spending a year or two in Leipzig before getting a bigger move.
Sesko is a good, young striker who reminds me a bit of Dimitar Berbatov. He is very graceful for a big man, full of fantastic touches and flicks. But he is also lacking a bit in the goals department.
Since joining Leipzig, he has failed to become a first team regular, starting less than 50% of their Bundesliga games. Despite not playing regularly, he has scored 7 goals in 1007 minutes of Bundesliga football. That is a goal every 144 minutes.
At just 21-years-old, Sesko would be a “project player”, similar to Rasmus Hojlund. He will probably take a year to get up to speed. That would mean Mikel Arteta would still use Gabriel Jesus as our primary striker, and then spend the next 12 months (or more) moulding the Slovenian into his ideal striker.
There is a lack of top strikers around at the moment, so spending £42m on Sesko and having him as cover might be the best option on the table.
Nico Williams – £43m release clause
I have long held the view that we might only sign one attacking player this summer – that the best option would be to sign a Premier League-ready striker who can come in and have an impact straight away, and then Jesus can be the wide cover to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Whilst this option is still on the table, if we signed Sesko than Jesus would still primarily be needed up top. The result is we would then need to go out into the market for a winger.
Nico Williams is an exciting young Spanish winger who can play on either wing and centrally. Two footed, he is quick, direct and has bundles of skill.
At the moment, he does not get the final output his ability deserves, but the underlying figures behind goals and assists would show a player that could explode. A big strong boy, he would suit the Premier League.
My concern is he feels a bit “Nicolas Pepe”. A player that looks to have it all, but then struggles to play in a possession-based system. Like Pepe, Williams is at his best when running into space.
The big difference is Williams will be signed to back up Saka and Martinelli on both wings, and not as a marque signing.
He turns 22 in July, and I would say he is of a similar standard of the likes of Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo, Mykhailo Mudryk, Jeremy Doku and Moussa Diaby, all of whom cost in and around a similar fee.
When you consider that Brennan Johnson was signed by Spurs for £45m last summer, than £43m for Nico Williams is probably the right price.
Spending £138m on Zubimendi, Sesko and Williams feels like good business. Add the £27 for David Raya and that would take our outlay for summer 2024 to £165m.
Four solid recruits who would all improve our squad and first team, and keep us moving forward.
That outlay will be set off by the departure of Thomas Partey (even if he leaves for free, his salary would pay the salary of two of those mentioned above), Reiss Nelson (recently linked with Bournemouth for £20m+), Aaron Ramsdale (£30m+), Eddie Nketiah (£20m+), Albert Sambi Lokonga (£15m+) and Kieran Tierney (£15m+).
Those sales would probably take us above £100m in incoming fees. We then have the likes of Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny, whose contracts are expiring. And maybe Jorginho. Further funds could be raised from Nuno Tavares, Albert Onkonwko and other youth team players out on loan.
This might seem a lot of players heading out, but many are currently on-loan away from the club or not playing a significant part.
It would basically be Zubimendi for Partey, Williams for Nelson and Sesko for Nketiah. The only first team player we would then need to replace is a second choice keeper to back up Raya.
Do not fear the release clause!
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 