Arsenal sporting director Edu must learn lessons from the club’s past when it comes to offloading one player this summer.
Arsenal have not always been the most successful club when it comes to selling players.
In recent years, the Gunners have allowed the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette, and Aaron Ramsey, amongst others, to leave for nothing. When they have fetched a fee, it has also often been lower than many would have expected.
Following his best ever season at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal received just £21 million for Granit Xhaka, who has gone on to achieve extraordinary things with Bayer Leverkusen this season.
Last summer, Arsenal also got just £4 million for Rob Holding, after the 28-year-old defender made 162 appearances for the North London club. In the summer prior to that, the Gunners made just £9 million out of the deal that took promising young midfielder Matteo Guendouzi to Marseille.
Mikel Arteta and Edu must not repeat such mistakes in the upcoming summer transfer window. Arsenal may well have a reputation for selling cheap, and that will only be changed by taking a firm stance in negotiations and holding firm until they receive the kind of offer they deem fair.
Arsenal must take firm stance over Aaron Ramsdale sale
Aaron Ramsdale is almost certain to leave Arsenal this summer. Whilst the goalkeeper has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium this season, and needs to now move on for the good of his career, Arsenal must get good value for the 26-year-old.
The four-cap England international has impressed in the Premier League for Arsenal before, ought to still have his best years ahead of him, and still has plenty of time left on his existing contract.
Journalist Charles Watts, writing for Caught Offside, has now had his say on how any deal involving Ramsdale’s exit ought to go. He said: “It’s a matter of when Ramsdale leaves, not if. The key thing for Arsenal is getting value for money. I saw an initial fee of £15 million mentioned in reports last week and that is quite frankly ridiculous.
“Arsenal signed Ramsdale for nearly £30m two years ago and he has developed into a far better keeper since then.”
Edu must show that he can generate funds for Arsenal
At the very least, Arsenal ought to be breaking even on Ramsdale, if not turning a small profit.
It is a challenging situation, given he is clearly not in Arteta’s plans and has just spent a season largely confined to the sidelines, but the fact remains that he is a valuable asset and the club need to extract that value.
Edu has proven that he can buy well and pick up a bargain in the market. That is only half of his job though. The Brazilian must now show that he can sell effectively too, as Arsenal will need that revenue coming in in order to reach the next level.