Mikel Arteta drops hint on breaking Declan Rice’s £105m transfer record fee this summer
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hinted that the club may be willing to break their £105 million transfer record fee this summer as they look to strengthen their squad.
Speaking ahead of the upcoming transfer window, Arteta drew an analogy between planning a wedding and building a house, suggesting that budgets often need to be flexible.
“The budget is like when you have your wedding, you plan your wedding with your wife and you give her a budget and it’s never less, it’s always more,” Arteta said, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “When you build a house, it’s always more. Normally this happens. You prepare for different scenarios. Then unfortunate things happen.”
This statement implies that Arsenal is prepared to adapt to changing circumstances in the transfer market and may need to spend more than initially anticipated to achieve their goals. The club’s transfer record currently stands at £105 million, which was set when they signed Declan Rice from West Ham United earlier this year.
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Arsenal, with this record spending, will be sending a vital message to other clubs about their commitment to building a strong squad capable of competing with the best teams in Europe.
The Gunners have been one of the more active clubs in the transfer market in recent years, and Arteta has received significant backing from the club’s board to bring in top talent.
“We need to be prepared for different scenarios, and we need to be flexible,” Arteta added. “We can’t just stick to a rigid budget and expect everything to work out. The transfer market is unpredictable, and we need to be able to respond to opportunities as they arise.”
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Arsenal’s transfer activity this summer is expected to focus on strengthening their attacking options, with a top striker reportedly high on the club’s wish list.
Viktor Gyökeres against Gabriel Magalhaes (Image credit: Getty Images)The Gunners have been linked with several high-profile targets, with several media houses reporting that the Champions League semi-finalists have reportedly reached an agreement for Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyökeres, who has scored 37 goals this season to join the club this summer.
Arsenal, through their sporting director Andrea Berta will be very willing to support Mikel Arteta financially, and this may be a strong indicator of their ambition to return to the summit of English and European football. With a strong squad and effective transfer planning, Arsenal could be poised for a successful season.
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