The transfer window is over and attention turns to the net spend Arsenal recorded this summer as Mikel Arteta signed Declan Rice in a club-record deal at Emirates Stadium.
Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s owner, backed Arteta’s vision for the north London team after taking them back to the Champions League. The Spaniard returned elite UEFA football to Emirates Stadium last season after also guiding Arsenal into a surprise Premier League title challenge.
Arsenal only dreamed to finish in the top four and return to the Champions League entering the season. They had blown their shot at returning to the tournament for the first time since 2016/17 the previous term. Yet Arteta’s team spent 248 days atop the standings in 2022/23.
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What Arsenal showed as they pushed Manchester City for the 2022/23 Premier League title convinced Kroenke to back Arteta. The Spaniard and sporting director Edu sealed a number of important additions. They also successfully found new clubs for some of their deadwood.
But now that the summer window has shut, how much did Arsenal spend on their transfers, how much did the Gunners recoup and what was the north Londoners’ ultimate net spend?
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Arsenal’s summer transfer window signings
- Kai Havertz – £62.5m from Chelsea (plus £5m in add-ons)
- Jurrien Timber – £34m from AFC Ajax (plus £4.5m in add-ons)
- Declan Rice – £100m from West Ham United (plus £5m in add-ons)
- David Raya – £3m loan from Brentford (plus a £27m option to buy)
Total spent: £199.5m (before add-ons)
Arsenal’s permanent summer outgoing transfers
- Pablo Mari – £6m to AC Monza
- Nikolaj Moller – undisclosed fee to FC St Gallen
- Mazeed Ogungbo – undisclosed fee to Barrow AFC
- Granit Xhaka – £21.5m to Bayer Leverkusen
- Ben Cottrell – undisclosed fee to NS Mura
- Auston Trusty – £5m to Sheffield United
- Matt Turner – £7m to Nottingham Forest (plus £3m in add-ons)
- Folarin Balogun – €30m £26m to AS Monaco (plus €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons)
- Rob Holding – £1m to Crystal Palace (plus £2.5m in add-ons)
Total received: £66.5m (before add-ons and excluding undisclosed fees)
Arsenal’s net spend in summer 2023/24 transfer window
So, Arsenal’s net spend in the summer 2023/24 transfer window was £133m before add-ons and excluding any undisclosed fees received. That sum is actually a lot less than the £180m budget before sales that the Daily Mail reported Kroenke made available to Arteta this May.
Edu could have bolstered Arteta’s budget further had he secured permanent moves away for Kieran Tierney and Albert Sambi Lokonga. Instead, they only joined Real Sociedad and Luton Town on loan for the season. Nuno Tavares also only departed on loan to Nottingham Forest.
The Reds have paid Arsenal £1m to loan Tavares and Nottingham Forest also hold an option to buy the left-back for £12m. Future add-ons could take the fee to £15m, as well, to boost Arteta’s potential budget next summer. Tierney will return to Emirates Stadium in June 2024.