Arsenal’s slim summer budget means caution is needed over taking up Suarez option

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Arsenal manager Unai Emery will be granted a summer transfer budget of just £40m with which to overhaul his squad, according to the Daily Mirror.

They claim that after having no money to make permanent January signings, the Gunners do not have a large summer war chest at their disposal either.

That is reportedly to do with the need to fall into line with Premier League guidelines on transfer fees and wage expenditure to do with Financial Fair Play, leaving Emery facing the prospect of offloading current players to fund new arrivals.

The most recent new face through the door is Barcelona loanee Denis Suarez, for whom Arsenal have a reported (Mirror) £18m option to buy at the conclusion of the current season.

But that £18m would eat up almost half of Emery’s summer budget now, and Suarez looks more like a lightweight alternative out wide or as a playmaker in a side that already has players in that mould.

Further defensive improvement is more urgently needed and even if playmakers Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil were both to leave, the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi could step in, rather than sign Suarez.

But the Gunners central defensive options don’t look fit for purpose, they have some ageing full-backs and lack speed on the wings.

If there is limited money to go around, those are the areas that should be targeted, instead of spending on Suarez, who looks very similar to many of the creative options Arsenal already have.