Arsenal legend Robert Pires does not think his former club will be a title challenger next campaign having set their transfer market budget at £40 million. Several websites specialized in bet of the day expect the same thing for the London club.
Right before the end of the season, Gunners manager Unai Emery was ordered to secure a Champions League spot for next season otherwise he will handed a small amount of funds to spend during the transfer window.
The Emirates outfit was only able to finish in the fifth position in the English Top Flight following their 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Europa League final, securing a spot in the European competition for the second season in a row. Latest football predictions give attractive odds on Arsenal lifting the trophy.
Emery, who was formerly reported to be keen on a squad overhaul this summer, could be having a tough time signing players this transfer window with the £40m-budget which can also rise up should he be willing to sell a player from his team.
With how crazy the transfer market has been these days, it is highly unlikely to sign a talented player for a fee under the range of £50 million.
Should Arsenal be keen on catching up to their League rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, they will be needing to invest more(than the £50m that is) according to their former forward Pires.
Speaking he said via talkSPORT: “I read that Arsenal have a small envelope for transfers, only £40m, my opinion is that it isn’t enough.
“If you want to build a good team, you need to spend a lot of money, especially in the Premier League.
“I respect Arsenal’s position and the owner, but everybody knows that if you want to win the Premier League, you need to spend a lot of money.
“All the top clubs want to sign great players, but if you want a great player it costs a lot of money.”
Emery could opt to release some players in his squad to raise funds for the transfer market or he could also use this opportunity to improve the Gunners youngsters ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
Arsenal starlet Reiss Nelson has put up quite a performance in the Bundesliga while playing for Hoffenheim last season scoring seven goals in 23 appearances and Emile Smith-Rowe was also impressive for RB Leipzig in his short spell, while Eddie Nketiah, as usual, has been booming for the club at youth level.
Pires wants the Gunners manager Emery to give the youngsters a chance next season.
He continued: “After getting his first season out of the way after replacing Arsene Wenger it’s a new era for Arsenal and for Unai.
“Unfortunately we lost Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck. Maybe we need to rebuild, make a new team, and why not with the young players?
“I hope some young players come through into the first team. Freddie Ljungberg did very well with the Under-23s and won the league.
“We have good young players and the right man heading the Academy in Per Mertesacker. So maybe the solution, if Arsenal have only £40m, is to bring in some young players and prepare for the future.”