Andrea Berta under pressure as £65m transfer exposes familiar Arsenal problem

Arsenal’s sales reputation continues to be scrutinised even after the successful summer of 2024, which saw close to £90million brought in from the sales of just three players. Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale seemed to finally buck the trend of lacklustre windows for outgoing players and gained then sporting director Edu Gaspar some credit before his eventual exit months later.

Andrea Berta is the new man in charge, and while the Italian has been lauded for his work regarding incomings, the club remains lacking in moves in the opposite direction. Berta managed to get almost all the money the club paid for Marquinhos in a €3million (£2.5million) sale.

However, several players remain on the club's books who need to be moved on. Arsenal are often criticised for failing to get significant fees for its fringe and expendable talents. The club have never breached the £40million-mark when it comes to a sale, despite rivals Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United having done so on many occasions.

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The record sale is a disputed topic in the record books, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s £35million move to Liverpool was thought to contain £5million in add-ons. However, due to the player's injury history, it is not thought that the Gunners received the full value and, therefore, did not breach the £40million threshold.

Other notable sales include Alex Iwobi, who joined Everton in a £35million deal; Cesc Fabregas, who joined Barcelona for the same total fee, inclusive of add-ons; and Folarin Balogun, who joined Monaco for £34.3million, inclusive of add-ons. Fans have watched again as Liverpool have just secured £65.5million, inclusive of add-ons, for Luis Diaz, who is moving to Bayern Munich.

With starting figures Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli both potentially on the market this summer, should an appropriate offer arrive, fans are expectant of a significant sale for a player featuring regularly in the team. However, news that Trossard could fetch a sum in the region of £20million has not been well received.

The reality is at 28, Diaz is in his prime and ranks in the 92nd percentile for Europe’s top five wingers for non-penalty goals per 90 having made 36 Premier League appearances last season. Trossard, meanwhile, is more than two years older than the Colombian and ranks only in the 56th percentile for the same metric.

When buying a Premier League player at the age of 28 who is still in very strong form, you expect to pay these fees and the move, with respect, matches the expected market value for the Liverpool player.