Sander Berge and Yves Bissouma are both interested in moving to Arsenal but the Gunners’ limited transfer budget could prevent them from signing either player, according to reports in England.
A release clause means Berge can be signed for £35m from Sheffield United while Brighton are demanding £40m for Bissouma. After promises of a substantial transfer war chest, supporters on Twitter are frustrated that the club are, in fact, working on restricted funds:
we truly are banter fc
— SSJ Uchiha (@ssj_uchiha) May 14, 2021
Promoted Leeds spend more than us
— #kroenkeOUT #EkIn (@RyanSamerson) May 14, 2021
Here we go, restricted budget fc
— R. Pahlawan (@KeciprakRp) May 14, 2021
this is Kroenke’s Arsenal, is it? PL barrel scraping it appears
— Hugh Jarse (@jarse222222) May 14, 2021
What the hell. What is Arsenal’s budget. Since 2004 l, what has been their budget. Even with the players bought, how many of them were worth. Arteta says he will be supported then why constraines budget.
— SUNNY (@SUNNYHEATSEEKER) May 14, 2021
Haha didn’t Mikel say the Kroenkes will invest heavily the other day
— don dada (@andre__gunner) May 14, 2021
Sign them both, they are absolute ballers and it’s a bargain imo, its just arsenal being stingy
Get bissouma for £30m berge for £15m
Bissouma to partner partey and berge for squad rotation
Get ceballos and xhaka out of my football club— AYO (@Thebrother_man) May 14, 2021
Here we go again. Wait until deadline day to sign a decent player to lower the fans’ expectations. Unserious club
— Nandu (@NanduGopan98) May 14, 2021
If we’re a big club then budget shouldn’t be a problem. It’s always one play or the other. Never both. #KroenkeOut
— Joseph Petrassi (@JosephPetrassi) May 14, 2021
Price has always been Arsenal’s problem one of the major reasons why we are where we are. Clowns
— sam_gooner (@AdamslSamuel) May 14, 2021
Most media reports suggest that Arsenal will have to sell players in order to raise the money they need to rebuild the first-team squad. Considering the financial impact of the global health crisis, that isn’t entirely surprising, but manager Mikel Arteta desperately needs the resources to transform a mediocre team, which is destined to finish midtable this season.
The club’s owner, Stan Kroenke, has come under mounting pressure to invest his own funds to improve the club’s fortunes. As things stand, that doesn’t look likely.