Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has explained that the Gunners are working on up to three different transfer strategies ahead of next season to ensure they will be prepared to handle the various market uncertainties caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The delay of the 2019/20 season will have a knock-on effect for the timing of the summer transfer window, with FIFA already confirming the dates will be revised in due course, while the financial impact could dictate budgets or leave clubs desperate for money to cover shortfalls.
“I’m planning two or three different scenarios that we can face. Depending on one of those three, we will be able to do more, less or nothing,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“We have to react daily. We don’t know what the financial situation is going to be, we don’t know the rules, the timing, the window. There are so many things we cannot control at the moment.”
As a result of the health crisis, Premier League football was paused in March and has been suspended indefinitely, until the government advises it is safe to resume playing.
The absence of training and normal day-to-day interactions has brought with it new kinds of challenges and Arteta is keen to ensure that his players, some of whom may suddenly be isolated from friends and family for the first time in their lives, are properly looked after.
“The experienced players have families around them and kids that are occupying them. For the young players, some of them are alone in their apartments and there are long days,” he said.
“We have to be caring for them and we have to keep them busy and try to do things to improve their development and education.
“I like to make them all think and assess themselves as people, too. I’d only been here for three months, so it’s been a chance to get to know them a little bit more, break some boundaries. We’re having some really good conversations.”
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Source : 90min