Mikel Arteta could lose a good few big-name players reckons Paul Merson.
The former Arsenal star admits that the Gunners have gotten better since Mikel Arteta became their manager late last year. However, he reckons that with the Gunners struggling to finish in a Champions League position, most of their stars would want to leave at the end of the season.
The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Lacazette have been linked with moves away as the team struggles down the Premier League table and Merson warns Arteta to be prepared for them to leave because it could happen.
“Arsenal have improved under Mikel Arteta,” Merson said in his column for the Daily Star.
“The players are all working for him and it looks like there’s more harmony at the club.
“But I still think he’s going to have players wanting to leave at the end of the season, and I think Arsenal will want to get rid of a few.
“They need a clear-out, and he needs to build the spine of a team. All the top teams are strong down the middle. But Arsenal are not.”
Arsenal signed two players in the last transfer window, that seems to be just a temporary fix to their problems at the back and Mikel Arteta is expected to add more players next summer.
It is unclear if Arsenal would be forced to cash in on Aubameyang as he would have just a year left on his current deal at the end of the season.