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Arsenal have reportedly decided to sell six players this summer.
As per The Standard, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Bernd Leno, Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Nicolas Pepe, and Pablo Mari could all leave the Emirates this summer.
Maitland-Niles, Bellerin, Torreira, and Mari were all out on loan last season. Barring Maitlans-Niles' poor outing at AS Roma, the other three performed well at Real Betis, Fiorentina, and Udinese respectively.
Back in north London, Leno was deprived of game time due to the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale. However, the German shotstopper did impress on the few occasions when he was asked to stand between the posts for Mikel Arteta's team.
Nicolas Pepe was also largely on the fringes and endured another underwhelming campaign. The Ivorian has flattered to deceive since arriving for a club-record fee (£72 million) in 2019.
With the Gunners making a wave of new signings this summer, these six players leaving could help the team reshuffle the squad going into the new season.
Arsenal's smooth transfer operations have impressed Alan Smith
Arsenal have made a bright start to the summer window after a disappointing end to last season. Despite being in a prime position to finish fourth, the Gunners failed to win some crucial games in the last few game weeks in the Premier League.
It led to Arteta's side missing out on the UEFA Champions League as squad depth was discussed as a serious issue. The Spanish tactician and technical director Edu have addressed that concern and have made some bright signings this summer.
They have brought in Marquinhos from Sao Paulo, Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, Fabio Vieira from Porto and Matt Turner from New England Revolution.
Praising the Gunners' transfer activity, former Arsenal forward Alan Smith told 888 Sport (via Standard):
“They have a smooth operation. It was a mess for Arsenal at one stage, highlighted by the signing on Nicolas Pepe. There has been a turnover of personnel. Now, Edu is on the same page as Mikel Arteta and they think along the same lines in terms of players with is vital.”
He added:
“You need your technical director and manager to work closely together. They have done some business early but I am sure they still want to do some more. You want as many in as possible for pre-season but they don’t feel they have finished just yet. They need a bigger and better squad.”
There could be more arrivals at the Emirates as the club have been linked with Youri Tielemans and Lucas Paqueta, among others.
