Arsenal will have to navigate a tough summer transfer window after Manchester City’s latest £116million transfer
Arsenal are keen to make some big moves in the transfer market and have already set in motion several attempts to sign players. Sporting director Andrea Berta is leading the club’s strategy alongside his new head of scouting, Maurizio Micheli.
Their status as Premier League champions has elevated the club’s profile in the market, and now Mikel Arteta has the evidence to support selling the project to potential stars. However, their main title rivals, Manchester City, remain keen not to slide away despite the exit of Pep Guardiola.
As a result, their transfer window has begun in classic fashion, breaking the transfer record for an English player after agreeing a £116million deal for Elliot Anderson. The Nottingham Forest midfielder has only been at the City Ground for two seasons after leaving Newcastle United in a £35million move, but has seen that market value more than triple since.
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The deal eclipses the move Arsenal made in 2023 to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United in a £105million move. Arsenal have not come close to matching such a fee for a player, with the most spent since then on Eberechi Eze for a figure close to £40million.
Whereas this is City’s second transfer for £100million or more in the space of five years. The impact on the market overall is considerable, and this summer, clubs are understood to be pointing to such a deal to max out the value of their own players.
From Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, and, sadly for Arsenal, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, clubs are aiming to bag their own triple-figure-million-pound fees for players.
If Arsenal want to land their top targets, they might again have to break their transfer record for a single summer, which was set last summer when the club dropped around £250million on seven players.
After making Piero Hincapie’s move to the club permanent already this summer for £34.5million plus add-ons, reportedly approached Newcastle to strike a deal for Bruno Guimaraes for £55million which was immediately rejected and with interest in other pricey talent like Julian Alvarez and Junior Kroupi, it appears Arsenal will be going big again in 2026.
