Arsenal chief Edu ‘to ditch seven players’ in brutal clearout to fulfil Mikel Arteta wish
According to reports,Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal football club, is looking to make improvements to several positions in the team during the upcoming summer transfer window.
To make room for these changes, Edu, the club’s technical director, intends to let go of seven first-team players at the end of the season.
Despite this, Arsenal has had a successful season domestically and currently holds the top spot in the Premier League with only 10 games left to play.
Manchester City is currently eight points behind Arsenal in the Premier League, but they have a game in hand and a crucial match against Arsenal scheduled for the end of April.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s long-term transfer strategy of investing in talented young players has been highly successful. Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka have all been excellent purchases, with Saka proving to be one of the best academy talents at Arsenal in decades.
However, Arteta remains concerned about the squad’s depth, as a few injuries could create a difficult situation for the team.
While Arsenal has managed to cope without Gabriel Jesus leading the line, other teams such as Chelsea and Liverpool have struggled with injury crises that have affected their position in the league table.
The poor performances of Chelsea and Liverpool this season serve as a cautionary tale for Arsenal, warning them against entering the next season with a similarly reduced squad. However, Arteta understands the importance of strengthening his team in multiple areas and is seeking financial support for the upcoming summer transfer window.
According to The Sun, Arteta’s desire to enhance his squad is mainly due to Arsenal’s anticipated return to Champions League football next season. The report also suggests that the club will try to generate funds by considering offers for seven players.
Nicolas Pepe, who was signed for a club-record fee, is not in Arteta’s plans for the team, and Arsenal intends to sell the winger during the summer transfer window.
However, reports suggest that other clubs are not interested in taking on Pepe’s current salary, and therefore, Arsenal may have to pay a portion of the £7 million still remaining on his contract to facilitate his departure.
In addition to the seven players being made available for sale this summer, several loaned-out players may also be sold to raise funds for Arsenal. The club hopes to sell Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares, and Alex Runarsson, while the futures of Folarin Balogun, Kieran Tierney, and Rob Holding are uncertain.
Tierney has lost his starting left-back position to Oleksandr Zinchenko under Arteta and is attracting interest from Newcastle. Holding may also find it challenging to get enough minutes next season, as Arsenal is linked with another central defender in the upcoming transfer window.
Meanwhile, Balogun has impressed on loan at Ligue 1 club Reims, emerging as one of Europe’s most promising young talents. The 21-year-old striker has scored 17 goals in Ligue 1, with only Jonathan David and Kylian Mbappe ahead of him in the French top-flight’s scoring charts.
Arsenal chief Edu ‘to ditch seven players’ in brutal clearout to fulfil Mikel Arteta wish
