Arsenal are set for a huge budget in the near future, thanks to an expected change in Profit and Sustainability Rules in the Premier League.
The Gunners already have strong financial backing, with Stan Kroenke and KSE putting plenty of money into the footballing operation.
As they enter the transfer market, Arsenal will feel that their budget could be even stronger to compete with their Premier League rivals, such as Liverpool and Manchester City.
Some of that comes down to the club’s selling power, as much as their purchasing power, and how they can raise even more funds.
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Arsenal set for £450 million budget under new PSR rules, but could make more with sales
PSR is set for a huge change in the coming seasons, as it moves towards a squad cost control system, similar to that of UEFA competitions.
That could cause a big shift for a team like Arsenal, especially when it comes to their need to sell players efficiently.
Finance expert Adam Williams spoke to Arsenal Insider about the situation, as he claimed: “In recent years, I don’t think Arsenal have sold particularly well. They have either held onto players for too long or they have made sales which are inefficient for PSR purposes.
“That’s not an issue as it stands, because Arsenal have plenty of PSR headroom, but they have been closer to the limit in previous seasons and there’s no guarantee that they won’t be in that position again at some point, especially with the wage bill now rising significantly.
“There is a new PSR system we’re expecting to be introduced at Premier League level from 2026-27 onwards, which will be similar to UEFA’s squad cost control rule. Under this system, clubs are going to be expected to limit their spending on player and manager wages, transfers and agents’ fees to a certain percentage of revenue plus profit on player sales.
“At UEFA level, the limit is 70 per cent. In the Premier League, I’m hearing that 85 per cent is likely. The significance for Arsenal here is that the profit on player sales element is based on accounting profit, not the figures you see in the headlines.
“You arrive at the accounting profit on a player sale by subtracting a player’s amortised book value from his sale fee. How do you figure on the book value? It’s the original transfer fee divided by the number of years on his contract, multiplied by the years remaining on his contract.
“That’s why, when Arsenal sold Nketiah and Smith Rowe, those were ‘pure profit’ sales – because they came through the academy and had no book value. Conversely, if you sell a player for less than his book value, you make a loss on the sale.
“This is what Arsenal need to consider with their player trading. And because the squad cost rules are going to be based on the average player trading profit over three years, it’s not enough to have one summer where you make a few ‘pure profit’ sales. You need to be player trading well perpetually.
“Based on some rough calculations, the player trading profits in the last three years of published accounts plus their revenue would have given them a budget of about £450m to spend on wages and transfers in the last financial year.
“The UEFA rules were still being phased in then, and, with adjustments, they would have finished under the limit anyway, but their actual spend was £499m or thereabouts, so you can see why this is going to be important going forward.”
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Arsenal’s historical selling record for transfers
Arsenal’s selling record hasn’t been that great over the years.
As it stands, Arsenal’s record transfer sale is just £35 million, far behind that of their fellow Premier League rivals.
Sales of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe over the past year have helped in that regard, but still remain much lower than some of their rivals.
If Arsenal are to boost that budget into an even more competitive zone, then they will need to find a new way to sell.
That’s a huge task for Andrea Berta, and one that the Kroenkes will want him to crack on with, as they have plans to make the club self-sufficient.
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