Arsenal manager Unai Emery has given the biggest hint yet that he will be spending big money on a marquee player in the summer transfer window. There has been a lot of debate over whether Arsenal will have a significant transfer budget in the summer with a figure of £40 Million being touted in the event we fail to qualify for next seasons Champions League.
However, that has not stopped the media from claiming that we will be spending much more than that on individual players, as an example just last week the Sun claimed it would cost £60 Million to sign Barcelona’s Malcom.
It now seems that some of the rumours over players with huge price tags are not necessarily hyperbole and that Emery will consider buying such players.
“I think we can improve first, by spending money to achieve players,” Emery said.
“In the past the club have done great work in watching players, finding and signing young players and developing our players in the academy.
“I have big respect for our work, for our players in the academy. I want to develop the players here – giving them progress to achieve something at a big club like we are.
“We can also achieve [buy] some players who are in other teams, who can come here and give us this performance – like Van Dijk with Liverpool.”
Emery added: “We can share both situations. Developing players with us and [finding] some players who we can spend money on to help us.
“I think we are in the right way with the club, with the owner, with Raul Sanllehi [head of football] to find that. To fight against the teams with more money than us, maybe Manchester City, maybe Real Madrid.
“Arsenal is great. Our objective is to be with the best teams in the world.”
That to me confirms that we will be spending big, Emery makes it clear we have to buy big to be competitive with the elite, both in the Premier League and in Europe.
It does make the rumours doing the rounds a lot more interesting, especially with the high priced speculation.