Arsenal Can Buy With The Best — But Why Can’t They Sell?

Here’s why Arsenal can’t sell players and how it could hold them back.

Andrea Berta’s first transfer window at Arsenal will be remembered for the spending spree. Eight senior signings, close to £250 million invested, and the kind of ingenuity in deal-making that has already earned the Italian plaudits inside the club.

But there’s another side to the story — one that Arsenal have struggled with for years, and which even a renowned dealmaker like Berta hasn’t yet solved. When it comes to offloading unwanted players, Arsenal continue to fall short.

Why Can’t Arsenal Sell? A Pattern That Predates Berta

Edu Gaspar’s tenure as sporting director was defined by two things: securing stars like Gabriel Jesus and Declan Rice, and paying the price — literally — for poor squad management on the sales side.

High wages and declining form meant players like Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan left for free or for nominal fees.

Berta arrived this spring with a reputation for cutting clever deals at Atletico Madrid. If anyone could shift surplus players for value, it was him. Yet this summer, familiar frustrations resurfaced.

Arsenal Outgoings 25/26

Arsenal had hoped to raise significant funds by moving on Karl Hein, Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Reiss Nelson. Instead, most of them departed on loan rather than through permanent transfers.

Vieira went to Hamburg with only an option, rather than an obligation, to buy. Nelson joined Brentford on similar terms, while Zinchenko was sent to Nottingham Forest only after their pursuit of Atletico Madrid’s Javi Galan fell through.

Hein, meanwhile, when on loan to Werder Bremen with an option to buy for a small fee. The one permanent exit of note was Albert Sambi Lokonga, who also joined Hamburg, but the fee was nominal and nowhere near the kind of return that could bankroll Arsenal’s next wave of signings.

Why Arsenal Struggle Selling Players

The reasons for Arsenal’s struggles in the sales market are complex. Many of their fringe players are on salaries that mid-tier European clubs simply cannot match, meaning deals often collapse not because of transfer fees but because players are unwilling to take a pay cut.

Arsenal have also built a reputation for eventually releasing or discounting players they no longer want, which encourages rival clubs to wait them out rather than pay up front.

And then there is the profile of the players themselves: Nelson, Zinchenko and Vieira are all talented footballers, but their inconsistency means they tend to attract buyers only when the price is lowered to a bargain.

The Consequences – Could Arsenal Fall Behind?

Selling well isn’t just about balance sheets. It’s about squad flexibility and long-term sustainability.

Manchester City have built a model where moving on players like Cole Palmer or Gabriel Jesus funds new arrivals without overreliance on ownership.

Chelsea, for all their chaos, raised nearly £250m in player sales last summer alone. And for all the talk about Liverpool breaking the British transfer record twice in one window – and spending the most by any Premier League club ever – they recouped up to £262 million from player sales.

Arsenal, by contrast, are reliant on Kroenke backing for major outlays. That works while the owners are willing to bankroll the project, but long term, better selling could mean the difference between consistently competing with City and being forced to scale back.

Berta’s Next Challenge

To his credit, Berta showed he can balance the books creatively. Jakub Kiwior’s exit to Porto was timed perfectly to unlock the Piero Hincapie deal. But moving squad players who don’t have ready-made suitors is a different skillset.

If Berta can replicate his recruitment ingenuity in sales — structuring deals that appeal to both buying clubs and players — Arsenal’s financial model could be transformed.

Arsenal’s squad is deeper and stronger than it has been in years. The Kroenkes have spent big. Berta has delivered on incoming transfers.

But unless Arsenal learn to sell like the elite, the club risks repeating old mistakes: bloated squads, high wage bills, and missed opportunities to reinvest.

Buying well can take a team to the top. Selling well is what keeps them there.