Arsenal will have to sell at least one first team player this summer as the club gets to grips with its significant outlay last year that has helped put Mikel Arteta’s team at the top of the Premier League with eight games to play.
It is understood that there are discussions around who would yield the most lucrative sale and whether more than one player might have to go – Arsenal spent £268 million in fees alone after the end of their most recently completed financial year.
The two academy graduates, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, are candidates for sale with neither currently in favour, although the risks of letting two homegrown talents leave are clear. Nwaneri, 18, has been on loan at Marseille since January while Lewis-Skelly, 19, originally a midfielder, has lost his place as left-back in the XI and is currently third choice.
Squad planning is a challenge for all clubs under Premier League and Uefa cost controls. The rationale for selling academy graduates is obvious given the value it adds to the bottom line and compliance with cost controls.
The same would be the case with club captain Martin Ødegaard, fundamental to Arteta’s team, who will reach two years from the end of his contract in the summer. After five years at the club, he represents a low value on the balance sheet and would therefore yield a major profit if sold for a sizeable fee.
Ødegaard, who was voted club captain by staff and players, is considered a hugely important presence on and off the field.
Gabriel Martinelli and Ben White are strong candidates to leave. Martinelli, bought in 2019 for £7 million, could potentially raise a significant profit given his current low book value. The same goes for White, bought in 2021 for a higher fee of £50 million.
Forward Kai Havertz is another player who will have two years remaining on his deal as of this summer, with the club needing to make a decision on whether or not to extend his contract. Forwards Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard, meanwhile, will have only one year remaining on their deals at the end of this season.
Arsenal posted healthy financial results up to May 31 last year but all their major signings arrived after that period. Seven first team signings were made for a total commitment of £268 million, as detailed in the notes to the accounts, among them Eberechi Eze (£67.5 million), Viktor Gyökeres (£63.7 million) and Martin Zubimendi (£56 million).
Arsenal pushed hard to deliver Arteta a squad that could end the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League title this season, and that included the late decision to sign Eze once it became clear that the absence of the injured Havertz would be prolonged.
In addition, new contracts were signed since then with key first team players Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and the academy pair Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri.
The results Arsenal published last week, up to May 31 last year, showed excellent growth in the commercial sector under executive Juliet Slot. Matchday income and earnings from broadcast contracts were also up, as Arteta’s team played a key role in the Premier League and Champions League.
With the team still competing in all four competitions this year, Arsenal may see more growth in their headline revenue, which jumped from £613.5 million to £690.3 million. But the aggressive spending of last summer means that there will have to be more sales.
The sporting director Andrea Berta was brought in to oversee a successful first team selling model as well as the acquisition spree that the club went on last summer. The sales of Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah gave the club some trading income in the previous financial year but they still made a net loss on transfers.
Further sales are crucial this summer given last year’s outlay and the commitment to pay £45 million for Ecuadorian full-back Piero Hincapié, currently on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.
The wage bill will have climbed considerably with the summer signings and new contracts for established names – and with another expensive deal looming on the horizon.
Arteta will have one year remaining in his existing deal at the end of the season, and a decision will be made on whether he signs the second renewal of his time at the club.
Should he do so as a Premier League winner, it is unlikely to be cheap.