Arsenal: The only three veterans this club needs to keep

Arsenal has built up a wealth of older, stopgap personnel choices, but as the future moves forward, it’s time to cut loose. Here are the only 3 they need.

Arsenal is a definitely a club in transition, and part of that transition is getting younger. Through the post-Arsene Wenger phase, they’ve had to load up on an unfortunate amount of older, past-their-prime guys, as well as keeping hold of players who they would otherwise have liked to offload for more longterm options.

But with Mikel Arteta in charge and a fresh dollop of young superstars coming up the ranks, it’s time to cut loose the old guard, no matter the cost, in order to allow that new guard to have their run at the Premier League.

That doesn’t mean we should lose all our veterans, though. Leadership is crucial when a club is getting younger, and Arsenal will definitely need some experienced guys to guide the next generation.

Arsenal only need to keep 3 veterans, and these are those three

They just don’t need them all. In fact, they can sell all of them… except three. Here are the only three veterans that the Gunners need to keep hold of. We start with No. 3.

3. David Luiz

It’s pretty much already established that David Luiz is staying for another year. He came to Arsenal in a dubious move as just another old, stopgap, past-his-prime guy, but in his short time here, he has become so much more. He’s become a general on the pitch, he’s commandeered this defense and proven to be a much better defender than we ever remember him being for Chelsea in the past.

This defense, in particular, is getting a lot younger and a lot newer. William Saliba is coming in, Calum Chambers is ready to step up, and chances are the Gunners are going to add another long-term solution along the lines of Axel Disasi, but in the meantime, Luiz is here to shepherd the club into their next defensive era. And I don’t think anyone else is better suited for the job.

Luiz has talked a lot about how much he hopes to accomplish here at the Emirates and, even if he doesn’t accomplish it in the immediate future, his impact will be seen for years to come.

On to No. 2.