Arsenal transfer policy vindicated after £1.3bn Chelsea decision costs Enzo Maresca key player

Chelsea announced their squad for the UEFA Conference League league phase where they will face six teams from a range of European countries giving Enzo Maresca a tricky decision with the wealth of options available to him. Mikel Arteta meanwhile is working with a much smaller group and on Wednesday announced their A-list for the Champions League which even had room for the likes of Kieran Tierney and young goalkeeper Tommy Setford.

The big news from the Blues’ list was the absence of several key players, most notably Cole Palmer. Both Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia, two players who have suffered repetitive injury issues during their time in west London, have also been left out of the squad.

There is space however for some younger, lesser-known players such as Josh Acheampong, Tyrique George and Kiano Dyer. Interestingly the list does include some players whose injury records have been quite poor such as Reece James, Pedro Neto and the more recently sidelined Malo Gusto.

On the surface, it makes some degree of sense. In short and with respect to their league phase opponents, Chelsea should be comfortably progressing into the knockout rounds of the competition next year. There is then another registration period where Palmer, Fofana and Lavia will be able to be included should Maresca wish.

That said, should they really be having to make these decisions? The reality is no, but after more than £1.3billion worth of investment under Todd Boehly’s regime, things are so far not really improving.

Yes, European football might be back but the manager that got the club there, Mauricio Pochettino, left his position after just one season. Maresca has come in, spoken rather questioningly and publicly about the players he had no need for and then loaned one to Arsenal – Raheem Sterling – while getting no loan fee and paying the vast majority of his wages.

Sterling went straight into Arsenal’s squad for the Champions League and will now aim to help the Gunners end an extending trophy drought by potentially lifting either the European pinnacle or the Premier League title. He has already shown in training some impressive displays and furthermore, his quotes upon arrival appear that of a man with significant motivation to prove people wrong while spending this year in north London.

Through a combination of sales, additional income from add-ons being achieved from prior departures and sell-on clause activations, Arsenal ended up having a financial surplus this summer despite adding five players to the group. We have covered previously how market estimates for players show that while Arsenal have been roughly £30million under what they were expected to pay for players over the last three summers, comparably Chelsea have overspent by an estimate way over £300million.

The differences in transfer strategy lead to eventualities we’re seeing at both teams. In league positions, decision-making with the squad and consistency, or a lack of it, regarding philosophy and personnel.

Arsenal face a very tough run this season with the two extra European games in the expanded league phase. Yet they’re battling for prizes Chelsea could only dream of at this moment in time and that is thanks to the stark contrasting approaches each club has taken.