Arsenal Transfer News: Ivan Gazidis Discusses Funding, Rivals' Spending and More

Arsenal will not spend big in the transfer market to rival their competitors because the club "can't afford to make huge mistakes," according to Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

Compared with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, Arsenal have had a relatively quiet summer transfer window, and Gazidis indicated fans should not expect a high-profile purchase because the club has to be cautious with its dealings, per Jefferson Lake of Sky Sports:

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We can't afford to outgun competitors that have far more money. We have to be very careful, very selective.

We would not be successful if we simply went out into the transfer market and tried to outgun our competitors.

We're run in a self-sustaining way, and a way that we believe in, because we believe it gives us certainty for the future and enables us to plan our future with confidence.

That means we can't afford to make huge mistakes in the transfer market. We can't afford to outgun competitors that have far more money to splurge on transfer fees than we do. So we have to be very careful, very selective about how we do things.

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Arsenal have made one big purchase this summer, paying £35 million for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka, but they have yet to address other problematic areas, including the need for a new striker.

It was recently revealed the north London club had a €35 million (£29.3 million) bid rejected for Olympique Lyonnais striker Alexandre Lacazette.

JEFF PACHOUD/Getty Images

The Frenchman is exactly the kind of frontman Arsenal need to provide competition for the consistently disappointing Olivier Giroud, having netted 48 goals in 67 Ligue 1 appearances over the past two seasons, per WhoScored.com. 

However, based on Gazidis' comments, it seems unlikely Arsenal will be prepared to raise their offer and reach Lyon's asking price, which is likely around the €50 million (£42 million) mark, per French football writer Matt Spiro:

While that is a huge sum of money, it is almost exactly the same fee Arsenal paid for Mesut Ozil in 2013 (£42.4 million) and is not an unreasonable demand from Lyon in the current market.

Proven goalscorers are few and far between on the transfer market and are thus at a premium.

Juventus recently paid €90 million (£75.7 million) to sign longtime Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain after his three seasons with Serie A rivals Napoli, for whom he netted 71 goals in 104 league appearances.

Gazidis made assurances that Arsenal will remain active in the transfer market and indicated there may yet be further purchases if the right targets can be identified, per Lake: "We're still active in the market, as are most other clubs, and if we find opportunities that our manager believes can improve our squad and add something to it, we're certainly going to take those steps. But in terms of this week, I don't think there will be any radical surprises."

Caution and relative frugality seem to be the watchwords, though, as has so often been the case during Arsene Wenger's near-20-year tenure as manager.

Such an approach is admirable in the money-driven world of modern football, but Arsenal do risk being left behind if they continue with that policy.

Per the Guardian's Fabrizio Romano and Mark Dobson, United are edging closer to sealing a whopping £100 million deal to sign Paul Pogba, while City, Liverpool and Chelsea have already addressed key areas and continue to be linked with further high-profile signings.

Aside from Xhaka, Arsenal have added forward Takuma Asano and centre-back Rob Holding this transfer window, but the fans' frustration stems from the fact the Gunners seemingly do have the funds to compete with their rivals, per football writer Daniel Storey:

Spending €50 million on Lacazette could solve a key problem in Arsenal's front line—namely their main striker does not score enough goals—and perhaps propel them to a first Premier League title since 2003/04.

But it seems unlikely such a move will occur following Gazidis' call for caution.