PSR cannot stop Arsenal matching Liverpool’s offer for Alexander Isak as Stan Kroenke’s stance assessed

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Arsenal have the financial capacity and PSR headroom to sign Alexander Isak this summer, even after completing a deal for Viktor Gyokeres.

Isak has informed Newcastle United that he wants to leave, throwing a spanner in the works for the Gunners and Liverpool, both of whom have moved for strikers in the last week.

Gyokeres is on the verge of completing his Arsenal move, while Liverpool have secured a deal for Hugo Ekitike.

Mikel Arteta views Isak as a dream signing, and the player has also been heavily linked with the Merseysiders this summer.

While the addition of Gyokeres makes Arsenal unlikely to launch a concerted effort to sign the Magpies’ talisman, this is not for financial reasons.

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Arsenal have the budget and PSR headroom to sign Alexander Isak this summer

Arsenal have already signed Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera this summer.

Gyokeres will be added to this incoming list, bringing the Gunners’ spending to around the £200 million mark.

Despite this, Arsenal are not prohibited by PSR and would be able to match any offer Liverpool submit for Isak.

“The first thing to note is that Arsenal have zero issues with PSR at the Premier League level,” finance expert Adam Williams told Arsenal Insider.

“UEFA’s assessments are slightly tighter, but they will be absolutely fine here too. If PSR was the only issue, there’s no reason whatsoever that they couldn’t sign Isak.

“But having the PSR headspace available doesn’t necessarily mean they will use it. In fact, their squad cost – which is made up of wages plus amortisation – was lower than Chelsea, Man City, Man United and Liverpool’s in the last financial year.

“That’s emblematic of the fact that Stan Kroenke is quite a conservative operator. He could have gone for broke to sign a striker in January when they were still in with a faint chance of winning the title, but he didn’t think the numbers justified the risk.

“You also have to consider cash. But again, I don’t think there would be any issues here. They have one of the best operating cash flows in the game. Their matchday income will probably have been the highest in the Premier League in 2024-25.

“Their commercial income rose extraordinarily fast in the last financial year too. Their transfer debt is pretty high at around £268m, yes, but that’s nothing to worry about. There’s a metric we use to evaluate the core financial performance of a business called EBITDA, and only Man United had a better EBITDA than Arsenal last year.

“Even if they didn’t have the liquid cash immediately to hand, they have a £100m overdraft that they can use.

“On paper, then, there’s no reason why they couldn’t match the offer that Liverpool might make for Isak. I don’t think they would need further external funding from Kroenke to make the deal happen, depending on how they structure it.

“But do I think they will? Personally, no, I can’t see it. At least, not this summer. They’ve already spent considerably on Gyokeres, and I don’t think there is sufficient risk appetite there.

Arsenal should wait to sign Alexander Isak next summer

The timing of Isak’s request to Newcastle is what might cost him a move this summer.

The Swede’s two most likely suitors have just spent big on marquee number nines, while the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Real Madrid are all not in the market for a centre-forward.

Any other potential suitor would likely be unable to afford the player, nor would he be attracted to a move to them.

Liverpool could yet make an audacious swoop for Isak, although the signing of Ekitike surely complicates this, and the most likely outcome is that he remains at St. James’ Park for one more season.

Next summer, Arsenal can consider making a move once again, and it may be a cheaper deal to pull off.

While the likes of Barcelona and Bayern may enter the race at that point as they look to replace ageing strikers, Arsenal should still be in the room and should have the ability to shift one of Gyokeres or Kai Havertz to make space for him in their squad.