Arsenal: 6 defensive players in line for summer departures

Arsenal have closed their transfer business for another season with a dramatic yet underwhelming January window passing them by.

The rest of the season will be contested by a streamlined squad that maintains the sole goal of returning to the Premier League top four. A rebuild in the works since the moment that Mikel Arteta walked through the doors rumbles on.

Letting go six members of the first team was a welcome move.

These were a combination of players whose impact on the season so far was minimal at best. In the case of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang he still accrued a fair amount of minutes, but it was clear his time was up from the beginning of December onwards.

Arsenal: 6 defenders and goalkeepers who look set to leave Mikel Arteta’s side in the summer transfer window

Joining him were Calum Chambers, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari, Sead Kolasinac and Folarin Balogun, all leaving on a variety of deals from permanent, to contract terminations, to loans. More are expected.

If it was felt that the previous summer was hectic, the upcoming one is in line to be even more so. Within this squad there are still a great number of players whose futures appear to away from north London, many who may already have played their final matches for the club.

Looking across the group, from a goalkeeping and defensive standpoint there are six names who may be preparing for their final few months as Arsenal players.

1. Bernd Leno

One of the more inevitable departures is Bernd Leno, who has endured his most frustrating season in north London to date.

When he first arrived he had to bide his time behind Petr Cech, and upon Aaron Ramsdale’s signing it was felt that a similar situation may play out again. Instead, it took only three Premier League matches for him to lose his place in goal.

Hotly tipped for a move away in January following the news of interest in Matt Turner and subsequent interest in Leno from Newcastle, when it was revealed that the American wouldn’t arrive until the summer the move was shelved until a later date.

Nonetheless, Leno is destined for pastures new at the end of the season when he has one final year left on his contract, by which point a return to the Bundesliga looks like his most likely destination.

Estimated fee: £6m

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