Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal firesale now underway after friendly win; gives William Saliba update

Mikel Arteta admits that an Arsenal firesale will now begin as he looks to trim his bloated Gunners squad this summer.

The north London giants are currently in America on their pre-season tour, with new boys Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko both present as Arteta’s men beat Orlando City 3-1 overnight.

Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring after just five minutes. Second-half goals from Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson then secured the win.

But speaking after the game, Arteta admitted that needs to free up more space in his squad.

He said: “We have to. We have a big squad and now we have to make things happen.

“We have to make some decisions on the players that we’re not going to be using consistently and be fair with them.

“That’s a process that is going to start very soon.”

The Sun revealed earlier this month that seven players were on the chopping block at The Emirates.

Nicolas Pepe, Bernd Leno, Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Pablo Mari, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson were the players mentioned.

Fulham have shown strong interest in Leno, although Arsenal have already rejected an opening £10m offer for the German.

Saliba finally set for Arsenal chance

But one player who does not look like he will be leaving is defender William Saliba.

Arteta admitted he is thrilled to have the centre-back back in his squad after three loan spells away.

Saliba came off the bench in the win over Orlando, replacing Rob Holding after 59 minutes, and Arteta revealed the plan for the 21-year-old going forward.

He said: “We always have a plan and when we have to execute it, that’s a different story and football is a really funny game.

“We are really happy to have him and you can see the way he’s adapted, the way he’s matured. He’s playing well and we are delighted to have him.”

Those comments appear to suggest that Arteta is finally ready to trust Saliba and use him this season.

The Gunners will have a busy campaign, with European football back on the agenda. To that end, Saliba will be a useful option to use along with Ben White, Gabriel and Holding.

As for the Gunners, they are back in action this weekend when they face Chelsea in Orlando.

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