We started the transfer window off aggressively, quickly signing Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice. 15 July 2023, over £200million spent. Our incomings were basically done.
After such a big outlay, the club would be looking to sell at least £100m worth of talent to balance the books.
As it stands, the only two sales remain Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari for around a combined £27m. We have also seen Ainsley Maitland-Niles leave on a free.
In June, I blogged about how Arsenal could look to raise £190m in sales.
In that blog, I listed 14 players who could depart this summer, with a prediction that we could raise nearly £200m if we sold them all. I also mentioned that I did not expect us to sell them all.
Some would fight their way back into Mikel Arteta’s plans (or were never out of them) whilst we might have to loan others out if the right transfer offer did not come in.
So who were the XI? and what is happening?
Emile Smith Rowe: The noise from the club throughout the summer has wlays been “Smith Rowe is not for sale”. But there has always been a feeling that if a big enough bid came in, we would accept it. I believe that bid is in excess of £40m.
Smith Rowe has fallen behind Leandro Trossard and Kavi Havertz in the team, so I think the exit is still slightly ajar for him. But it would take a big offer.
If that offer does not come in (and he has not so far), Arteta is clearly happy for Smith Rowe to stay and be attacking cover for Havertz in the 8 as well as 4th choice winger.
With 3 years left on his contract, we are in no rush to sell.
Granit Xhaka: Sold for £21.4m
Folarin Balogun: If Arsenal’s valuation for Balogun had have been met already, he would have gone.
Arsenal are reportedly asking for £40m for the Englishman-turned-American. Balogun has recently let leak through his people that he hopes Arsenal will drop that valuation. But why would we?
Balogun scored 21 goals in France last season, is just 22-years-old and is home grown.
Rasmus Højlund is joining Man U for £72m after a single top flight season in Italy where he scored 9 goals. wolves have spent £45m on Mathues Cunha. Chelsea £30m on Nicolas Jackson and Brighton £30m on Joao Pedro.
We have also seen Harvey Barnes join Newcastle for £38m and Moussa Diaby move to Aston Villa for £47m. I do not think a £40m asking price for Balogun is too unreasonable.
I think other Premier League clubs (West Ham, Crystal Palace), are waiting until late in the window in the hope we drop the price.
Likewise, I think Balogun is showing no interest in those sort of clubs in the hope someone bigger (Inter Milan?) comes in for him.
I expect Balogun to depart close to deadline day.
Kieran Tierney – I can not see how Tierney gets much game time with us this season.
He is behind Olexsandr Zinchenko at elft back, and Arteta has played Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber and Jakub Kiwor at left back ahead of him. All 3 seem more suitable to that inverted left back role.
there is an argument that if Timber plays on the right as an inverted full back, then we might want to play Tierney on the left in a more traditional position to give us width. But I also think Zinchenko and Tomiyasu can also play that role.
With Tierney, we are just waiting for that bid to come in (interesting to note that Newcastle have still not yet bought a new left back).
Nicolas Pepe: I am surprised that he is not already in Saudi Arabia.
When you consider the money they have spent and the players who have moved over there, it feels like he would fit in perfectly. With a year left on his contract, he is on the verge of signing for Besiktas on a free transfer.
If he still has ambitons to play top level European football (and thinks a year in Turkey could rebuild his reputation) and has rejected Saudi advance, then fair play.
Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga: I put these guys together as they are in a similar situation.
Signed in the summer of 2021, both came with reputations as young talents (the sort of players Chelsea are now buying every other week!). Neither really showed themselves as being title challenger quality and both had mixed loan deals next summer.
Both will eventually depart this summer, but I suspect it might be loan deals again rather than permanent moves.
A bit like others on this list, moves will happen late in the window with buying (or loaning) clubs hope to get a better deal driven by Arsenal’s need to get them off the books – we will not have the squad space to register either.
Charlie Patino: A bit like Flo Balogun, we have our valuation of him and that has not been met.
His loan deal at Blackpool started well, but as the season went on his performances declined. Will a Premier League side take a risk on him and give him the first team football he desires? I am not sure.
I feel he will end up following Henri Lansbury’s career. He will have to accept that right now he is not Premier League ready and have to accept a move to a Championship club. And when down there, he could find that is his natural level.
Aaron Trusty: In the time it has taken me to get down to this point of the blog, Aaron Trusty has left us! This highlights how quickly deals can happen, and why it should not be too much of a worry that we still have a lot of players to shift.
Trusty had a very good loan spell at Birmignham City last season, so it is not surprise that he has been picked up by a newly promoted team. The deal is reportedly for £5m, a trebling of our investment but less than what Tranfrmarkt value him as…
Rob Holding: It is basically up to Rob Holding whether he leaves or not. He is not on high wages, we will not command a huge transfer fee, and Mikel Arteta is probably happy to keep him around as an extra defensive reinforcement.
He is probably 6th choice centreback, behind Saliba, Gabriel ,Kiwior, White and Timber. And argument can even be made for Tomiyasu to be ahead of him.
Holding has been with us for 7 years and is settled in North London with his family. My feeling is he will only consider leaving us if it is another London club that comes in for him.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: Left for nothing. Still not found a new club.
Pablo Mari: Joined Monza for £6m.
Cedric Soares: Cedric spoke about wanting to stay at Arsenal and fight for his place, but this shows a level of delusion.
Now behind White, Timber, Zinchenko, Tomiyasu and Tierney, he probably would not even be registered in the squad next season.
With a year left on his contract, my gut is he will remain unregistered at Arsenal before seeking a January loan deal.
Alex Runar Runarsson: I do not even think my 5-a-side team would want Runarsson. Although this is because I am the manager, and the goalkeeper.
Had has two loan spells since joining us. I do wonder if we are keeping hold of him right now just in case Matt Turner departs and we can not get a replacement goalkeeper in.
That would see Karl Hein promoted to second choice and Runarsson probably become 3rd.
So when I started this blog (Thursday morning), it was two players sold. By the time I finished it (Friday morning), Trusty had joined Xhaka and Mari in the departures lounge. It will publish one day next week, so who knows what extra deals would have gone through by then!
We are a third of the way to the £100m. The sales of Tierney and Balogun would probably take us over that figure. More players will leave, and if we can end up with a net spend of around £100m, we should be very happy with ourselves!
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 