EXCLUSIVE: A football finance expert has explained how the final few months of the season could impact Arsenal's summer transfer window business
Kasra Moradi Senior Sports Journalist
10:00, 14 Feb 2026
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (right) speaks with Arsenal chairman Josh Kroenke
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Arsenal may not spend as much as last year in this summer's transfer window(Image: PA)
Arsenal won't match their record-breaking spending from last summer this year, a football finance expert predicts.
The summer of 2025 saw the Gunners make wholesale changes to their first team squad, splashing around £250million on seven new permanent signings, while Piero Hincapie arrived on a loan deal. It marked an unprecedented number of incomings and a club record in terms of transfer spending, largely fuelled by the disappointment of finishing second in the Premier League three years in a row.
Such an injection by the club’s Kroenke ownership, KSE, already appears to have paid dividends, with Arsenal currently top of the league table and in the Carabao Cup final, having also topped the Champions League league phase table.
But while those new signings have played a huge role in giving Mikel Arteta the squad depth he needs to challenge on all four fronts, football finance expert Dan Plumley believes things could be different this summer.
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Speaking exclusively to football.london, Plumley stated that last summer represented something of a rebuild for the Gunners, while warning optimistic fans this summer could be a case of adding fewer players to certain areas that need addressing. Their brilliance this season only reinforces the idea that major changes are not needed again, though he believes they still have the financial power to spend heavily, if they deem it necessary.
Plumley said: "We know that clubs spend a lot in the summer because that's where they can do their best recruitment. For Arsenal, with a fair bit of outlay in the previous summer and obviously if they get over the line with the Premier League title, you perhaps might not see them spend huge amounts this summer. They might feel with the squad they’ve already built that they're capable of repeating the trick and being dominant again.
"You’d never say never with the biggest clubs because they're the ones that can spend if they want to. I always say it's more a case of if they want to. But I think if you look at Arsenal's outlay last summer, it wouldn't surprise anybody if they weren't so active again this summer.
Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke are in contention to start for Arsenal against Club Brugge
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Arsenal spent heavily on new additions last summer(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
"I would expect Arsenal’s spending to be lower than the previous summer, but if a player is available and the price is willing to be paid, these biggest clubs can almost do what they want in the market."
Finishing first or second in the Premier League this season won’t have a huge impact on Arsenal’s revenue or their transfer budget, while TV revenue also remains high. A deep Champions League run is what would provide a significant financial boost and perhaps allow them to spend more freely come June.
Each of the 36 teams in the Champions League this season were guaranteed £16.1m, with Arsenal receiving an additional £1.8m for each league stage win, amounting to a whopping £14.4m. There was a further £8.5m handed out for topping the table, while qualifying for the last 16 also carried a prize of £9.5m, taking their total earned to a staggering £48.5m before even kicking a ball in the knockout rounds.
Plumley said: "Those things will enable them to spend more if they want to, with the new Squad Cost Ratio rules, but again I think that's kind of business as usual for them at the minute. They can spend if they want to and they might choose to but of course for them it's about winning that title and probably less about the finances of it.
Andrea Berta, Sporting director of Arsenal looks on prior to the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Arsenal FC at St Mary's Stadium on May 25, 2025 in Southampton, England.
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The Gunners are in a healthy financial position to conduct their transfer business(Image: Getty)
"Going deeper into the Champions League [is important financially] because the way the prize money is structured, you would get more money in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of a Champions League.
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"It can translate directly to the transfer budget but it doesn't, it's not a straight shot. It's what the club wants to do with that revenue ultimately, so it will be a boost to anything they want to do financially. It can be used for all manner of things.
"If you're at the top of the Premier League and you're going deep into the Champions League, you are talking a significant amount of revenue generation and it just gives you that edge over your rivals as well. Arsenal are in that band of clubs in the European elite that are huge revenue generators anyway, so any more into the pot just helps the cause."
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