A DISAPPOINTING season ends at Southampton this Sunday, but the good news is that Arsenal are already planning for a busy summer as Mikel Arteta sets about rebuilding his squad.
A number of players will be out of contract in the coming weeks, including Jorginho, Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney and goalkeeper Neto, while Raheem Sterling will return to Chelsea following an underwhelming loan spell.
Quizzed on whether he feels he has the full backing of the board ahead of the transfer window opening, Arteta said: “Yeah, but that’s not something new. I think they always back the team, the club, in the best possible way – and it’s not going to be different in the summer.
“We have to be very smart with the decisions that we take. Obviously we need players because the squad is really short, and on top of that, we are losing four or maybe five players that end their contracts and their loans are finished. So we need to be sharp.”