Arsenal will have a summer transfer budget of around £180million plus sales, according to recent reports.
The Gunners are set for a busy few months as Mikel Arteta looks to close the gap between his side and Premier League champions Manchester City. Now, the Daily Mail have claimed that Arteta and sporting director Edu will be handed a healthy warchest slightly shy of £200million, although this could be boosted by sales to a number of key first-team players.
Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey and Rob Holding are all said to be potential sales for the north London outfit, who will also be allowing central midfielder Granit Xhaka to depart after seven years with the club. football.london reported earlier this month that Xhaka was in advanced talks to sign for Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth €15million (£13million).
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Left-back Tierney has constantly been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium this season after falling down the pecking order in recent times. The Scottish international, who is said to be of interest to both Newcastle United and Aston Villa, has found himself behind Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior in Arteta's plans.
Centre-half Rob Holding endured a difficult 2022/23 campaign, struggling for form when he was drafted into the starting line-up following a back injury to William Saliba back in March. football.london understands that Arsenal want to bolster their defensive options this summer, with Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi one name on the list of potential targets - the type of move that could leave Holding surplus to requirements.
Meanwhile, a potential Thomas Partey departure is slightly more surprising considering he has been a key cog in the Gunners' system over the last few years, regularly performing well at the base of their 4-3-3 midfield setup. However, Partey will be into the final two years of his contract at the club this summer and at 29-years-old, it may be the perfect time to try and command a decent fee for the Ghana international, who did see a dip in form towards the end of the season.
As per CIES Football Observatory, Partey, Tierney and Holding are worth around €20 million (£17 million), €15 million (£13 million) and €10 million (£9 million), sales that may total at £52 million when you add on the aforementioned sum Leverkusen are paying for Xhaka. This cash could seriously help fund additional incoming, with West Ham United captain Declan Rice Arsenal's priority target, football.london understands.
Arteta is keen to strengthen his midfield and the England international's leadership, reliability and consistency makes him the perfect candidate to help the north Londoners improve next term. Rice has made it no secret of his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League next season, a competition that the Gunners qualified for this season - the first time since 2016. “One hundred per cent I want to play in the Champions League,” he said back in November 2021.
“For the last two or three years I’ve been saying that. I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing. I see my friends here who are playing Champions League and for big trophies.
“You only get one career and at the end you want to look back at what you’ve won and the biggest games you’ve played in.”
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