According to reports, Arsenal have no choice but to sanction a ‘lucrative sale’ in this summer’s transfer window and five stars are at risk, though TEAMtalk can reveal that one of those stars still has Mikel Arteta’s support and is open to extending his deal.
Arsenal‘s statement transfer business last summer laid the groundwork for Arteta’s side to dominate across various competitions this season, but it also made it inevitable that they would need to bid farewell to one or more valuable assets in the near future.
Several stars have lost importance this season, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli among the losers after Arsenal spent £268m on signings in last summer’s transfer window.
And with the Gunners really close to overtaking Manchester United as the Premier League’s net spend leaders over five years, Odegaard and Martinelli are two of the five players at risk of being offloaded as the north London side looks to balance the books in the summer.
This is according to a new report from The Telegraph, which claims Odegaard, Martinelli, Ben White, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are the ‘five candidates’ to be sold in the summer.
Arsenal are said to be ‘counting the cost’ of their £268m spent last summer and ‘must sell at least one first-team player’ this summer, with ‘discussions around who would yield the most lucrative sale’ already underway.
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Arsenal star ‘happy’ as Arteta makes his feelings clear
Last month, there was speculation that captain Odegaard, who has been impacted by injuries, poor form and the arrival of Eberechi Eze, has been ‘in talks’ over a transfer following a ‘rift’ with Arteta.
However, we revealed on Thursday that Arteta retains ‘full faith’ in Odegaard and is keen for him to remain at the club, while the experienced midfielder is ‘happy’ and is pushing for a new contract.
As for Martinelli and White, Leandro Trossard and Jurrien Timber’s impressive form has ensured that they have only been bit-part players for Arsenal this season.
Martinelli has been sporadically linked with a move to Bayern Munich over the past year, while White was targeted for a loan move to Everton in January.
After Everton missed out, we shed light on Arsenal’s plans to overhaul their defence in the summer, with a La Liga star identified as a potential replacement for White as he ‘heads for an exit’.
Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly, meanwhile, are perhaps more likely to leave Arsenal on loan as there will be internal confidence that they have big futures at the club, provided they continue to develop.
Latest Arsenal news: Gunners eye German wonderkid; Nico Williams hunt
Arsenal are also working on potential signings ahead of the summer, with the Premier League leaders said to be challenging Manchester United for a German wonderkid.
Elsewhere, the Gunners may have a better chance of signing long-term target Nico Williams this summer than in previous windows as the frontrunners over FC Barcelona.
And Arsenal could also sign a new striker, but Fabrizio Romano has poured cold water on speculation that they could sign an Inter Milan star.