Arsenal: The 5 senior players who want summer transfer exit

Arsenal are in the midst of a mist. A cloud of uncertainty with some trying to scramble their way back to base and others looking for an exit route. Those guiding them are struggling to either have their voices heard or are being actively ignored. This summer means everything for the club.

Anyone under the illusion that the situation isn’t as dire as it is must come to terms with the reality. It’s human instinct to look for reassurance in such troubling times but sometimes the truth can be toughest to swallow.

Wholesale changes will take place in the playing squad after years of reshuffling higher up, the one place right now that looks like being untouched as the summer draws near.

Whether it should see further alterations is irrelevant as the inexperienced heads leading this revamp don’t look like being removed or replaced, with the mistakes made thus far hoped to be learned upon fast enough to embark on a clear and effective squad-rebuild.

Arsenal: The 5 senior players who want summer transfer exit as Mikel Arteta prepares for hectic squad rebuild

Those absolved from blame and being instilled as the foundation for where the team will be built around are clear: the Hale End core and a selection of recent additions.

Then there is the senior group, the only certified ‘leaders’ in the dressing room.

Many of the senior side were axed in January with the disruptive trio of Sead Kolasinac, Shkodran Mustafi and Mesut Ozil being allowed (forced?) to leave, leaving a select few to be the backbone for the season.

This diabolical campaign has done little to lift the mood, instead plunging it deeper into doubt, and The Athletic report that five of the current senior core want out this summer. Some of whom helped oversee the current plight themselves.

Finance will guide outgoing decisions with potential cash injections and wages removed from the salary bill largely dictating what can be done in regards to additions. Of course, selling these players in the first place will be excruciatingly hard.

So, who wants out?

David Luiz

A fairly simple one to execute.

David Luiz’s second season in north London is drawing to a close and given his recent hamstring injury, the Brazilian may have already played his final game for the club. Penning him down on another year-long deal for the current campaign was a move largely lambasted by supporters, who’d grown tired of the irregularities of his performances.

Clangers and red cards were only marginally offset by occasional dominating displays, yet this season it’s hard to argue against him being the side’s best central defender overall.

His skillset is unmatched across the squad but at 34 years old he constitutes the kind of deal Arsenal should no longer be pursuing. With no European football next season and William Saliba to return from his loan in Nice, the reasons for Luiz being given another contract grow thinner. Had another season of Europe been secured the argument would be stronger.

However, where the issue lies is with his leadership. A loved member of the squad by all in it, his guidance and experience have made him highly regarded in the group. With Arsenal criticised for a lack of leaders, losing another ensures more must be brought in.