It has been a slow and frustrating transfer window for Arsenal so far this summer.
The Gunners missed out on their primary target, Morgan Rogers, despite the player wanting to move to the Emirates, by all accounts.
Arsenal baulked at Aston Villa’s £117million price tag so Chelsea swooped in and got it done.
It leaves the Premier League champions still searching for a left-winger, in addition to a midfielder and a defender, with pre-season fast approaching.
Be honest: Would you have been happy if Arsenal spent £117m on Morgan Rogers?
Arsenal earlier missed out on Jeremy Monga to Manchester City, after being confident of signing him for months, haggling on a £3-4million difference in fee.
News broke that top midfield target Bruno Guimaraes wanted to leave Newcastle almost three weeks ago but there’s still been no real movement there.
But is this cautious approach, intended to protect them from overpaying, actually costing them more than it is saving them?
Arsenal’s cautious transfer approach may actually be costing them millions
Speaking on Arseblog, James McNicholas recently outlined how Arsenal are perceived by other clubs in the transfer market.
“Arsenal is seen as a club that can be tricky,” he said. “I think we’re not very agile sometimes in the market.
“I’ve heard people say previously the approval process can be a bit protracted in terms of kind of formalising interest.
“And there is this kind of secondary element which is that Andrea Berta has this style where he explores multiple options and that can become a complicated factor.
“If you wish to really discover the parameters of each individual deal before you proceed with something, that’s an exercise that takes time.”
When asked if this affects Arsenal’s ability to sell players, McNicholas replied, “Maybe. Although, I mean, Arsenal have been historically pretty poor sellers.”
Aston Villa were furious with Arsenal’s transfer committee over the Rogers saga, frustrated by how drawn-out negotiations were, and it’s possible the player would’ve been too.
Who should Arsenal sign now after missing out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea?
Chelsea, meanwhile, came in and paid the asking price pretty much right away.
As for Berta’s approach, exploring multiple options before committing theoretically protects Arsenal from overpaying.
But in actuality, it might now be adding to a reputation of being difficult to deal with, and appears to affect their ability to move players on too.
That is hardly surprising when looking at how Arsenal consistently undersell their players compared to rival clubs.
It is nearly August and Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira, and Gabriel Jesus are still at the club because they can’t extract a fair fee for these players.
This is probably delaying any real movement on the incomings side of things, but time is running out.
Being careful in the market is sensible, yes. But being so careful that rivals keep walking away with your targets is not, and Arsenal cannot afford another Rogers situation before this window closes.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
