Former Arsenal player, Perry Groves believes that Mikel Arteta should get rid of up to nine first-team players.
Arsenal has just crashed out of the Europa League when it was all going fine and they were on a run of three straight wins.
They had beaten Olympiacos in their Europa League first leg, and most fans were expecting them to enjoy another routine win over the Greeks in the return leg in London.
However, Olympiacos came prepared and appeared to want it more as they stunned Arsenal by wiping out the Gunner’s first leg away goal inside the 90 minutes to force extra time.
Both teams would go on to score again in extra time and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would miss a sitter right at the death and Arsenal was eliminated.
After watching their performances this season, Groves believes that a lot of the current Arsenal squad has to be sold.
He said as quoted in the Daily Star: “He needs to get rid of players,
“I thought it would be five or six, but I think you’re looking up to about nine players. [But] It is going to be impossible to get rid of them all in one go.
“This isn’t about talent, it’s not that they are not good players – David Luiz, (Shkrodan) Mustafi, Sokratis, (Dani) Ceballos is going to go anyway as he is on loan, Ozil, (Granit) Xhaka, (Calum) Chambers, (Mohamed) Elneny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
“Mkhitaryan and Elneny are out on loan at this point anyway.
“He needs them now. He has to use them now because he needs bodies. Short-term they have a future, long-term, no.
“It’s very similar to when George Graham went there in 1986 and he had a lot of players. Very talented players, but they did not have the desire that he required.
“He got rid of them and went and got players from the lower league like Alan Smith, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn.”
I am not sure about all the players that Groves has named but he is not too far off with his list of players that Arsenal could do with offloading, I mean, would most of them really be missed?
You’re right about not being able to offload them all at once and I’m in agreement with Perry Grove’s list of players who need to move on.
Leno
Bellerin Chambers Saliba Tierny
Ghendouzi
Niles Willock
Nelson Martinelli Saka
Nketiah, Pepe.
Everyone else should be sold. Laca, Auba, Xhaka, Torreira, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolas, Ozil, Elneny, Miki.
That’s 10 players! Been interest for majority of these players.
Brings in over 200M. Get top CB and DM, beef up both flanks in the back and keep Ceballos.
Best to have young players as they have the talent and get better with experience, progressing each year, team doing so. Wenger paved the way and had all these young players devellop in playing a certain style; a planted so many seeds and we do have a young generation ready to step up.
They mainly have that hunger, belief,
motivation, excitement to be on a pitch and do well.
Looks like we can end up where we at, meaning no Europe football at all. In that case, it is a must to sell these players and start fresh in a new phase, generation and decade to come!
Absolute crab! Sell all of them. Average and lazy legs that can’t run for 90 minutes.
Absolutely agree, plus bellerin too. We need top fullback to compete for trophy. Tierney i hope so. And…why do our managers keep believing in xhaka, i prefer amn in that role until we can get top DM.
Mogunna, look again at the squad Wenger inherited; hard nosed professionals, notwithstanding the drinking culture. Who are the “hard nosed” professionals in the current squad? Which players can Arteta depend on when the going gets tough?
The Arsenal squad is full of pampered, overpaid, wimpy, pea hearted underachievers. Perry Groves is right about the lack of steel and commitment for success.