The announcement for Andrea Berta’s appointment as sporting director is not expected to be too far away. The Italian will arrive at the club taking over from Edu Gaspar in what could be a dream scenario for anyone in his position.
What a sporting director wants going into a new role is the ability to spend and Arsenal this summer certainly set up a scenario for Berta to do just that. It may come out through frustrating times for supporters but in the end, it could be worth the wait.
No players were signed in the January transfer window of 2025 despite Mikel Arteta losing both his natural centre-forward options. We know there was money to spend because football.londonunderstands that the club made a £40million plus add-ons bid for Ollie Watkins toward the end of the winter market.
However, despite pressures from Financial Fair Play and Profit and Sustainability Regulations, it is thought these restrictions will ease for the Gunners in the summer. They posted record broadcast revenue in the latest set of financial results, while despite making a loss of around £17million, this was considerably down on the previous year.
Arsenal will also be giving themselves room to invest more in their wage structure. Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Kieran Tierney will be departing at the end of their current deals as things stand, giving a significant amount of space on the wage bill.
It could also widen further with players like Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira also linked with summer exits. Berta will hope to continue the trend of selling players for better fees than in the past for Arsenal.
Last summer, Eddie Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe brought in a combined £90million-plus which effectively funded the moves for Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori. Other loan fees and sell-on clause benefits helped with what was a summer where the Gunners made a slight profit.
All of these factors combine to allow Berta to spend upon his arrival and for fans to have high expectations of investment in the window. With needs at centre-forward, wide forward, defensive midfield, defence and goalkeeper, it is good there is freedom because the requirements of Mikel Arteta’s shopping list are extensive.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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