Arsenal chief executive Richard Garlick says the club will continue to approach transfer deals rationally rather than force through signings that do not fit its principles.
The Gunners completed five arrivals before the summer transfer window closed, with Tsolis, Meslier, Hincapie, Konsa and Guimaraes joining the club. Hincapie’s move was made permanent after his initial spell.
Arsenal also sanctioned the departures of eight first-team players. Hein, Kiwior, Nørgaard, Trossard, Nelson, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and Nwaneri all left, although Nwaneri moved to Borussia Dortmund on loan. Martinelli could yet join Al-Hilal, but that transfer has not been confirmed.
The club had explored further attacking reinforcements, with Edu hoping to add a major name to Mikel Arteta’s squad. Vinicius was among the players targeted, but the Real Madrid forward ultimately stayed with the Spanish club.
Arsenal also considered Malick Fofana but did not want to meet Lens’ asking price for the Belgium winger. Juventus’ Yıldız was another preferred option, yet it became clear that the Italian club had no intention of allowing the 21-year-old to leave during this window.
Julian Alvarez was also discussed. Arteta spoke with the Argentina international, but Alvarez was determined to join Barcelona, only for Atletico Madrid to block the move.
In the final days of the window, Arsenal were also presented with recommendations for players including Frankfurt’s Bah. However, the north London club did not pursue any of those suggestions seriously.
The decision not to push through another major attacking signing disappointed some supporters, who had expected Arsenal to bring in a world-class striker to help their pursuit of the Premier League title and Champions League.
Arsenal are now expected to reassess their options in January. The club will have financial backing if it decides to strengthen in the winter window, although the mid-season transfer market is traditionally more difficult to navigate.
Garlick is involved throughout Arsenal’s buying and selling process, while co-chairman Josh Kroenke and sporting director Edu are more prominent in negotiations. With the summer window closed, Garlick outlined the club’s approach to transfers and explained what he believes makes a successful negotiation.
Speaking to the Men in Blazers channel, he said: “I think you need to go into negotiations with clear objectives, you need to focus on the outcome you want to achieve, but also be principled and strive to adhere to the principles that the club and our football management team follow.
“We try to do things rationally, but you also want to get things done. People often say that in a good negotiation, everyone ends up a little unhappy, because that’s where they meet in the middle. Ultimately, we want a player to join at the end of the deal, and for him to be very, very happy.
“Perhaps his agent isn’t too happy, or perhaps we’re a little unhappy with the agent. But in the end, we want the player to be happy.”
Garlick’s emphasis on “principles”, acting “rationally” and ensuring players are “happy” appears to reflect Arsenal’s conduct during the closing stages of the window. The club may have felt that the timing was not right to complete certain deals and chose not to repeat the approach of previous years by forcing transfers through.
Sterling’s loan move from Chelsea was cited as an example of that strategy.
Arsenal, described in the source as the Premier League champions, will now look towards January, or potentially next summer, for further squad improvements. Garlick, Edu, Arteta and the Kroenke family are already understood to be discussing their next group of transfer targets.
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