Arsenal know FFP points deduction reality amid" Rice, Havert and Timber " £105m £65m,£38, £208M transfer claims

Arsenal will have to work within their financial means over the January transfer window to seemingly avoid moving within touching distance of a potential punishment in the future. The Gunners have invested heavily over the past few years, but none more so than in the summer.

Declan Rice was a marquee signing at a club-record £105million, while Kai Havertz joined from rivals Chelsea for a fee worth roughly £65million. Jurrien Timber was the final permanent signing of the window from Ajax, with some left baffled as to David Raya's loan move over a long-term stay with the Gunners.

football.london understands that the Spaniard's loan cost £3million, while there is an option to buy priced at £27million - which the club are expected to trigger next summer. Questions arose as to why such a move would make sense for all parties if he would be joining anyway.

However, the reality is that it likely comes down to financial rules and wanting to keep safe from any potential punishments in the future. A loan with an option to buy won't count against the finances for the year, though a permanent deal or a loan with a guarantee to buy in the summer would count, per the current rulings.

It means that Arsenal may be working with far less than anticipated going into the January transfer window to bolster their squad. That may be the case when it comes to a deal for Ivan Toney too, with recent reports linking the Brentford striker with a loan switch too.

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Such a move would cement those concerns over the financial rules, given the need to hold out those permanent incomings until the next season in the accounts. It would bring about a blow to any links over a huge fee in January, which includes a recent £150million double swoop for Sporting CP's Victor Gyokeres and Ousmane Diomande.

The pair are claimed to only be available if their release clauses are paid, but in this instance, it could be impossible for Arsenal to do so. Release clauses require teams to pay them out immediately to trigger them, meaning that the club couldn't make a deal work that would both trigger it and defer the payments later down the line.

The risk of doing so, if they are sailing close to the winds of profit and sustainability rules, has been displayed by rivals Everton in recent weeks. The Toffees were deducted ten points for being in breach of the Premier League's financial rules - subject to an appeal - while Manchester City are set to face an independent panel over a whole host of charges - which they say they will fight against.

That's not to say that incomings aren't possible, especially if there are some unexpected outgoings that can help free up some funds. This could especially be the case due to the academy, as hinted at by director Edu when accepting the best director award at the Golden Boy awards 2023.

He said: "The youth teams today are very important, they are fundamental to support the costs of a big club, to build players and to build economic resources, you can’t just afford to buy players. This is the strategy I support." That self-sufficient method is clear in both the first-team stars and sales, but whether that can help push them towards a huge January boost remains to be seen.