The idea that Arsenal could go into the summer transfer window and again break their record for a summer spend seems rather other-worldly with where the Gunners were a decade ago. Protests regarding how much the owners were willing to invest were rife and the north London club couldn’t escape the purgatorial state of the top-four race.
Fast forward to the present day and the title race is still on for Arsenal, although they do need some help from rivals Manchester City, or rather their opponents, as they pray for a slip-up. Beyond the season though, qualification for the Champions League is already in the bag and this is sure to help the club convince top targets of the Emirates being their next destination.
There is an understanding from football.london that Declan Rice remains the top target of the club for midfield, with interest in Moises Caicedo continuing from their multiple rejected January bids from earlier this year.
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The idea that Arsenal could sign both Rice and Caicedo does seem rather far-fetched on paper, considering the prices being banded around for both. David Moyes has suggested that Rice is worth figures beyond the £100million mark.
Whilst Brighton showed no signs of buckling to bids in the region of £70 million in the previous transfer window. A double deal could cost close to £200 million for Arsenal to complete, which again is difficult to see the club doing.
Arsenal have the stereotype of being rather shrewd with their investments. However, this is perhaps an outdated notion considering the club have spent well beyond a billion pounds on players since Stan Kroenke bought a stake in the club back in 2007.
The investment has radically increased since the complete takeover of the club in 2018. Arsenal broke their transfer record for a player after signing Nicolas Pepe.
This came after the record was broken for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the year before. In 2021 they broke their record for a goalkeeper on Aaron Ramsdale and a defender with Ben White; plus the record for a midfielder was broken a year prior in 2020 for Thomas Partey.
In the window earlier this year when Arsenal tried to sign Caicedo, this came after a prolonged pursuit of Ukrainian international Mykhailo Mudryk, who eventually joined Chelsea in a €100m (£88m) deal.
Arsenal held back on competing with the Blues in the end despite several big-money offers that were knocked back. However, according to French journalist Julian Lauren, the Arsenal ownership were willing to match their London rivals but Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar showed restraint.
"Kroenke would have paid but Edu and Mikel said - 'We can't. We have to be disciplined here, we have to have a structure'," he told the Premier League's Kelly and Wrighty Show.
"And I think they deserve respect for that."
This is a very interesting revelation and perhaps provides a boost to hopes of a big summer spend, with the willingness from those holding the money to spend it. Arteta was asked after the January window if the failed big-money pursuits for the likes of Caicedo mean there’s plenty of cash left over for the summer.
“That is a question for the owner!” Arteta replied. “I don’t think it works like that.
“We need to maintain the discipline and respect what we believe is right and what we can afford and how we can evolving the squad we have, without putting ourselves in difficult positions.”
Whilst Arteta may not want to commit, the approval to spend big on the right players from above is very encouraging. Perhaps therefore meaning a fabled double deal for both Rice and Caicedo isn’t out of the window.
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