Arsenal: 5 players facing dangerous transfer positions

Arsenal and their ‘unprecedented’ transfer window has yet to shift from underwhelming to mediocre. Three players have walked through the doors, one on a club-record fee for a defender, with the outgoings capable of being counted on one hand.

Joe Willock will be the first major sale of the summer. An outstanding deal by all accounts and the best indicator yet that he elusive creative midfielder the club are in dire need of is going to happen. Whomever that may be.

As for other departures, the now well-known mitigation of (deep breath) having bang average footballers on large wages struggling to be sold by a club who doesn’t want them yet has finished eighth in consecutive seasons is heavily trodden ground. It’s frighteningly difficult.

The days of seeing players depart north London on free transfers or for fees well below their value is not over. More will come. Those infamous lines of Raul Sanllehi three years ago have yet to ring true:

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5 players facing dangerous transfer positions as Arsenal need to sanction sales for those with contracts running out in 2022

"“We need to make sure that those players, when they’ve got two years left on their contract, we’re making the difficult decisions. We’re either renewing those players’ contracts, or we’re selling those players.”"

Constant chopping and changing upstairs hasn’t helped, and the dream final hurdle of seeing such scenarios come to an end is sadly not quite in sight. Before such a policy – which is nothing revolutionary – can start to take effect at Arsenal there will need to be more sacrifices.

Selling in this window with what Arsenal have is a recipe for disappointment, especially given its knock-on effect for incomings. We’re not out of the woods yet.

As more clubs continue to spend large percentages of their revenues on player wages there will doubtlessly be more stars who play out their deals. But for Arsenal, the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the current deadwood and unwanted stars may be another window or two away.

Indeed, there are five players on the books who if nothing is agreed come September 1, may well depart for nothing at all. They’ve all got a year left to run. This is dangerous territory.

1. Sead Kolasinac

Signed: 2017
Fee: Bosman free transfer

This is one that seemed almost certain to result in the Gunners paying him to leave, as Sead Kolasinac has less than a year to run on a contract that won’t be filed in the cabinet come August 31 and instead will be a welcome addition to the shredder.

Fenerbahce are pushing to sign him but are refusing to pay Arsenal a fee for him, with those developments coming courtesy of Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur.

Talks are said to be progressing slowly as the Bosnian wants his £5.2m salary paid to him by Arsenal in order to move on to Mesut Ozil’s current club where he is in line for what is sure to be a lucrative contract.

Yet while it felt certain that the only way Arsenal would receive a fee for him would be if he changed his name to Sead Kolevin De Bruyne, there is some hope given contrasting views from football.london.

Lazio and Fenerbahce both want him and are eyeing permanent sales this summer which, and it doesn’t need mentioning, is the news we’re going to cross our fingers is the accurate one.

Some light at the end of the tunnel? Perhaps so. Arsenal would take £5 over a £5m payout.