Arsenal Summer Clear Out An Overstatement

Arsenal might not need a nine-player switch in the 2016 summer, and it’s unlikely to ever happen under Arsene Wenger. However, they need some new players.

Summer Clear-out? No.

Dead Weight? Yes.

Arsene Wenger has reportedly been given an ultimatum by the club’s board, and the alleged demand from the board members is to spend big on star players.

We know that this can’t be exactly what was said in some kind of meeting between board and manager. But if it’s true that Wenger has really been told to cash out in the summer of 2016 it is unequivocally clear that there are players who need to go.

The first piece of dead weight in the squad is that of Mathieu Flamini, who undoubtedly needs to be replaced by a bigger player if Arsenal want to be serious about their title challenge. The “defensive midfielder” is far from where he needs to be defensively in order to compete in the Premier League. His lackluster ability spreads fear in his teammates when he is on the field.

Flamini is a unique case in the Arsenal squad, though. There are older players, as well as players who shouldn’t be in a title-challenging squad, but he is both – and undoubtedly the first necessary departure.

Taking a step back and looking at the rest of the team, there is room for player exchanges elsewhere. If Per Mertesacker remains one of the three (not four, which is, in my opinion, the lowest number required for adequate rotation in multiple competitions) center backs that Wenger uses most, the same things are sure to happen over and over again.

Regardless of whether one cashes out on big-money signings that will add to the flair and creativity of Arsenal’s play, there’s no surmounting the fact that even the players who are considered a part of Arsenal’s identity need to be moved on.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

You can get injured as many times as you like, Jack Wilshere, it doesn’t change the fact that you haven’t consistently produced for your club in over three years while you collect tens of thousands of pounds every week.

The Englishman makes up part of Arsenal’s home-grown troupe that they must register every year for the Premier League and the Champions League. But, is it crazy to think that selling Wilshere to a club like Stoke or Southampton for eight or nine million pounds is a good idea?

Thanks to Arsenal’s seemingly stagnant youth academy, replacements for “home-grown” players will have to come from other clubs. This means that selling someone like Wilshere is a move Wenger would be hesitant to make.

But it’s not the worst idea in the world. Aaron Ramsey is another player that the Gunners could cash in on, Olivier Giroud is another and Wojciech Szczezny, if he stays with the club, is another.

Arsene Wenger intentionally tries to keep his players that he has chosen at the club in an effort to make them title winners, to develop them. But, if they are time and time again coming up short, and they are worth plenty of money – like Aaron Ramsey is – why not be a lucrative businessman and exchange him for newer options?

Next: Joel Campbell Turning Into A Blight

It’s not like any part of the Arsenal team is so tactically sound, or so solid, that it shouldn’t be replaced or tweaked a little.

It really seems like this club needs a new influx of players, and that influx needs to be replacing some dead weight.

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