Here is what I would do if I was put in charge of Arsenal
In what is now becoming a bit of an annual tradition, over on the Arsenal Vision Podcast we do a “Director of Football” series where each of us takes over Arsenal’s transfer business and has to make the sales and then buy players to fill out the squad.
The rules this year are that you get to have a £130 million net spend and the overall spend will be dependent on how much you are able to bring in via sales.
This seems realistic to me but still presents a nice challenge where you can’t just do fantasy type moves giving yourself an unrealistic budget or heavily distorted fees. This is good as well because I believe that this will be close to Arsenal’s transfer budget in the summer range as well, thinking it will probably be in the £100-£150 million net spend range.
Now that the board has settled on me as the DoF over the other options they are considering it is time to get to work assessing the current state of the squad and setting my priorities.
My first step for this was looking at the squad and looking at the state of the current squad to understand where I feel comfortable with the players that Arsenal have, where there is room for improvement and who might be surplus to requirements.
Arsenal Goalkeepers
Arsenal have David Raya, Karl Hein returning from loan, and Tommy Setford. They are losing Neto as he returns from his loan.
The big question from this is who is going to be the backup to Raya, Setford is probably too young and is better served going out on a loan than sitting behind. I can’t say I have watched any of Hein out on loan at Valladolid in La Liga but the numbers are mixed but they are a bad team and the main positive here seems to be he is playing.
This is not the top priority for me given that Raya is still in the backside of his prime years as a goalkeeper but it is probably only a can that you can kick down the road for another summer or so before you need to start thinking closer at how he is doing and what the succession plan might be.
If there is a market opportunity for a young keeper you might do it but this is a low priority item on my list. I think I am rolling the dice and not making this an area to buy right now, maybe it will bite me but I want to use my money in other spots.
Arsenal Fullbacks
This is an area of strength for Arsenal. At right back Arsenal have Ben White and Jurrien Timber, plus Takehiro Tomiyasu who hopefully should be able to rejoin the squad after getting surgery to hopefully fix the issues that he has been suffering with his knee.
At left back Arsenal have last summer’s big signing Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly (who we will count here for now but maybe this isn’t his long term position), Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The versatility in the team also means that Timber can cover on the left if needed, plus Jakub Kiwior who I going to count in the center back depth can cover here on the left as well.
There are a few outgoings that are known here already as well, Kieran Tierney’s contract is expiring, and he is a free agent joining Celtic. Nuno Tavares is on loan at Lazio but that deal was basically a delayed transfer where it included an obligation to buy at something in the €10 million plus sell on range.
With Arsenal buying here last summer and the summer before, combined with the emergence of Lewis-Skelly this is an area of strength for Arsenal and I think is an area where a new addition is not needed, and you could look at Zinchenko as surplus to requirements and slated for sale.
Arsenal Center Backs
Arsenal have arguably the best starting pair of center backs of any team in the world right now. You may not agree that they are number one, but they are at worst in the conversation. Willam Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães are one of the cornerstones of this team and a real strength.
Behind them the only real depth right now is Kiwior and after that it is the requirement to have to move one of the fullbacks who have experience more central.
If any of White, Timber, or Calafiori needed to cover for a stint that wouldn’t give me to much pause but it does suggest that this could be an issue of depth but one of the really hard kinds of depth to cover for because when healthy the incumbents are just so good the backup just won’t play unless they are versatile and can play elsewhere too.
While depth here is important, I think there are two more pressing concerns here.
Both starters are at that pivotal two years left point of their contracts where it is typically time to sell or extend. Gabriel last extended in 2022 adding five years to his deal. Saliba extended his contract the next year but only signed on for four years.
Real Madrid are circling Saliba and while Arsenal are among the biggest clubs in the World, Real Madrid are probably one of the few that have the pull to take basically anyone they want. This could be one of the sagas of the summer until number 1 is addressed.
I could see adding a new center back just for depth as something that could be a priority for the club but the biggest task here is probably getting new contracts done for Gabriel and Saliba.
There is the possibility that Kiwior is an outgoing from this group.
Arsenal Defensive Midfield
At the base of midfield Arsenal will come into next season with Declan Rice for this position and that is it right now. Sambi Lokonga could potentially return to Arsenal after his loan at Sevilla but that is probably a long shot and he is potentially going to stay there with their option to turn the loan into a purchase for €12 million.
Both Thomas Partey and Jorginho are out of contract and will be free agents to sign elsewhere. Jorginho is already basically out with it looking like he is going to Brazil to play with Flamengo.
Partey’s future is less certain with him reportedly getting interest from other clubs in Europe and the door not fully closed at Arsenalbut it is trending that way with the latest reports from Charles Watts.
An incoming is needed here for sure, and if Rice is truly going to be more among the advanced midfielders it is probably a position that needs two incomings.
Arsenal Advanced Midfield
Arsenal have Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, and Ethan Nwaneri for this position from the team now with Rice as a player that I am going to consider an option but as a more defensive midfielder here.
They also have Fabio Vieira who is on loan at Porto who will come back to the team. There is also youngster Max Dowman who will be a potential wild card here and while I am not expecting him to get big minutes he will almost certainly be with the first team.
I think that there is room for an addition here because I don’t see Vieira as a long-term Arsenal player and is going to be going on my for-sale rack and I think that adding another creative player to this list would be among my highest priorities this summer for Arsenal.
Arsenal Wingers
Arsenal have Buakyo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, plus Nwaneri who straddles both the advanced midfield and winger positions here.
They also have Reiss Nelson who is on loan at Fulham on the books returning to the team. Marquinhos is technically with the team but it looks like his current loan goes through December 31st, 2025, so I am not really going to consider him right now.
This is pretty clearly a spot where an addition can be made and while I love Martinelli and I think that he’s moved into the underrated category I think that he is the player in the first eleven that should be looked at as an upgrade opportunity, or at least one where Arsenal should be buying to try and supplant him for the future.
This is also an area where I think an exit from one of the core players could come from with Martinelli again a possibility depending on an incoming and Trossard as a player where his age suggests the last real exit opportunity for a decent fee.
I am probably weird, but this is my number one priority position for the summer.
Arsenal Strikers
For striker, Arsenal have an injured Kai Havertz (hopefully ready to make his return at some point in pre-season or the early part of the 2025/26 season) and an injured Gabriel Jesus (I am estimating that this is probably going to be November or December of 2025) for this spot.
It is a major issue now given that they basically have no one for the spot and it will continue to be a worry at the start of next season but there is the possibility that Trossard or Martinelli could fill in as a makeshift option if needed.
This is another spot that has been a pretty long-term position of need for Arsenal and that doesn’t change for this summer. I am more bullish than most on Havertz even I see his flaws and think that this can be a player that pushes him and offers and alternative vs it being a spot where we look for the killer.
The players I am selling
Now that we have assessed the squad overall it is time to make some sales. A few have already been done by my predecessor obligating me but there are still a few to make decisions on.
After thinking through a bit more, I have decided to keep Jakub Kiwior in the team, I like having him around for one additional potential center back on the depth chart. If I had more confidence on Tomiyasu’s health in the medium term, I might have been more open to that option. This might be one where you have to tell him to stick it out until January and then maybe you can revisit a potential move away.
Tommy Setford - Loan for minutes and development
Nuno Tavares - £10 million (Obligation/Option)
Sambi Lokonga - £10 million (Option)
Reiss Nelson - £15 million (might be tough with the injury but hopefully can make that sale happen, he looked promising before the injury to where the fee seemed doable. I’d estimate that he is in the £10-20 million range)
Oleksandr Zinchenko - £15 million (There might be upside on this fee but it might take the right type of club or multiple clubs to come on for him, his work as a midfielder might show teams other possibilities for him on a lower-level club. I’d estimate that he is in the £15-30 million range)
Fabio Vieira - £20 million (The loan at Porto has been positive for him to get playing time and hopefully the couldn’t break into the Arsenal team won’t be a major knock on him. I’d estimate that he is in the £15-25 million range)
Leandro Trossard - £25 million (Player wants a new contract, his two years plus option at Arsenal mean that probably isn’t likely. I think that would make him open to an exit and he still has some tread on the tires where this type of fee is in the ballpark of reasonable £20-30 million range)
This would have the sales at £95 million for Arsenal and with the assumed for this exercise £130 million of net spend available that gives me a total budget of £225 million to spend to fill out my squad.
The players I am buying
First some moves I didn’t do but thought about.
I thought of a number of different ways to try and see if I could make things work to bring in Alexander Isak but the fee that I think that it would take just took up too much of my budget. I think this would be a £130-150 million transferIF Newcastle would even entertain the idea at all.
Maybe if Newcastle doesn’t make the Champions League, the Kroenke’s give a larger budget to just test out Newcastle’s nerve here but that isn’t in the rules here so I am not going to go after that one.
The other move that I did quite a bit of contemplating about was thinking about Rodrygo from Real Madrid. He is a bit of my white whale as a left-wing signing and I think that there is a more than 0% he moves but it does seem that Madrid has figured out a way to fit him, Mbappe, and Vini Jr into the same team. Maybe if a new manager comes in, or a new Galactico comes in he is the player that is sacrificed to fund it or heaven forbid a Willam Saliba swap type move… you never know. As a diligent DoF I had to think through those scenarios even if I don’t think that they will happen and they are not part of my plan here.
I had this transfer valued at about €110 million/£90 million so it also would have been a big chunk of the budget and that is ultimately why I left it on the cutting room floor.
I think it could be interesting to see him as more of THE GUY and given the left wing after having to defer so much at Madrid being a third attacking option.
Now the moves that I did make in this very fun exercise.
Signing One
My big signing isn’t an unusual one or something out of the blue. I thought about a number of alternatives but just kept coming back to this one as one that was the right mix of good player now plus upside.