Arsenal outogings: Is some cash better than no cash?

A whole host of Premier League sides have found it difficult to move on the players at the periphery of their squads this summer and Arsenal are no exception.

Players who may once have fetched some much-needed cash and freed up space on the wage bill now find themselves stuck in the departure lounge, with clubs on the continent simply unable or unwilling to come up with the cash to buy them outright.

In fact, the Gunners have had to pay-off several players simply in order to get them off the books as suitors have shown themselves increasingly adept at pleading poverty or simply waiting for the Gunners hierarchy to blink first.

The only reliable way of generating a good return in recent times has been by offloading players to rivals, a trend we have seen repeated time and again this year with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, and Oleksandr Zinchecnko.

Having again struggled to move players on this summer, there looks to have been movement at long last this week with news that Bernd Leno and Lucas Torreira could be heading for the exit. However, the figures quoted for both players amount to just £13-14million – which is a paltry return.

Given what Arsenal have spent on acquiring players this summer, the returns they have been able to achieve for their assets are, by any measure, meagre.

The absolute financial supremacy of the Premier League has made this increasingly the case and, when the ongoing financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are factored in, it creates an incredibly unbalanced market for players.

So, is generating something for our squad players better than nothing? When you factor in the savings on wages and bonuses – you’d have to say ‘yes’ in most cases. It’s better in these frankly odd financial times that we make some money rather than no money at all, even if those sums are noway near enough to balance the books.

If we do see any more departures this summer (Hector Bellerin, Pablo Mari, and Reiss Nelson remain possibilities), I think we can expect more of the same; low fees or compromises being struck. In the longer term, that sort of trading is unsustainable but, for now at least, it’s ok.