Arsenal: The little transfer sales matter

Arsenal have been comprehensively outsold by their rivals in the transfer window in recent years. To improve, they must learn that the little transfer sales matter, as well as the big ones.

This week, it was announced that Southampton would sign striker Danny Ings from Liverpool for a deal worth up to £20 million. That is a sensational sale for Liverpool, who have no use for Ings at Anfield with a stacked attacking squad.

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It is the type of deal that they have been excellent at in recent seasons. They sold Jordan Ibe and Dominic Solanke for a combined £34 million, Danny Ward to Leicester City for £12.5 million, and Joe Allen moved to Stoke City for £13 million in 2016. All of these deals consisted of players who were not wanted. And, all in all, including Ings’ £20 million this summer, they make up a Virgil van Dijk.

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Contrast these exceptional sales to what Arsenal have let go for nothing over the past few years. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck have all left the club without a single penny coming the other way since last summer. There are plenty of reasons for this mismanagement, but it all results in the same point to make: Arsenal must improve in their selling of players, and it all begins with the little deals.

Yes, Liverpool have sold Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho for massive fees in recent years, but so have Spurs, Manchester United and now Chelsea. What separates the Merseysiders is the consistent ability to sell their squad players for decent prices. And over time, these smaller fees add up.

This summer, Arsenal have the opportunity to take advantage of possessing lots of players that can be replaced easily, if that is that they need to be replaced at all. The likes of Carl Jenkinson, Mohamed Elneny, Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac, Laurent Koscielny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil. All of these players could be sold this summer.

And they already started to reap some of the lesser, much-overlooked benefits. This week, David Ospina officially moved to Napoli for a fee in the region of £4-5 million, depending on which report you believe, while Ismael Bennacer is on the verge of a £14 million move to AC Milan from Empoli, which could net the Gunners £4.2 million due to a 30% sell-on clause.

These may seem like minuscule fees, especially in the explosive modern market, but together, Arsenal have raised almost £10 million out of a player that they have no interest in keeping and another that they don’t even lead. Suddenly, that makes up the difference between their £15 million bid for Kieran Tierney and Celtic’s £25 million valuation.

All this is to say that as Raul Sanllehi looks to bring the club into a modern set-up rivalling the likes of Liverpool, focusing on the improvement in the transfer market, it is the little sales that he must master. They make a difference, a Van Dijk-sized difference.