ARSENAL have gone big this summer with a spending spree of nearly £200million.But when it comes to sales – needed during this transfer window to balance their squad and their kitty, as well as bring in more new faces – the Gunners are lagging behind their rivals.GettyArsenal boss Mikel Arteta is relying on outgoings before signing any more players[/caption]AlamyDefender Jakub Kiwior is among the players being linked with a move away[/caption]AlamyOleksandr Zinchenko could also be sold[/caption]It is why Tottenham have been allowed a free run to agree a £60m deal with Crystal Palace for Eberechi Eze.So far this window, Arsenal have recouped around £6.9m, seeing Brazilian winger Marquinhos head to Cruzeiro for £2.6m and Nuno Tavares to Lazio for £4.3m, while Thomas Partey, Jorginho, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney left on frees.Only Leeds [£6.5m], Everton [£3.4m], Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Fulham [all £0] have brought in less so far.The comparison to their Prem title rivals is stark. Liverpool have raked in £188.5m from the likes of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.Noni Madueke and Joao Felix have helped Chelsea pocket £205.7m while James McAtee’s departure has seen Manchester City hit £55.7m.Even Nottingham Forest [£102.1m], Bournemouth [£197.5m], Brighton [£104.7m], Wolves [£98.7m] and Brentford [£83.8m] have had fruitful outgoings.This has been an historical issue for Arsenal. Their record sale remains Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s £35m switch to Liverpool in 2017.Below that, it is Nicolas Anelka’s £30m move to Real Madrid 26 YEARS AGO, one that famously allowed Arsene Wenger to build a new training ground and sign eventual club-record scorer Thierry Henry in 1999.CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSArsenal have attempted to address this issue in recent years, selling Aaron Ramsale to Southampton, Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace and Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham for a combined total of around £89m in the summer of 2024.And in 2023, another academy graduate Folarin Balogun left for Monaco in a move that could hit £35m with bonuses. GettyFabio Vieira has been linked with a move to Stuttgart[/caption]GettyLeandro Trossard is another player potentially heading for the exit[/caption]But it remains an area that needs improvement.Over the next couple of weeks before the end of the window, Arsenal’s sales stats could look far more healthy.Should the likes of Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson exit for their market value, it could take their outgoings to well over £100m.It would be a welcome addition to their kitty with targets still being eyed up this summer, including a blockbuster move for Real Madrid’s Rodrygo.In arguing why their sales have not been as big as their rivals, boss Mikel Arteta can point to several factors.When he first took over in December 2019, he inherited a bloated squad full of ageing stars on big wages, forcing the club to take action by accepting the financial hit, ripping up contracts for free transfers to welcome younger, hungrier, more cost-effective players in their bold and risky recruitment strategy in a desperate attempt to fix the culture at the club.In an ideal world, they would have earned some money back on the departures of big hitters Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, David Luiz and Alexandre Lacazette, instead of allowing them to leave for nothing.And as a result of this, young academy stars like Saka, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah and Balogun were relied on and trusted in the first team far more than the likes of Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea – who have made a habit of selling their homegrown talents for big profits, able to do so because of the size and quality of their squads.City collected £42.5m from Chelsea for Cole Palmer in 2023, while the Blues let go of Mason Mount, Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Lewis Hall for a combined total of around £230m.This summer alone, Reds teenager Ben Doak has joined Bournemouth in a deal worth up to £25m and Jarell Quansah left for Bayer Leverkusen in a move worth £35m including add-ons, and who can forget Raheem Sterling leaving for City in 2015 for around £50m.Arteta’s squad now looks complete with an impressively impactful bench to match the starting XI, yet that was not always the case, hence why ineffective squad players have previously been held on to instead of sold.Arsenal currently have big names in their squad that could be sold for big profits. William Saliba is wanted by Real Madrid. Gabriel was approached by the Saudi giants.Teenage starlets Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were monitored before signing new bumper deals, while Max Dowman’s worth is only rising despite being just 15.In their bid to finally end their 21-year wait for a Prem title, Arteta and Arsenal are in no position to cash in on their most prized assets just yet.But the ability to consistently sell big and invest wisely cannot be sniffed at, especially when you consider the trophies Liverpool, City and Chelsea have hauled in as a result.TRANSFER NEWS LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW