There are three things which are inevitable in life – death, taxes and players leaving Arsenal.
Thankfully this time round, players leaving the club could actually benefit Arsenal. After what has been an incredible season, Mikel Arteta has given the board all the reason in the world to trust in his vision. Therefore, a summer rebuild is about to pop off. Who knows? He still may even cap that season off with a Premier League title (wishful thinking, I know).
The 11 players who could leave Arsenal in Mikel Arteta’s summer rebuild
In order to make room for some new summer signings, here are 11 players that I think could leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.
1. Albert Sambi Lokonga
This one seems like the most obvious choice.
Currently out on loan, Albert Sambi Lokonga hasn’t done much to convince Mikel Arteta that he can come back to North London and be a regular in his setup. Therefore, it looks likely that he’ll leave the Emirates Stadium this season.
The Top Flight recently reported that Mikel Arteta has a lot of trust in Sambi Lokonga, so I don’t think he’ll be sold. It’s likely that another loan move will follow this one, in what could be do or die for the midfielder.
Want to find out who the next player out of the Arsenal exit door could be? Click the button below to continue this slide.
2. Reiss Nelson
I know, I know.
Reiss Nelson will always have a place in my heart after that stunning last minute goal against Bournemouth. How times were sweet back then – when he netted that peach of a goal, we all thought that was the moment that Arsenal had won the league.
Nelson had his moment this season and indeed, he’s looked great when coming off the bench. But unfortunately for the Hale End graduate, that’s all he’s been given is moments from the bench.
As a player of his quality, you’d want to be getting more game time. Given his current contract situation too (it runs out this summer), this could be a quite ugly exit. Already, AC Milan have been offered the chance to sign him.
So, that’s a player going out on loan and a player leaving on a free deal. So far, not a penny earned. Could this change with the next player exit? Continue this slideshow by pressing the button below.
3. Folarin Balogun
Okay, now we’re talking. It’s about time Arsenal won back some cash from these departures.
I know it’s not nice to be viewed in this view, but selling Balogun is going to feel like free money. Think about it, he’s been out on loan, absolutely smashed it, and is coming back to a star-studded Arsenal team.
Mikel Arteta has no real benefit of keeping Balogun, since he’ll likely not make the starting eleven anyway. Therefore, selling him to a club in need could raise some invaluable funds and clear both space in the squad plus wages. This would be the ideal situation for all parties, since it means Balogun would progress in his career and it would enable the Gunners to invest.
Balogun is a great player but if it was the choice between him and Eddie Nketiah, I’m sure that Arteta would prefer to play Nketiah. Nketiah is on the cusp of first team football himself, so to part ways with him to make room for a loaned out player doesn’t make much sense.
There’s another long-serving player on the cusp of first team football who could easily be sold to make some invaluable funds. Who could that be? Find out below.
4. Kieran Tierney
News had broke on The Top Flight just recently that Kieran Tierney might join Arsenal’s league rivals Manchester City. This would be the worst way for him to go but fortunately for fans, the Scotsman seems to value morality in football so shouldn’t sign for a club who have bought and cheated their way to success.
But, the reality is, he will leave. No matter his next destination, he likely won’t be playing for Arsenal next season.
Tierney is a player who has my ultimate respect for never kicking up a fuss about game time but he does deserve much more than he’s given at this point in time. Granted, injuries haven’t helped him but pushing to pick up minutes isn’t what he expected when he first signed from Celtic.
Unfortunately for him, it’s a big hill to climb with Alex Zinchenko the starting left-back. Therefore, his best bet is to find a new club.
5. Ainsley Maitland-Niles
When he first burst onto the scene under Arsene Wenger, many including myself thought that Ainsley Maitland-Niles was the next best thing. I remember thinking to myself, if I was that composed at that age then maybe I wouldn’t have flopped my exams as hard as I did.
Maitland-Niles is calmness personified. Unfortunately, though, he’s been calm enough to push for the success he could’ve had at this stage in his career. Granted, he’s still a great player and he could benefit Arsenal if Mikel Arteta came up with a development plan but it’s probably a wiser choice to sell him and generate some much-needed transfer funds.
The 25-year-old is currently on loan at Southampton who is likely to be relegated. It would be unfair to say this is his level as he’s capable of better, but to be entering the prime stages of your career at a relegation-battling side when you made your senior debut in a Champions League match is quite bleak.
6. Nicolas Pepe
Bet you forgot Nicolas Pepe was still an Arsenal player, didn’t you? Well, he is.
Currently out on loan at Nice, he’s had a frustrating season. Although he has picked up a lot of appearances, a good portion of those have come from the bench. Furthermore, he’s provided nothing more than an average goal and assist return, with six league goals and one assist.
This is exactly why Arsenal sent him out on loan, so he could improve his end product. This is always what frustrated fans about Pepe. While he looks incredible with the ball at his feet and there aren’t many who can dribble better than he can, unfortunately his abilities end there.
Nicolas Pepe is still the most expensive signing Arsenal have ever made. Unfortunately, I think not even the best salesman in the world could return the £72m investment the club made in Pepe in 2019.
Sometimes in business, decisions don’t work. You have to learn from them. Thankfully, Arsenal have a better recruitment team in 2023 so mistakes like signing Pepe for £72m, just for him to return one FA Cup, won’t be made again.
7. Cedric Soares
Meh.
I think that’s the only word I can use to describe Cedric Soares’ career at Arsenal.
The most memorable thought I have when thinking of his time at the Emirates Stadium is watching how hard he worked during the Covid lockdown. I thought he’d return to action a different beast but I was wrong.
Instead, he’s been sent out on loan to Fulham, starting just twice for them and coming off the bench four times. When you can’t even get minutes at your loaned club, then the parent club who loaned you out seriously needs to reconsider your future.
And for Arsenal and Cedric, there’s only one answer to that reconsideration. Cedric must be sold, while he still has a little bit of value.
Cedric’s contract at the Emirates Stadium expires in the summer of 2024, so there really isn’t any point loaning him again or trying to extend his contract. He doesn’t fit into Arteta’s long-term plans, so I’d expect Arsenal to make a loss by selling him this summer.
8. Rob Holding
I like Rob Holding. I like the role he has in the squad and that he can be brought on to shut down a game whereby Arsenal have the lead. But, in truth, any player can perform this role. It’s how you play when you start the match which is what defines a player.
Arsenal fans and Mikel Arteta have had a glimpse of what Holding can offer when he’s included in the starting eleven. With the injury to William Saliba at the tail-end of this season, Holding was given successive game time and impressed to start with.
However, he’s not impressed in the slightest and actually done quite the opposite. He played woefully in the most important match of the season, away at Manchester City. Since then, he’s returned to the bench and been replaced by the January signing Jakub Kiwior, who looks much better.
Arsenal need to dispose of the players with no drive and instead, sign rotational players who are good enough to compete for the starting eleven.
9. Nuno Tavares
Nuno Tavares is another player who was signed with big expectation but unfortunately has flopped.
He was sent out on loan to Marseille and, in fairness, has had a pretty good loan spell. At the start of this season, if you would have told any Arsenal fan that Tavares would go out on loan to Ligue1 and return with 6 goals, they’d have walked away in disbelief. But that’s the return he’s bagged.
Although, I don’t think this overachievement will be enough to sway Arteta. I speak a lot about his long-term plan because that’s exactly what he’s implementing. Moving from fifth last season to second or potentially even first this season, he’ll want to fight for the title again next season. Unfortunately, Tavares isn’t the type of player you want in a title-contending team.
Tavares faces the same fate as Cedric Soares, since he returns from loan with only a season left on his current contract. It’ll be considered, but the board won’t want to extend either player’s contract and instead will sell for a reduced fee.
10. Pablo Mari
On paper, you would expect Pablo Mari to remain an Arsenal player next season. After all, he has impressed out on loan, making 27 Serie A appearances for AC Monza.
Furthermore, Arsenal are in dire need of centre back reinforcements, given the injury troubles to William Saliba and how costly this has been for them. Particularly when you consider the potential sale of Rob Holding, it doesn’t make sense for the club to lose another centre back given their position, right?
Wrong. Arsenal has to be cruel to be kind. This is a summer RE-build. And I must emphasise the “re”.
Mari isn’t good enough to be an Arsenal player. It’s a shame because there was a lot of hype when he first signed. Having played for Manchester City previously, many thought he’d bring a winning attitude. But he now ages at 29 years old and is too old to develop further. The best thing for Arsenal to do is to let Mari go.
11. Alex Runarsson
Last and certainly least is Alex Runarsson.
Runarsson is 28 years old and has just one league appearance, which he only got because Bernd Leno was sent off and Runarsson was lucky enough to be on the bench. That appearance was an away defeat to Wolves, by the way.
And, in fairness, his current loan spell isn’t going too great either. Currently on loan at Alanyaspor, the Icelandic goalkeeper has conceded 51 goals in 28 appearances. That’s not good enough.
In the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium, he has no chance of getting in. Aaron Ramsdale is the clear number one and Matt Turner is the strong number two. Therefore, it’s unlikely Runarsson would get any minutes in the upcoming season and with his contract expiring in 2024, Arsenal must be cruel to be kind by selling him to a club where he’d get more minutes.