Mikel Arteta answers £96.2m Arsenal transfer dilemma forcing Chelsea to feed Man City's strategy
'Why can Arsenal not sell like Manchester City? They’ve made nearly £100million from selling youngsters this summer!'
These are questions that have circulated in the wake of Cole Palmer’s £45million switch to Chelsea which has left Arsenal, who confirmed the £34.4million sale of Folarin Balogun to Arsenal on Wednesday, under a bit of pressure. There had been emphasis of sporting director Edu doing as much as he could to improve the club’s reputation in the market regarding outgoings.
This has, to some degree, been achieved with profits made on the aforementioned Balogun, Matt Turner and Auston Trusty. Should Nottingham Forest activate the £12million buy-option in Nuno Tavares' loan after a £2million loan fee then his value will have been doubled after two seasons.
Granit Xhaka was sold for £21.5million, more than half what the Gunners paid seven seasons ago, to Bayer Leverkusen in a very impressive deal. Yet despite all of this, Manchester City have sold four of their academy projects and made more money than Arsenal this summer.
Certainly, this gives me reason to empathise with why people have a critical view still regarding sales. However, it ends swiftly when taking a step back and considering the context of the sales between the clubs.
Palmer, James Trafford, Carlos Borges and Shea Charles will earn City a reported combined £96.2million if all add-ons in their deals are met. Outside of add-ons, they’ve banked £77.5million in guaranteed fees.
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Think back to City players in the past decade who have made the step from the youth to the senior level and made more than 30 appearances for the club. Before reading on, give yourself a moment to
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