Arsenal may put six players ‘up for sale’ as Mikel Arteta looks to trim his squad next summer.
Arteta, 42, saw his side hit a poor run of form ahead of the November international break.
But his fortunes have improved in the last couple of matches, with the Gunners convincingly beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League last Saturday before putting on an excellent showing during the 5-1 Champions League victory against Sporting Club on Tuesday evening.
It is no secret that the Arsenal boss tends to keep a similar starting XI for most matches.
However, six players could be shown the exit door in the summer of 2025.
The Gunners spent a reported £76m in last summer’s transfer window with David Raya, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino all penning permanent deals at the club while back-up goalkeeper Neto and Raheem Sterling arrived on loan.
There was also a bit of an exodus: Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale, Mohamed Elneny, Cedric Soares, and Arthur Okonkwo left the club permanently.
Reiss Nelson, Fabio Viera, Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Karl Hein were all loaned to other clubs.
Arteta has opted for youth several times this season, with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly regularly being named in first-team squads.
This may be an indicator of the club’s thinking moving forward.
Several more experienced players have struggled for minutes this season.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has featured just seven times, while Gabriel Jesus has played second fiddle to Kai Havertz, with the Brazilian finding the net just once in 16 appearances this term.
Both Jesus and Zinchenko could “part ways” with Arsenal in the summer of 2025, according to The Athletic.
The report also suggests Polish defender Kiwior could move on to play “regular first-team football” while Lokonga and Nelson are also likely to depart permanently.
While Tavares’ loan to Lazio is thought to be made permanent.
Thomas Partey’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the season, he could also be released.
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