Arsenal have had a quiet summer transfer window thus far. A record sale could well be on the horizon, however.
The Gunners are not known as prolific sellers in the Premier League. Incredibly, Arsenal have made four signings over £40 million who are no longer at the club – and all four have left for nothing, with Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil all terminating their deals, and Alexandre Lacazette leaving at the end of his expiring.
This is a trend that has followed for the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Shkodran Mustafi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Danny Welbeck and Laurent Koscielny. Alexis Sanchez, meanwhile, was involved in the swap that brought Mkhitaryan to N5.
The Gunners' record sale is still from the Arsene Wenger era, too. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain departed Arsenal for around £35m when he moved to Liverpool – some seven years ago.
In record seasons, however, Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar have found luck in offloading academy products to bring in capital. Emi Martinez moved to Aston Villa in 2020 and Joe Willock to Newcastle United in 2021, before Folarin Balogun, Emile Smith Rowe and Brooke Norton-Cuffy all left north London in the past year.
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It seems as if the next face from Hale End to depart will be Eddie Nketiah. The Athletic's David Ornstein reports that Nottingham Forest's bid of £25m was rejected – but the all-time England under-21 top scorer is now close to securing a transfer for £30-35m.
A fee of £35m would thus equal Oxlade-Chamberlain's record for a sale. In FourFourTwo's opinion, Arsenal have managed this saga expertly – regardless of whether or not Nketiah actually leaves.
It's not just that Arsenal have had to terminate deals and let players leave for free that has harmed them in the transfer market. They have also had a problem with selling players for significantly lower than their value, because of this reputation.
Bernd Leno has been a steal for Fulham at £5m, while Dino Mavropanos left north London for a similar fee despite his promise – before coming back to the Premier League with West Ham United for £20m. Both Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, meanwhile, are two stars who showed good form in their first seasons at Arsenal – yet the Gunners let them leave for a fraction of what they could have been worth at their peak.
Arsenal refusing to cave to Marseille's reported offer of around £17m for Nketiah could see them fetch double from another club, thanks to their patience. But even if it doesn't, the perception that Arsenal won't sell stars on the cheap has at least been challenged by Edu and Arteta this summer, and could hold them in good stead in the future.
Nketiah is valued at €30m by Transfermarkt. His contract expires in 2027.
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