Arsenal are looking at a firesale in their squad, as they offload huge names in a bid to trim the group
(Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal are set to move nine first-team players out the door, with the first seemingly ready for exit.
Manager Mikel Arteta recently told ESPN that, “Hopefully now it is going to pick up a little bit,” when discussing transfers, seemingly confirming that the Gunners' slow start to the market will ramp up as Euro 2024 winds down.
And as Arsenal welcome David Raya on a permanent deal and prepare to sign Riccardo Calafiori after seemingly agreeing a move, the next step is to move on some of the more unwanted members of the squad at London Colney.
Riccardo Calafiori looks set for Arsenal (Image credit: James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images)
Tuttosport in Italy says that the door is now open for Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior to leave the club for €15 million, given that Calafiori will be above him in the pecking order for the Gunners – and the deal for the Italian may have triggered a potential suitor moving for him.
Incoming Juventus manager, Thiago Motta, was said to be interested in bringing Calafiori with him to Turin from Bologna, but could settle for Kiwior, another of his former players from Spezia. At just €15m, the reported asking price is more than reasonable for potential buyers.
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FourFourTwo understands that the Polish defender's exit may be the first of a whopping nine that Arteta makes, as Arsenal look to close the gap on Manchester City. With Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu as Arteta's preferred left-backs, the futures of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney are both under threat.
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Tierney has told The Athletic he is likely to leave, while the same outlet have reported that Arsenal's reluctance to tie Zinchenko down beyond his contract expiry in two years' time indicates that he may not have a future in north London. Aaron Ramsdale, meanwhile, is in the same boat as Kiwior, having seen Raya sign following his loan spell last season – and now looks certain for an exit.
Aaron Ramsdale will surely be next out of the door (Image credit: Alamy)
This may have to come in the shape of a loan, however. With the England goalkeeper obviously unwanted by Arteta, Arsenal's hand has been weakened in any negotiations, and the valuation of £50m may be a little ambitious. Sporting director Edu Gaspar may prefer for Ramsdale to get first-team football elsewhere and protect his value, before selling him in a year's time.
In terms of homegrown stars, Arsenal may have a gold mine on their hands in the form of three Hale End academy products, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson. None of the trio featured consistently last campaign and all have been linked with moves away, with a potential £75m to be made from their sales.
Emile Smith Rowe is being linked with an exit (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
This would represent pure profit to the Gunners, too, to abide by the Premier League's much-maligned PSR rules, giving the club extra budget for signings to replace the attackers with. Nico Williams, Raphinha and Victor Osimhen have all been linked.
AS and ABC Sevilla, meanwhile, have both reported that Belgian midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga is set to move to Sevilla – while transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed in a video with JD Sports that Thomas Partey will leave this summer.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
