If there’s one thing that Arsenal still struggle to get right in the world of football, it’s getting a good fee for players they are looking to sell.
From losing Serge Gnabry for a reported £4.5m to Werder Bremen to selling Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere for the grand total of £0.00, Arsenal are just plain bad at offloading players for any decent fee.
Indeed, as per Transfermarkt, Arsenal’s record departure to this day still remains Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 2017 move to Liverpool, which cost a reported £35m. Second on the list is, no joke, Nicolas Anelka’s 1999 transfer to Real Madrid.
As you can see Arsenal’s record of selling players is quite pitiful given the quality that has come through the club in recent years. And last summer, the Gunners looked set to do it again when Olympique Marseille agreed to a loan-to-buy deal with Matteo Guendouzi for just £9m.
However, this deal could be about the take a strange turn for the north London side and play right into the hands of technical director Edu Gaspar.
Marseille are on the brink of a huge transfer window ban
As reported by L’Equipe, the Ligue 1 giants face a hefty two-window transfer ban over the French club’s disputed deal to sign Pape Gueye from Watford in the summer of 2020.
The case is already working its way to the European Court of Arbitration for Sport, where a decision will be made within three to six months. And for Arsenal, this could be massive.
Should Marseille be found guilty and fined with a two-window ban, this could allow the Gunners to bring Marseille back to north London in the summer. More importantly, it will allow Arsenal to negotiate a better transfer for the midfielder.
Arsenal can sell Guendouzi for profit if Marseille ban pans out
To the surprise of nobody, Guendouzi has been one of the best performing players in the division this season and has been one of the bargains of the campaign at just £9m for Marseille come to the end of the campaign.
However, if the French club are slapped with a transfer ban, it could gift Arsenal and Edu a second chance to sell Guendouzi for a fee much higher than the one agreed with Marseille last summer.
With the midfielder signing for cheap in 2018, Arsenal could make a huge profit on Guendouzi if the prospect returns from Marseille this summer. Moreover, Edu will be able to land some valuable respect from supporters if he can pull off a huge sale for the Frenchman.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
