Wenger could lose Arsenal 8 in mega squad shake-up

Arsene Wenger is reportedly bracing himself for the biggest squad shake-up of his 21-year reign as Arsenal manager.

The Gunners are facing the prospect of losing Alexis Sanchez , Mesut Ozil , Jack Wilshere and club captain Per Mertesacker – who are all out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

Olivier Giroud is also being tipped to go in the summer unless he gets more regular games, while Everton are interested and have made enquiries about winger Theo Walcott, whose contract expires in 2019.

The club also faces dilemmas over Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck, who are in the final two years of their contracts and Wenger will be desperate not to face the prospect of losing more big names running down their deals, according to the report in the Daily Mirror.

Sanchez looks certain to go, with PSG and Manchester City both said to readying January bids for the Chile star, who Arsenal are considering selling rather than losing him for nothing in the summer.

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Manchester United and Barcelona are both keen on Ozil, while Wilshere wants to stay but is desperate for more game time to try and boost his England World Cup hopes.

It leaves Arsenal facing a potentially huge rebuilding job, with Raul Sanllehi – who was poached from his role as director of football at Barcelona – due to start work officially on February 1.

Transfer fixer Dick Law will reportedly continue to oversee developments in the meantime.

As for players coming in, Wenger is said to be after a new central defender in January and will look to sign another in the summer, with the Mirror reporting that Mainz’s Abdou Diallo and Wolfsburg’s Ohis Felix Uduokhai  are among the names being scouted.

They Gunners are also still chasing Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, who is now a major Chelsea target, while Lyon’s Nabil Fekir is being tipped as a potential Ozil replacement.