Six Arsenal players to be axed to fund £150m summer spree

Arsenal will look at shifting on no fewer than six players in the summer in order to raise approximately £150 million to allow Mikel Arteta to undertake a squad overhaul.

The Gunners have experienced a turbulent 2019-20 campaign, with former boss Unai Emery replaced by fellow Spaniard Mikel Arteta in late December.

While that decision appears to have quelled the discontent among some sections of the Emirates fanbase, results on the field have produced little improvement.

The Gunners have won just one match from their eight league encounters since Arteta’s arrival, with that solo victory coming at home to Manchester United via a two-nil scoreline.

Many foresee the Gunners’ squad undergoing major surgery in the summer, but the question remains of how Arsenal will raise the funds to finance such a large overhaul.

Now, a report from online publication Football London has outlined the six Arsenal stars that are likely to be axed to provide Arteta with the necessary funds.

Centre-halves Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi are touted as two probable departures, with the arrival of William Saliba and potential permanent transfer of Pablo Mari expected to render the former duo surplus to requirements.

With Kieran Tierney and the emerging Bukayo Saka on the books, Football London state a sale for Bosnian Saed Kolasinac would ‘not be surprising in the slightest.’

Midfielders Mohamed Elneny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are currently both out on loan, indicating their departures could be sanctioned if suitors can be found, but the bulk of the funds would be raised by the controversial sale of star centre-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabon superstar has been a shining light for the Gunners in recent times, but with just 18 months remaining on his current deal and no extension in sight, a sale remains a possibility with Barcelona noted admirers.

Gunners Head of Football Raul Sanllehi has ‘previously warned that players will not be allowed to leave the club for free,’ in the manner of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey.

The article states that ‘it looks likely that the Gunners will cash in on their prized asset to fund a replacement, rather than lose him for nothing.’

The exits of all six would provide a combined figure of around ‘£148.87million’ based on current valuations.

Meanwhile, Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos has explained his decision behind choosing the Gunners over Liverpool for his loan switch from Real Madrid in the summer.