David Ornstein says he’s been told that Arsenal could have significantly more to spend this summer than the previously reported £40m, speaking in a recent appearance on the Arseblog podcast.

Unai Emery (right) with Arsenal’s director of football Raúl Sanllehí. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Unai Emery (right) with Arsenal’s director of football Raúl Sanllehí. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

A recent exclusive from John Cross of the Mirror stated that Unai Emery would only have £40m to spend this summer. He claimed that the Arsenal boss is facing another transfer window operating on tight resources, and that budget would have to include the £18m option to buy in Denis Suarez’s contract.

To sum up, buy Suarez this summer and Arsenal would have £22m for the rest of the window.

Speaking on the Arseblog podcast, which is well worth a listen, David Ornstein gave a slightly less bleak view of Arsenal’s summer prospects. He admitted the budget depends heavily on whether the team qualify for the Champions League, but added that he’s heard the money available could be closer to £100m (including salaries).

“There are some suggestions around the £40m-mark, depending on what competition Arsenal get in (Champions League or Europa League),” Ornstein began. “I’ve been told that it could be around £100m to spend. As we know with Arsenal, that would factor in salaries as well, and we need to see what competition they get in.

“There needs to be intelligent recruitment as well. It’s all well and good having the £100m, or however many hundreds of millions, or less. But how intelligently they do it is going to be the key factor here because it’s not going to be the level of money other clubs will have.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal celebrates the win after the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on January 19, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 19: Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal celebrates the win after the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on January 19, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Arsenal have certainly picked up a few bargains over the last few transfer windows. Matteo Guendouzi looks a steal at around £8m, given the impact he’s already having on the first team as a 19-year-old. Lucas Torreira is just a few years older, at 22, yet he’s also had a great start to his Gunners career and looks well worth the reported £27m.

Konstantinos Mavropanos hasn’t had much of a chance to prove himself just yet, but he was the cheapest of the lot and came straight back into the club’s Premier League squad after his injury.

Spend like that in key areas and the club doesn’t need a massive budget, but it’s not always easy to bring in the player you want for those kinds of prices. Sometimes you need to spend £60m on an Aubameyang to really make a difference. We’ll see how Arsenal approach their transfer business this summer.