Arsenal forced to work with small budget in January transfer window | Football

Arsenal will be forced to work with a small budget in the January transfer window with little desire to do ‘significant business’, according to reports.

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The Gunners have made £80m Brentford star Ivan Toney their No.1 transfer target with manager Mikel Arteta believed to be keen to bring in a new striker.

Toney is not the only player linked to Arsenal, though, with the Gunners thought to be among the clubs tracking RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo.

Arsenal are also keeping tabs on Wolves winger Pedro Neto and are reportedlyconsidering a loan move for Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele.

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Despite being linked to various players, The Athletic are reporting that there ‘isn’t much budget or desire to do significant business in January’ at Arsenal.

While that could change with potential departures, availability of targets, injuries and form – it is thought that Arsenal are concerned about breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules – which is why they opted to sign David Raya on loan instead of a permanent transfer this summer.

Once Arsenal are in a more comfortable position in regards to FFP, their immediate priority will be to turn Raya’s loan into a permanent deal, and if they are able to do business after that, they will then prioritise bringing in a new striker.

Beyond that, Arsenal also wish to bring in back-up for Bukayo Saka and may look to secure a new left-sided centre back and left-back, especially if they end up selling Kieran Tierney.

But in January, the focus will be on ‘value-for-money deals’ instead of ‘big-money transactions’ if their financial position remains the same.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre says he would prefer his old club to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins instead of Brentford star Toney.

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