Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta next to the club badge and out-of-favour players Fabio Vieira and Oleksandr Zinchenko
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is ready to sell Fabio Vieira and Oleksandr Zinchenko
Arsenal are determined to claw back a big portion of their record-breaking summer outlay by putting eight players of their own up for sale and with sporting director Andrea Berta looking to generate over £100m in exits to potentially free up funds to bid for a Real Madrid superstar.
The Gunners have big ambitions to finally go one step better in the Premier League title race in the upcoming season after three successive second-placed finishes. And to help further Mikel Arteta’s chances, Arsenal are closing on deals for summer signings four, five, six and seven in a hefty £200m-plus (€230m, $269m) summer spree that really underlines their ambitions.
Having already brought in Martin Zubimendi, Kepa and Christian Norgaard, the Gunners expect to this week push through the signings of Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Cristhian Mosquera. And on Tuesday morning, it was revealed they had also stepped up their quest to land Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace by offering the Eagles two players as part of a swap deal.
Whether the Eagles accept that proposal remains to be seen, though getting a deal done for Arsenal’s seventh signing of the summer in Eze would leave Arteta with a squad bursting with quality and several high-calibre options.
Now, though, according to David Ornstein, writing for The Athletic, sporting director Andrea Berta will next turn his attention to moving on a number of the club’s unwanted stars to try and claw back their enormous summer outlay.
And with eight stars listed as being up for grabs at Emirates Stadium, Berta will hope to generate over half of their own £200m spree back should all those available to leave secure transfers away.
The report claims that Berta has made it clear to the agents of players Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Karl Hein – all of whom spent time away from the club on loan last season – that they will consider offers for their services this summer.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is also free to leave after falling behind Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori in the left-back pecking order, while Jakub Kiwior – regularly linked with the Gunners exit door – is also free to leave after failing to break up the William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes central defensive axis.
However, two of the Gunners’ more regularly-seen players are also on the chopping block, with Ornstein also revealing Arteta and Berta are open to the exits of both Leandro Trossard and, perhaps most high-profile of all, Brazil international winger Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal could still move for Real Madrid superstar
Of the eight players listed, both Trossard and Martinelli would likely generate the biggest income.
The wing pair have featured regularly under Arteta – Martinelli, often from the start, though the arrivals of both Eze and, in particular, Madueke, would likely put both their places in jeopardy.
Bayern Munich have already been linked with both players and could yet look to launch a firm bid after being rejected instantly by Liverpool over interest in Luis Diaz, having seen a chunky opening bid fail.
Belgium winger Trossard has just a year left on his deal and is valued at around £20m (€23m, $27m), while Martinelli is contracted to 2027, though the Gunners do have another year’s option on that deal. He is currently rated in the £50m bracket by the Gunners (€57m, $67m).
Deals to offload all eight stars could comfortably net Arsenal a combined £100m windfall – around half their expected summer spend.
Furthermore, it could also give Arsenal the financial freedom to launch a firm bid to sign Real Madrid superstar Rodrygo away from the Spanish giants.
New coach Xabi Alonso is understood to be open to his sale, with the Brazilian having failed to impress him during the recent Club World Cup, and with a report last week suggesting he was one of three stars told they can leave the Bernabeu this summer.
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