Ornstein: Arsenal running things close with FFP | OneFootball

Arsenal are close to the line on Financial Fair Play and the Profit and Sustainability Rules, so a late January deal seems unlikely.

David Ornstein of The Athletic reports that Arsenal are running things close on Financial Fair Play at the moment, making a late January move unlikely.

The Gunners are set to delay any major deals until the summer, and they still need to pay for David Raya before they can think about anything else.

“Don’t forget that [Arsenal are] close to the line on Financial Fair Play, Profit and Sustainability,” Ornstein said.

“We know that, we’re not just saying it, because the last deal they did for David Raya had to be structured as a loan with an option to buy.

“When they get sufficient money, they’re going to have to direct it towards Raya, turning that deal permanent with Brentford.

“[Brentford] are in the process of signing a second goalkeeper, so that is definitely going to happen – Raya to Arsenal permanently.

“Then in the summer I do think Arsenal are really going to attack the market again. We could well see a striker come in, they’ll be really looking at the options, like many clubs will be.

“So I think the excitement around Arsenal transfers probably needs to be put on hold for a few months.”

As well as waiting until the summer, it seems Arsenal’s business is also at least somewhat dependent on which players they can sell.

“There will probably need to be some outs as well,” Ornstein added.

“We’ll need to keep a close eye on the likes of Thomas Partey, Jorginho, Emile Smith Rowe, etc. [and] going forward into the future, Eddie Nketiah.”

We probably won’t see all of the above players leaving in one transfer window, but it seems all of them are potentially on the market right now.

The British transfer dealine is on Thursday, but there are still no substantial rumours for Arsenal incomings.

The situation is honestly pretty quiet on the outgoings front too, bar Cedric Soares’ likely departure to a Turkish club.

Emile Smith Rowe isn’t joining West Ham United, and Nuno Tavares no longer appears likely to join Marseille, so he’s set to continue his loan with Nottingham Forest.