There is an interesting report in the Star today that has a list of the Arsenal players that Mikel Arteta wants to get off the books at Arsenal to help to fund his new arrivals. It would seem clear that there are going to be quite a few changes this summer, as Arteta Has called for backing in the transfer market.
Arsenal’s technical director Edu has confirmed that the arrival of Willian is just the start of the Arteta revolution when he was quoted on Arsenal.com as saying yesterday: “We tried to create a better balance in the squad but we know that takes time to balance the squad the way me and Mikel want to. To balance properly, we need to sell players, to buy players and that takes time, not just day and night.
“It will take time, but with Willian, we’ve started a big process. We’ve identified the needs in the squad and he’s the one to start to rebalance the squad as we want to.”
But who will be the ones to be moving out? According to the Star’s report, the eight players on Arteta’s transfer list are: Lacazette, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Shkodran Mustafi, Mohamed Elneny, Calum Chambers and Matteo Guendouzi.
The obvious ones are Ozil and Guendouzi, as they have both been frozen out by Arteta and didn’t even get invited to the FA Cup Final.
Mhki and Elneny are already out on loan and are unlikely to ever return. We certainly have too many defenders at the moment so Chambers and Mustafi could bring in some much-needed cash, while Maitland-Niles has made it clear he wants more playing time elsewhere.
That just leaves Lacazette, who is being talked about being used in a possible swap deal for Thomas Partey, but is there anyone else that you think could be moved on to fund Arteta’s new arrivals?
Yes, for me Cola should go, I don’t see any of his contributions to the team.
Kola is currently the only backup to Tierney. I have no issues with him as a backup.
His 100k salary is too high for a back-up. Plus, we have Saka.. I agree Kola should go.
100k is high , I agree but do you want to turn Saka into the next Maitland Niles? I know he can play left back , but designating him the defacto backup is bad for him. Saka is naturally an attacker and I think we best use him as that especially if we intend to use a back four. I think I don’t think you realize how many games a backup fullback is going to play next season. We have league , league cup, FA cup, and Europe . Kola will definitely be useful emotions aside.
The obvious problem being that Kola, the pass-back king, can’t play football to save his life.
He came on a free transfer, remember
Sell Kolasinac and Bellerin and buy Max Aarons from relegated Norwich. Max Aarons is apparently liked by Arteta and can play both left and right back. Soares and Saka can provide the back up.
Kolasinac is just a back up player, we have to consider injury time. Secondly Lacazette should not be sell, now that Willian has come you will see the work of him.
Remove Lacazette on that list and put Sokratis and its but a good list of players to get rid of. Arteta himself said we should keep our best players and look to build a team around them. He also highlighted the need to invest in the squad to reduce the gap from the top 2 teams.
Please keep Lacazatte and Maitland-Niles others should go it’s okay
We only have a limited number of homegrown players, so selling AMN and Chambers makes no sense to me. I would have thought selling sokratis and mustafi is a must, along with elneny, mkhitaryan, ozil.
Once those 5 are sold we will have more than enough room for more signings.
🖒🖒Totally agree
Home grown players are an important consideration, unless Arteta is going to introduce Academy players into the squad.
AMN and Chambers do have versatility; however AMN wants a guarantee of game time and Chambers has interest from Fulham, where he played on loan previously.
Unfortunately, may have to be sacrificed, but when he is gone what he brings to the team in hold up play and drawing defenders will be more greatly appreciated.
If Arsenal wants to upgrade its CB’s Socrates should be sold, with Mustafi retained due to his improvement and experience.
Lacazette will not be sold. Arteta already said that he is part of his plans and he likes him a lot. So hust because some dumb journalists invent even dumber rumours, this does not mean that there is any truth in it.
Sell the following
Ozil
Miki
Elneny
Guendozi
Torreira
Matt Macy
Guendozi
Sokratis
Kollasinac
Chambers
Ballogin
Lacazette
Buy the following
Partey
Coutinho on loan
Upamacano
Edourd to replace lacazette
No imagin Coutinho and Willian and Pepe and Aba
With Arteta’s obvious preference for Mustafi, (same as all previous bosses). I doubt he’s first on the list to move on. I mean if you look at it , he has been Arteta’s most trusted defender . Why would he logically want to move on without finding someone to play practically as well. Not to say that Mustafi is the best we have , but he has been the best under Arteta and the boss has clearly shown an affinity for him.
Same goes with Lacazette. The only real center forwards we have if we are to play the kind of build up we’ve been playing are Lacazette, Nketiah and Martinelli. Say what you will , but there’s no way any coach with a brain would consider the latter two better than him if he were really trying to build a team. Besides, Auba and Laca already have a pretty strong partnership . Why does anyone think moving Laca on is the best way to convince Auba to sign?
Personally , I think , more realistically ,
Niles : If the report that he wants to leave is accurate , he could be sold. David Ornstein did report that arsenal were exploring the possibility of offloading Reiss Nelson to finance a few moves , but I think Niles would command a higher fee and if he offers himself up , then I believe the hierarchy will take the option. I feel like they are willing to sale any one of the upcoming academy options which makes sense.
Ozil ain’t going nowhere
Chambers: I don’t know , somehow , it doesn’t strike me as wise to sell him. We have Sokratis on the books and Luiz doesn’t have years in him . Why sell him and then have to buy another backup , or groom an academy grad next year? If we have Saliba , Mari , Holding, Chambers and any CB signing we are likely to make , I feel like they could hold the fort for a few years without having to sign another too soon. It doesn’t make fiscal sense.
If we already have 100 million ready to spend, a sale of a player like Guendouzi even for 30 million would mean we have a big enough budget to make this window a success.
The only reason I see why Mustafi is likely to be sold is his contract situation…it expires in 2021…he is in his prime years… already earns 90K per week….to re-sign his likely wages will be well above 100k per week… that is a set back at the effort to implement a Europa League wage structure at Arsenal…So my understanding is that Arsenal won’t pay a player high wages unless he is indispensable to the team or a signing like Willian who has won multiple titles and trophies….
On to Mustafi’ s improvement under Arteta….Mustafi seems to have got his confidence back and has generally improved…..but I still see that he is making mistakes like giving away silly fouls in dangerous areas….The difference this time has been that those mistakes have not been punished as frequently as before which allowed us to see the positive side of his game… diving into challenges and blocking…. Remember he had the best tackles per game stat in the premier League in Emery’s first season
Every defender gives away fouls . The best actually give away the highest number . Think of names like Ramos, Chellini, Bonucci, you get the picture. I think Mustafi’s major weakness was a lack of confidence, which caused him to repeatedly get caught in indecision . I’m by no means saying he’s the best we have. Not a chance. I just think it would be wrong tactically to move him on at this point. Arteta for all his first season success is a new coach , and needs as many players who understand what he’s saying has he can get. As it stands , he might not have one of those in Ceballos next season. That leaves him down to Martinez,Tierney, Mustafi, Xhaka ,Auba and Laca. That’s a very tiny core to build a team around and depleting it any further would slow down his progress even further. If we had Luiz or anyone else outperforming Mustafi , This would be the best time to sell him . But since that’s not the case , I’d say it’s too risky.
“Ozil ain’t going nowhere” ?
That means he’s going somewhere then 😜
Declan, surely as a “professional” footballer, Ozil like Sanchez, would accept a loan deal subsidised by Arsenal, so he could display his wares in Turkey or the MLS?
The pedant in me almost called him out on that poor English too, UNTIL I realised it was probably deliberate, in order to seem “cool”! It did not though; it merely jarred. There is nothing to lose and much to gain from writing correctly. MOST OF ALL, IT AVOIDS MISUNDERSTANDINGS, I FIND!
ALTHOUGH I DO NOT USUALLY WORRY, AS THERE ARE MANY ON HERE FOR WHOM ENGLISH IS NOT THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE.
Honestly Sokratis and Leno, the second one has a great value and could bring in extra money. For me, yes Leno made some great saves but also costly mistakes. His attitude is great but if you want money his value is greater than any of all the others. I think that Martinez deserves his chance and proved to be reliable at a lesser salary. I would also keep Mustafy who has regained confidence and improved under Arteta and he still has room for improvement.
That’s only my opinion of course
I see him going just not in this transfer window him and Martinez will fight it out for number 1 just remember next season will have a lot of congested fixtures with euros round the corner. I do see Leno going back to Germany as Neuer’s eventual replacement
Leno is also probably out injured for some time before he will be available to compete with Martinez.
That is why it would be silly to sell Macey, who is currently the fit backup goal keeper.
The Star, a fountain of knowledge?
👍 Fountain of effluent. ⛲
Others listed plus Sokratis should get out from club give room for new faces.
I think MA like a player in mould of lacca, however financial status of the club is forcing him to give up on lacca then we will have to settle for Nketia who is similar to lacca in terms of working hard upfront, also with a lot to learn from AUBA.
Roma chairman claimed Miki will sign permanent deal this summer
I hope we extend musti contract, as he is the other settled cb we have aside Luiz, Mari, Saliba, or the new cb we may buy are all new to the system, no one can predict how far or well they will settle in, so Musti is needed
The unfortunate ones are AMN and chambers, for different reasons both have been in and out of the squad, both are utility players with ability to play in different areas BTW mf and defence , I would love to keep one but as cash are tight, I wouldnt complain if both get sold and the fund is properly reinvested in the squad
Guedozi is as good as gone hopefully his sale will help us bring a mf enforcer into our fold
We are stuck with Ozil for another season, he has reiterated his desire to stay, am just disappointed at him for wasting away his talent by stubbornly staying where he is not needed, to me he can do a lot at other weak leagues, all he has to do is take pay cut to move, that would help rediscover his career and could still play well for the next 2-3yrs.
I think we should add Torreira to the list, he seems to be unsettled here
Where’s Kolasinac’s name? He should be included near the top of the list.
For me in an ideal world – Ozil, Socrates, Elneny, Torreira, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Mikhitaryan and Mustafi are all at other clubs.
And maybes for Lacazette, Bellerin,Balugun and one of either Holding or Chambers depending on offers.
And a definite no for AMN. One only needs to look at Davies last night to see what a strong, athletic fullback can achieve.
Interesting list but also very likely. True there are one or two we should keep.as said players e.g. ANM but preferably as a wing back. I like Laca for the energy he brings when playing but we may need to let him go to raise funds. Oxil ain’t going becos he knows he has shot himself in the foot and will not get anything close to what he is being paid now. He also knows his playing days are close to finish so this is make up for him. He may not even command £100000 anywhere except in Turkey, political connection. Maybe he should retire and go into politics in Turkey. We need a commanding and inspirational CB like Van Djik and my current choice – Dayot Umamecano. We xan build the defense around him. He is fast, reads the game well and tackles strong. Some of the CB go as we have a few who seem to be on the way up.
Kolasinac should be on top of that list-A man with power but no real football brain. Bellerin for me is not good enough. Can’t cross the ball and can’t defend properly. Lacazette is too lazy for my liking. A player that can’t stand 90 minted of football. The Greek wrestler’s name has to be there. In addition to others on that list . They should be transfer listed as fast as possible.
The answer tp Pat’s question is simple really – wait and see what Mikel Artets decides to do and watch for the announcements on our official website.
Ken, that would leave nothing to discuss except for……! 🤔🇦🇺
Xhaka, and Holding should be in that list. Maitland-Niles, Gouendouzi, and Lacazette should stay
Socratis and Kolasenac out.
Keep Maitland-Niles who is about to break through and Lacazette unselfish and Martinelli is injured with Nketiah is not ready yet.
Raul is the 1st casualty of the summer clear out. Vinai Venkateshsham has taken his position.
Wonder if we will be greasing Kia Joorabchian pockets now!?!
Really don’t know how this will effect transfers.
Now that Sanllehi has gone a more accurate statement would be “Wonder WHO will be greasing Kia Joorabchian pockets now!?!”
Hopefully nobody!
Lacazette, Gounduzi should stay but the other go. The management is better to look another player if possible like Zaha, Willian is ok, Thomas P, Cotinho.