According to Tom Canton, a journalist for football.london, even though Arsenal generated nearly £90 million from player sales during this summer's transfer window, the team may still need to sell players before acquiring new ones in the upcoming winter transfer window. However, this isn't due to financial pressure but rather the current size of the squad.
Arsenal failed to complete all their transfer plans in the summer window. The club had hoped to sign a top attacker but was unsuccessful in its pursuit of Morgan Rogers, Vinicius, and Alvarez.
Andrea Berta, the sporting director who won the 2026 Golden Boy Best Manager award from Tuttosport this year, is also under scrutiny. Although Arsenal has already won the Premier League, manager Arteta still hopes to sign a top striker to further enhance the team's attacking capabilities.
In the first 10 games of the season, Arsenal's defense has been solid, keeping seven clean sheets, but about half of the team's victories in all competitions have been by a single goal.
This summer, Arsenal sold Jesus, Martinelli, and Trossard, and loaned out Nwaneri, but only brought in Zorzoli as a new attacking player.
This has led many to believe that despite expectations for Arsenal to further strengthen its squad, the team's attacking options have actually decreased. As the winter transfer window approaches, more and more fans hope the club signs at least one forward.
According to football.london, Arsenal is currently monitoring attackers including Junior Kroupi, Kevin Schade, and Antonio Nusa.
Meanwhile, Arsenal remains interested in Alvarez, but the player himself prefers to stay in Spain, and Atletico Madrid's high asking price makes this deal extremely difficult to complete, with a very low probability of success.
Junior Kroupi's transfer also faces difficulties. AFC Bournemouth insists the player is not for sale, and European giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona are also interested in him.
As for Kevin Schade, Brentford is also expected to demand a high transfer fee. In recent years, Brentford has generated significant transfer revenue from selling players like Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
However, the main obstacle to Arsenal's winter transfer window is not financial issues, but the internal belief that it is necessary to offload some existing players before bringing in new ones.
The previous sales of Jesus, Martinelli, and Trossard brought Arsenal close to £90 million in transfer revenue and also reduced the club's wage bill, leaving the team in a relatively healthy financial position.
Arsenal aims to maintain a self-sufficient operating model and ensure compliance with Premier League squad cost ratio regulations and UEFA Financial Fair Play rules.
However, even with several players having departed, Arsenal's first-team squad remains quite large.
The team currently has 3 senior goalkeepers, 8 senior defenders, Mali Salmon, 7 senior midfielders, Max Dowman, and 5 senior forwards, totaling 25 players.
In addition, the team has young player Nwaneri on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
While some outsiders might believe Arsenal shouldn't be overly concerned about squad size, the club internally does not share this view. Currently, the future of some players remains uncertain.
Among them, Martín Zubimendi has received limited playing time this season, thus gradually attracting the attention of other clubs.
However, according to football.london, despite Arteta not giving the former Real Sociedad midfielder many consistent opportunities, Martín Zubimendi is still recognized within the club, and his departure is not a foregone conclusion.
Another player attracting external attention is Merino. The 30-year-old midfielder will enter the final year of his contract next summer.
Additionally, football.london previously exclusively revealed that Manchester United and Chelsea have received approaches regarding signing Lewis-Skelly. However, the player himself wishes to remain at Arsenal and has no intention of leaving.
Eberechi Eze has also yet to establish himself under Arteta. Despite having a run of games due to the team's injury problems and insufficient summer signings, Zorzoli quickly reclaimed the left-winger position, making the 28-year-old's situation difficult again.