How Arsenal Are Avoiding Potential Bans Despite Heavy Spending on Havertz, Rice

• Arsenal's lavish spending in the last two transfer windows has not gone unnoticed
• While clubs like Chelsea have spent more, the Gunners need to heed the FFP rules
• Kai Havertz has already been signed alongside Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber

Arsenal have been a team on a mission this transfer window as they seek to close the gap between them and Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta's charges pushed for the Premier League title last season but had to be content with a second-place finish and a return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in seven years.

To address the differences between them and Pep Guardiola's superteam, the Gunners have signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea, alongside deals for Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber.

This is the third consecutive summer in which Arsenal strayed from a modest approach to transfer windows and splashed money on targets.

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2021 saw the arrival of Martin Odegaard, Ben White, and Aaron Ramsdale, before Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko followed a year later, as captured by Transfermarkt.

This summer, the amount spent on new players is set to eclipse their previous windows, with Rice alone costing at least €105 million.

So, how is the North London side doing its business to ensure adherence to the Financial Fair Play rules, per SkySports?

Arsenal's increased Champions League revenue

For starters, Arsenal's major advantage is their second-place finish and qualification to the UCL. That alone is set to attract at least €30mil without kicking a ball, while a higher-placed finish in the EPL means more revenue.

The other thing that will play in the Gunners' favour is a term Chelsea's new owners are fond of - amortisation. The full amount used to buy a player won't be reflected in the same financial year.

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For example, the €65mil fee paid to Chelsea for Havertz can be spread across multiple years depending on the number of years in his contract.

Player sales benefit Arsenal

Another perfect way of going around the FFP rules would be to sell a couple of players.

Granit Xhaka has already left the club, with more departures expected. There have also been rumours of Thomas Partey and Folarin Balogun potentially exiting.

However, as the Athletic reports, Arsenal might find itself in UEFA's crosshairs due to its wage structure.

It was never a big issue in past years due to the type of contract the club gave to players. However, with the revised deals handed to Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba, and others, plus the arrivals of star players who are expected to rake in huge wads of cash, the club might have to rethink its strategy.

The club's game plan at the moment looks astute and well thought-out. The club's hierarchy will be hoping that Arteta can keep the good results going, which will - in turn - mean more revenue to help balance the books.

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How Chelsea avoided FFP rules

Sports Brief previously reported that multiple questions have been raised about Chelsea's willingness to spend large amounts on transfer targets.

The club forked out close to €88mil to land Ukrainian star, Mykhailo Mudryk. They then paid a British record fee of €120mil to sign Enzo Fernandez.