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Arsenal manager Unai Emery has admitted that the club cannot afford to buy any players during January, and that they are only looking at loan deals, reports The BBC.
The news has been greeted with disbelief by some sections of their fan base, whilst others will point to the fact that this is the first transfer window when the club has been owned 100% by Stan Kroenke and his holding company, and that it is evidence of what is to come. To support their argument, they cite an email sent before Christmas to all departments of the club, asking people to find ways to save money,
In part Emery’s hand has been weakened by decisions made before he arrived at the club, with players signed to long-term deals on huge wages, poor acquisitions and even worse sales, and a distinct lack of attention when it came to players’ contracts. That meant that big names like Alexis Sanchez were allowed to get into the final year of their contract and either allowed to leave for a pittance or, in the case of Mesut Ozil, re-signed on hugely inflated wages.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.