Trouble may be brewing between Arsenal and Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta wants funds to strengthen his squad this summer, but Arsenal officials are sending indications he’ll need to sell stars to pay for any moves.

Arsenal have shown signs of meaningful progress during Mikel Arteta’s relatively brief managerial reign, but to really kick on they need to strengthen their squad in the summer. Unfortunately for Arteta, the club’s board isn’t prepared to hand him any type of significant transfer war chest.

Instead, Arteta has been forced to go on the offensive with his insistence that Arsenal need to hold on to their stars this summer. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Matteo Guendozui have all been linked to moves away from the North London club. It’s clear that the Gunners’ manager has no interest in letting any of his first-team stars go.

Instead, he insists that Arsenal “cannot be a team that has to sell” any of their best players to fund acquisitions. Those words send a clear message to the club’s board before the opening of the summer transfer window. Arteta does not want to be bullied into selling any of his biggest stars despite the way the current pandemic is impacting the club’s overall finances.

Club officials won’t fire back at Arteta directly, but their immediate actions can speak volumes about their intentions. Arsenal need to sign several big-name stars to contract extensions if they aren’t going to auction them off to the highest bidders this summer. Aubameyang, in particular, will be looking to cash in with one more massive deal before he enters the twilight of his career.

If the club don’t make quick progress with those contract talks, then it could set up a showdown between Arteta and his bosses. Arsenal can’t afford to let their brightest stars run down their contracts and leave via free transfers. That’s a practice that has cost the Premier League dearly in recent seasons.

Count on Arteta prevailing in the end. He’s got history with the club as a player and a reputation as being one of the brightest young managerial minds in Europe. In the event that things don’t work out with him at Arsenal, he’d enjoy interest from a number of clubs that would be happy to give him a soft landing spot.

That’s why Arsenal should be expected to keep the majority of their big-name players this summer. They might make a sale or two to help balance the books, but the Gunners’ net spend should still be sizable. Placating Arteta will be one of the club’s top priorities in the coming weeks.