Arsenal's £44m season savings hint at Edu's major summer recruitment plan to back Mikel Arteta

The frustration of the January window has not ebbed away in the days since it slammed shut on Monday night. However, greater perspective is coming through and reflection on previous errors in the market being avoided are starting to be appreciated.

Arsenal shifted on yet more surplus players from the squad, trimming those who Mikel Arteta has deemed unnecessary and, importantly, a drain on the club’s financial resources.

Most impactful of all was the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who, according to The Times, cost Arsenal a figure in the region of £7 million in order to cancel his contract and allow him to sign for Barcelona on a free move.

Furthermore, in the last two years, Aubameyang has been the latest in a long line of big earners who have left the team. Mesut Ozil, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac and Willian to name a few.

This has represented a huge amount of money saved by the club, showing major faith in manager Mikel Arteta and his vision for the group.

In fact, more than £44 million has been trimmed from the yearly salary. According to Spotrac, Arsenal had a wage bill in 2020/21 of £131,899,273.

Since the major removal of the aforementioned players, that number has fallen to £87,441,273 in 2021/22. This is also before Aubameyang’s wage contribution is removed, although the reported mutual termination settlement approximately covers the difference for the rest of this season.

Yet, in the summer, the Gabonese forwards approximate £350,000 maximum wages will no longer be on the bill opening up more opportunities for investment.

With no major incomings this winter, fan expectation will only grow that the Gunners will again break their record for spending in a