Just after the end of the season, we held a poll on the website, where people could vote on how much money they expected to be spent in the summer.

The results were largely optimistic, with 35.6% of people expecting Arsenal to spend over £60m in the transfer window, in line with Arsenal’s alleged transfer budget of £70m. Few expected a quiet summer, with 6.1% predicting under £20m of spending. Generally, the outlook is positive.

Ambition

There haven’t been any big-money signings just yet, but Ivan Gazidis’s words yesterday indicated that may be about to change.

In a lengthy interview with the press, the Arsenal CEO claimed Arsenal could afford to sign a player for £25m on £200,000k a week ‘easily’, and they could afford to pay even greater sums.

The gist of his words indicated that Arsenal were prepared to join the European elite in terms of revenue and on-field competition:

“This year we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time, which is the escalation in our financial firepower. It means we can look at some options that weren’t really in our financial capability.

We should be able to compete at a level like a club such as Bayern Munich. I’m not saying we are there by any means but this whole journey over the past 10 years really has been with that goal in mind. “

Essentially, he’s saying Arsenal have been building up to this period where a shed load of money is available, with more to come, and now is the time to spend it.

It’s fighting talk, and puts a lot of pressure on Arsene Wenger to back up his words in the transfer market. There could be hell to pay if he doesn’t.

Speaking of his vision of Arsenal’s future, Gazidis expects to see improvement on the usual fourth-place finish:

“It really is time now for us to turn that into sporting success. We have a certain amount of money which we’ve held in reserve. We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you. We are moving into a new phase where, if we make our decisions well, we can compete with any club in the world."

Targets

The predicted £60m-plus spend is beginning to look more and more realistic. Right now, Arsenal’s two major targets, that could be close to joining, appear to be Everton’s Marouane Fellaini, and Wayne Rooney.

Both would command fees over £20m, which takes Arsenal above £40m already.

Add this to the rumours of a return for Cesc Fabregas, combined with a series of cheaper young players, you’re looking at over £70m, going even higher. Whether any of these transfers end up happening is another question, of course.

But what do you think? Have Ivan’s words changed your mind? Perhaps his promises are too good to be true.

How much will Arsenal spend in the summer?

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