Arsenal CEO Richard Garlic has made a concrete transfer decision as he stamps his authority at the start of his premiership.
Vinai Venkatesham formally steps down from his position as chairman at the Emirates at the end of the month after 14 years with the club.
But unofficially, Garlick has already started pulling the strings as the club prepares to build on another year of progression in 2023-24.
And it appears as though the the 47-year-old, who has been promoted from director of football operations, is pulling no punches when it comes to recruitment.
Richard Garlick called off Benjamin Sesko transfer
It was widely reported that Arsenal were set to trigger RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko’s £55m release clause and make him their first signing of the summer.
However, the 21-year-old Slovenia international has now signed a new deal with the German club, killing any talk of a move to North London or elsewhere.
It was widely believed that this has come out of the blue for Arsenal.
However, Arsenal Fanatics News, who exclusively reported as early as last Tuesday (4th June) that Sesko would not be joining, paint a different picture.
According to their telling of events, which was given via their Patreon page, new CEO Garlick was not impressed by Sesko’s agent and therefore decided to kill the deal.
It is also claimed that Mikel Arteta was not encouraged by the player’s attitude.
If accurate, it would be a bold move from Garlick so early in his tenure, and it could be a sign of his approach going forward.
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Arsenal get £200m transfer war chest
According to the Daily Mail print edition (via Football365), Garlick has given the green light for Arteta to spend as much as £200m in the transfer market this summer.
Whether there will have to be sales to accommodate that level out expenditure remains to be seen.
The Gunners need to be cautious to avoid a Profit and Sustainability Rules breach but are not in any immediate jeopardy in that regard.
And in FFP terms, the rumoured sales of Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe could create as much as £90m in pure profit, which would effectively boost the transfer kitty by the same amount.