The current summer transfer window has been a bit stretched and stressful as Arsenal and every club in the market (ie everyone!) is having to think twice about buying new top players unless it can fit perfectly into the new rules governing the the amount you can spend according to your income, and to make sure that your wage bill doesn’t go over the acceptable limits.
The rules are very complicated and with the 3 year limits and balancing income, I am sure that every club has to have a full time accountant checking every transaction to make sure you don’t overspend, as Everton and Nottm Forest found out to their cost last season.
But the downside to this is that the more academy products you sell means that that income is classified as pure profit, as you have already spent that money over the amount of time they spent in coming through the ranks.
The Arsenal legend David Seaman, who has been involved with goalkeeping coaching in the Arsenal Academy for many years gave us his views in an interview with online betting site Betway: “I don’t like to see young players moving clubs for profit and sustainability reasons. I don’t think Financial Fair Play is working, and it’s a negative on the game. It’s supposed to level things out, but why do we want to see things levelled out? We like to see success, and it’s stopping clubs from buying players they want to buy.
“The last January transfer window was almost non-existent, because of FFP and the points deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest. I don’t think it’s making the game better.
“There has been talk of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe leaving Arsenal, and for me it hurts when homegrown players leave the club. They aren’t getting game time, so they’re going to be frustrated, and fans will be frustrated if they leave because they love singing songs for homegrown players.
“When the academy is successful, it means something at every level of the club. When I coach at Arsenal, I see what the youth players go through to get to this level, and then when they get into the first team it’s a celebration for the entire club.”
Of course he is absolutely right, as I’m sure in Wenger’s time at Arsenal he would love to keep the likes of Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, Smith-Rowe as backups, but as we all well know, they are all looking for new clubs, which will generate pure profit for Arteta to spend on new arrivals and still keep within the limits of Profit and Sustainability Rules.
I am sure some fans would like to see some of our academy players make the grade, but I believe most of us think that Nketiah and Reiss Nelson are simply not good enough for Arteta’s squad. Smith-Rowe is another story, but are we happy that the proceeds will give us pure profit, which will help us bring in even better players?
I believe all the football clubs participated and approved the decision to put these rules in place. We can’t have it both ways where we want financial fairness but at the same time want to spend outrageous sums of money.
In my opinion, we are still in the teething phase of the implementation of these rules and a lot will be clearer with time. Perhaps a consequence of these rules will be the reduction in transfer fees to facilitate sales.
About academy players,I understand that fans tend to get attached to them, but we need to understand that if we are to win major trophies, we have to put sentimentalism aside and be ruthless. Fact is, an overwhelming majority of academy players never make it to the top level. The ones who are good enough like Saka will find their way. The rest can be used to generate revenue for the club,however callous it sounds.
One of the biggest problems is that the rules as they are limit the ability of the smaller clubs to compete effectively with the biggest clubs. Arsenal are also relatively protected in this context. Unfortunately, it also means that for us bridging the gap to MC remains very difficult.
Yes, it must be easier to sell homegrown players with good prices to other EPL clubs
Selling Smith-Rowe to buy Merino would be a calculated risk that Arsenal need to win a major trophy this season
Merino is way older, but he:
– Is way more experienced, taller and left-footed
– Has played DM as Xhaka did
– Seems better in tight spaces
Has little to do with FFP. Their contributions isn’t much, their value keeps dipping, all three are on higher wages and it doesn’t seem they are in Arteta’s plan. Plus they are more marketable because of the homegrown status.
Calafiori has been announced! Back to the topic i’m not in support of homegrown players we literally handed new and improved contracts while persuading them to stay, and them let them leave to premier league rivals. More like feeding the opposition teams knowing their quality.
And ESR is off to Fulham with an agreement’s having been reached for £34m
Just on Calafoiri – yes after a wait of years (well, it seemed like it at times), he’s finally signed. Photos of him sitting next to Arteta, both with broad grins. At last!
Whether home grown or otherwise, Arsenal isn’t the greatest – or even anywhere near good really – at selling players. We often ask too much for (relatively) too little which is why there are few takers on the whole for most of the players that Arsenal want to offload.
Having spent several seasons reducing the overall wage bill (which at one point stood at a staggering 75% of turnover apparently – that’s getting a little too close to Barcelona territory) it’s now down to a more manageable 50% or so. However, with the new arrivals, assuming Calafiori won’t be the only one, Arsenal really has to trim down the bill and selling players is the only way.
£34m is a good business for both parties. Thanks for the good memories smith, wish u all the best.
Off topic. With the signing of calafiori nd new ones…I know we arsenal is cooking something special.
Up gunners!
ESR has ALREADY proved himself, even being called up to the England set up!!
Why we’re letting him go, while keeping Vieria is a mystery to me.
Let’s not forget that both players have had injury problems, so that’s not really an excuse either.
I do understand the financial side of ESR being pure profit and, if SueP’s £34 million is correct, that side of the equation I can see.
But who would buy Vieria for £34 million?
Great official news regarding Calafiori – what a powerful defensive unit we now have and excellent cover to boot!!
It’s not correct , 27 million ,addons COULD take it to 34 million.
So we have sold him for 27 million
Your sources for the word “COULD” please. As far as I have seen, Sheth and Romano both have just mentioned “+7 mill in addons”, there is no should or could.
Sky sports -“ The deal – a club record for Fulham – will see them pay an initial £27m, plus add-ons that could take the total to £34m.”
Hope that helps
Interestingly, Sky Sports omitted the precise figure of 7 million in add-ons, a detail that Romano and other reputable journalists have explicitly stated without any qualifiers like ‘could’ or ‘should’.
It’s intriguing that you opted for Sky Sports’ coverage. As Arsenal fans, we typically rely on sources like Romano and Ornstein for transfer reports.
I agree with you only on Emile’s potential departure, it’s been tough to get over it. I think Vieira and Eddie will also be moved on IF a suitable offer comes in.
This post was meant as a reply to @Joe S. below.
How did sky omit the 7 million add on figure , it’s there in black and white .
Why’s it intriguing that that I rely on sky sports , who’s this “we “ as Arsenal fans ,have you done a poll?
Surprised you didn’t write the word BAIT (lol)
I didn’t write it because I took it. Again. You won.
Viera over ESR is not as perplexing as it seems. Viera has very niche yet valuable skills, which our squad currently lacks. He could be one of the keys to unlocking Martinelli this year. ESR as a whole is I think a better, more rounded player than Viera, but he doesn’t excel at one particular thing. Not enough to eclipse other players. Viera does have such skills. Viera is arguably our best shooter from distance, and a threat to goal. He can also clearly become a freekick specialist as his long balls are really good. He has good vision for key passes. And with him on the pitch, there is always a danger of getting off-guard by a shot from distance. ESR is more of a 10, who is better in tight spaces and carrying the ball, which we already have in the likes of Rice, and now Nwaneri, who is already better than ESR in that aspect imo. So unfortunately, he had to leave. He is a great player but in the context of our squad, lots of redundancies in player’s profiles.
As if to prove a point about how difficult Arsenal find it to sell players (homegrown in this case):
According to Sky Sports’ Melissa Reddy, Arsenal and Marseille are still a long way from a deal for Nketiah. The reporter claimed that Marseille still isn’t “anywhere close to the valuation” at this point, despite talks beginning at least a fortnight ago.
I guess that it comes down in the end to how much Arsenal need to offload players. Take less or don’t sell could be the options.
As far as I can judge, Arsenal really do need to sell particularly with others likely to arrive according to reports so they may need to “modify” their demands.
Yes £27m plus £7m addons is good business and all pure profit on the books. Quite why Arteta doesn’t fancy him is beyond me, though has has a few injuries to contend with and perhaps input from our medical team has been part of the reason.
Good point at the end GB, hadn’t thought about that.
He has to pass his medical yet
GB, you may well have hit the nail on the head regarding the medical teams input. It’s happened previously with Rocky and Overmars.
Thanks, David Seaman and Ken Burns. Some real perspective. It’s going to take me some time to get over losing ESR, when the likes of Viera and even Jorghino have such a limited contribution to make. Viera will end up like Pepe as someone who nobody will be willing to take , even on a free. And please stay away from Merino. Giving up future development for a one season wonder is something only the likes of Real Madrid can afford to get away with.
Jorginho had an immense contribution last season. Just having him at 6 brought the best of Rice at 8 and Havertz as a 9. What are you talking about?