Arsenal saw Alex Iwobi secure a move to Everton on Thursday, and it’s reported that the deal could see them make up to £35m.
The Gunners have had an impressive summer transfer window, with Unai Emery seeing Nicolas Pepe, William Saliba, Dani Ceballos, Gabriel Martinelli, Kieran Tierney and David Luiz arrive to bolster his squad.
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As noted by BBC Sport, it’s suggested that the north London giants have spent over £130m this summer, although Saliba has re-joined Saint Etienne on a season-long loan deal while Ceballos will return to Real Madrid at the end of the year.
Nevertheless, they will feel as though they’ve added the reinforcements needed to get them back into the top four in the Premier League this season, and they’ve managed to go some way to balancing their spending with exits too.
According to Sky Sports, Everton have secured the signing of Iwobi in a deal worth up to £35m, with Arsenal receiving an initial £28m with the rest possible in bonuses.
While it will be disappointing for some Arsenal fans to see Iwobi leave given he came through the youth ranks and had a strong attachment to the club, his record of just 15 goals in 148 appearances for the Gunners would suggest that they’ve got a great deal.
If Emery is to lead Arsenal back to the Champions League, he’ll need top class quality in the line-up, and perhaps with Pepe forming a dangerous attacking trident with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, Iwobi would have fallen down the pecking order and struggled for playing time anyway.
Time will tell if his stint at Everton is a success as they’ve shown real ambition themselves this summer, but with the BBC Sport report above noting that Arsenal have raised around £55m in total from player sales, coupled with structured deals for some of their signings, they have enjoyed a shrewd summer on the market it seems.
