Arsenal are working on at least seven more first team exits before the summer transfer window closes on September 1.
The Gunners have been very active in the transfer market so far. Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and David Raya have all arrived for a combined total of upwards of £200million.
When it comes to the departure lounge though things have been relatively quieter. Granit Xhaka left to join Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of up to €25million, while Pablo Mari, Auston Trusty and Matt Turner have all left permanently, while Runar Alex Runarsson and Marquinhos have headed off on loan for the season. The Gunners have also received around £2million in the form of a sell on fee after Konstantinos Mavropanos’ move to West Ham from Stuttgart.
Despite that though Arsenal retain a bloated first team squad of 32 players. Mikel Arteta has already described this number as “unsustainable” and there have been training exercises where players have had to be left out due to the size of the group. The Gunners are trying to address this and sources within the club have indicated that they are keen to avoid a similar situation to Chelsea last season where the Blues’ inflated squad size created issues for their four different managers.
Thus far though finding exit paths for several fringe players who are not part of Arteta’s plans has proved difficult. The Spaniard has regularly insisted that Kieran Tierney is still a part of his plans across the course of this summer, but football.london understands that Arsenal are open to offers for him. The Scottish international has been omitted from both of Arsenal’s Premier League matchday squads this season and is keen to secure regular game time elsewhere. Newcastle were among the interested sides, but they have since pivoted to signing Lewis Hall from Chelsea. Real Sociedad remain another possible destination for Tierney although the Spanish side would only look to take him on loan. Edu is working hard to ensure that any possible loan deals include an obligation to buy at the end of them, but the club stance is that permanent deals remain preferable.
It’s a similar case for Albert Sambi Lokonga. The Belgian international is of interest to Brighton who would like to take him on loan. Once again Arsenal would prefer a permanent exit for the former Anderlecht man if possible although at time of writing interest from Burnley seems to have cooled.
The Gunners are also open to offers for Rob Holding. The 27-year-old has just one year left on his current contract although Arsenal do have the option to extend it by a further 12 months. Holding is another who is yet to make a matchday squad this season. The former Bolton defender was subject of a £2million bid from Besiktas earlier in the summer and as of yet the Turkish side are yet to return with any formal approach.
Besiktas are also interested in Nicolas Pepe if a contract termination agreement can be reached. The Ivorian is back training at London Colney after being absent from training thus far to recover from a knee injury. He has just 12 months remaining on his contract. The same is the case of Cedric Soares who has been training all summer. At time of writing though, there have been no approaches made for the Portuguese international.
Nuno Tavares is a player who Arsenal would also like to secure an exit for. The player has attracted interest from Germany, but his preference has always been to stay in the Premier League. Nottingham Forest showed an interest in signing him, but that appears to have cooled for now. West Ham are also thought to be keen on the 22-year-old, but no formal approach has been made. Aston Villa would be interested in taking Tavares on loan for the season, but once again, Arsenal’s preference would be to secure a permanent exit if possible.
Folarin Balogun is another who is expected leave before the end of the window. The player has no desire to go on loan again after impressing during a 12 month stint in Ligue 1 last season. Arsenal are braced for a bidding war for the American international who has interest from a host of Premier League clubs and Monaco.
Should the Gunners be able to secure these exits there remains a possibility that they could dip back into the transfer market to secure a fifth incoming. At time of writing though, football.london understands that none of these deals are close to being finalised.
