Arsenal: 7 upcoming transfer sales that need to happen

Arsenal are watching the fruits of their labour flourish before their very eyes. Finishing the win over Tottenham with all six of their summer signings on the pitch, as had been the case in the previous outing with Burnley, added to the joy of an already warming afternoon.

The summer transfer window was a pivotal one for Arsenal as a club.

Every time you felt there you’d grasped the severity of the task and the substantial amount of work there was to undertake, another player sale or contract situation would be coughed up to illicit a shriek.

Boasting an obscene amount of deadwood, having crucial contract renewals to sort and and then needing to lift the quality of the squad with key signings all centred around a specific framework with unique profiles in mind was an almighty ask.

7 upcoming transfer sales for Arsenal that need to happen either in the January transfer window or at the end of the season

Arsenal didn’t complete all of their work. They were never going to. What they did do was sign six exciting young talents with a crystal clear strategy in mind who so far have exceeded many expectation following their arrivals.

Far too soon to be deeming them individual successes, the early signs are about as good as they could have been and bode well for the future.

What is to come next? More arrivals, of course, coupled with an extension of the clearing out that has been ongoing almost since the minute Mikel Arteta stepped through the door.

The work is not yet complete and in the squad presently are a group of players who if they were already drifting away from the rest of the group and now more than expendable following the latest arrivals. They’re next to go. Will they all happen at once? No, but they should, and will, at some point.

1. Calum Chambers

On the one hand Chambers is still fighting for his place in the Arsenal team after falling to third in the pecking order after wrestling his way past two others to the number one slot last season, but in either case it’s become clear that he is not anywhere near the level new boy Takehiro Tomiyasu has already reached.

Imperious so far in his short time at the club, Chambers had the chance to prove to his manager that he could be the starting right-back/right centre-back in this team in the opening weeks of the season, failing miserably as he put in some of his worst displays to date.

Now backup to Cedric in the Carabao Cup and not even a squad option on Premier League match days, it appears his days are numbered.

There is the option to extend his contract by another year which the club will surely take up, but that will be solely on the basis of protecting his value.

He’s been a good servant at Arsenal, it’s just time to move on.

Continued…

2. Bernd Leno

Aaron Ramsdale was brought in with the idea of overtaking Bernd Leno in the starting lineup. That was always the plan. No £30m fee was ever going to be parted with for someone to warm the bench.

What was surprising was how quickly the turnover happened, particularly since Leno was not the main culprit in the torrid start to the season. Due to leave in the coming summer anyway when he has just one year left on his deal, that might now come even sooner based on his most recent comments:

"“There was no clear reason why I was out, but it had nothing to do with my performance. He [Arteta] is the trainer, he decides. Of course, it’s difficult for me,” Leno told SPORTBILD. “London is very nice; Milan is not bad either & closer to my home Stuttgart. But I’m not seriously thinking about that yet. I feel comfortable at Arsenal & in London. Only if nothing changes in my situation by winter would I have to think about things.”"

Ramsdale’s response to earning his place in the side was a declaration to fight Leno for his jersey. Leno’s is to talk about different cities. Nothing in his situation will have changed by the winter.

January is a very awkward time to move Leno on given another keeper will be needed, but he’s gone either way.

Continued…

3. Rob Holding

Is there scope for Rob Holding to stay on at Arsenal and perennially be a fourth choice central defender? Potentially, yes. But if the Gunners realise their goals and return to European action then there will have to be more assured defenders in the team who preferably know how to kick the football.

Backs against the walls stuff works fine for Holding. He’s a very serviceable low block defender. When it comes to dealing with matters going forward instead of things coming down from the sky or being flung in from the sides is where he comes up short.

Still tied down until 2024 with the option of extending that for a further 12 months, Arsenal have a homegrown central defender at a good age that would certainly be of interest to clubs across he country. He could fetch a decent fee.

If he were to leave in the coming summer window, which is preferred as he is clearly way off the quality of those ahead of him, then the best part is that he needn’t be replaced externally: William Saliba returns and Arsenal are better off than they were with a defender more suited to the system and tactical approach the manager wants.

Capable of putting in the occasional 8/10 and rarely dropping below a 6/10, there is wiggle room for improvement in this area. Holding is expendable.

Continued…

4. Cedric Soares

Seems like a lovely bloke. Probably is a lovely bloke.

None of which covers up how poor he is. Cedric has had his moments at Arsenal – he did score on his debut – with the odd decent outing at both full-backs slots, he just is not at the level this team and this defence needs to be to have a competitive squad capable of challenging on multiple fronts.

Signing Nuno Tavares last summer was a welcome move to bolster the ranks, not with someone looking for their last big contract courtesy of an agent with connections, and instead with someone fitting the profile who has the hunger to continue improving and take his chances when he can.

Arsenal need a right-footed Tavares, essentially.

Cedric has another three and a half years on his deal and while his annoyingly healthy salary might be tough to shift he is someone who if any amount of money is bid for in the coming summer has to be moved on. Arsenal have to get better across the pitch. They won’t with Cedric.

Continued…

5. Pablo Mari

Pablo Mari was never excellent. What he did do to his credit was come into an Arsenal side where Gabriel had struggled and brought a calmness and leadership. His pairing with Holding had its moments albeit against weaker opposition, with many even claiming that Mari should have kept his place over Gabriel.

This season has come around and he has been dreadful. There is no sugar coating it, against Brentford and Chelsea he was so off the pace that he was still playing in the 2020 League One play-offs.

Bullied, sluggish and positionally unaware, his displays were so shocking that Arteta even fielded Sead Kolsinac in his stead for the trip to Manchester City. When Sead Kolasinac is playing ahead of you at centre-half you best wake up and smell the roses.

Mari also has a deal running until 2024 and come next summer he is another player who could be moved on with an internal solution ready and waiting. Saliba is more than capable of playing at left centre-back even if it’s not his best position, although Arteta’s insistence on having that balance could work against him.

The Spaniard is one to be moved on and ‘Levante for £1m’ feels somewhat inevitable.

Continued…

6. Sead Kolasinac

Nowhere near Premier League matchday squads and not in the reckoning for domestic cup squads either, one of the bones to pick from the window just passed was the failure to move Sead Kolasinac on.

Whether that was down to him and his representatives trying to extract too big of a payout from Arsenal or not isn’t clear.

What is crystal clear is he has least important member of this entire squad. There are two left-backs ahead of him and you’d rather have Bukayo Saka drop back in there in which case he’s probably third in line. Heck, put Cedric, Tomiyasu or Gabriel there and make him sixth choice.

Already due to leave for free next June, a departure six months earlier than his contract expiry will undoubtedly be on the agenda. That is likely to come in the form of a cancellation/pay out although given he’s free to sign pre-contract agreement with a club overseas it may be that he just sees out his Arsenal days at London Colney.

January is obviously preferable.

Continued…

7. Mohamed Elneny

Last up on the list of odd ones out is Mohamed Elneny, who if reports were to be believed was extremely close to being sold to Turkey in the final stages of the summer window.

There was rumours of interest from Besiktas and Galatasaray and given he, like Kolasinac, can sort out a pre-contract agreement in January there is every chance he could do likewise in order to earn a bigger pay packet.

If he is to go in the winter window it would be under the proviso that another midfielder is brought in. It would already have been a risk to let him go without a replacement in the summer given the lack of depth in that area and after Granit Xhaka’s long-term injury Arsenal can be grateful they didn’t.

Midfield is joined by centre-forward in being the key areas to strengthen in the coming windows and Arteta and co will be having an eye on the winter period as a potential opportunity even if it’s never an easy window to navigate around.

Elneny being moved on for effectively nothing in January and replaced with a ready-to-go option would go down a treat with most.