Unai Emery’s fantastic start to his Arsenal career has now hit a major bump in the road to what could have been a very successful season. Even after a few transfer signings in the start of the season, Arsenal are still finishing in the Europa League spot.
With Arsenal placed fifth in the Premier League and already out of the FA Cup and the League cup, the Europa League might be the Gunners only shot at a trophy this season. However, for that to happen, the London side must overcome a 1-0 deficit against Bate when they host the latter on Thursday.
Lack of signings and injury to key players have been the two major reasons behind Emery’s hardships in his first season at Arsenal.
It is evident that the squad needs proper reinforcements and for that, the Spaniard must be allowed to break the bank.
Ramsey leaving on a free transfer and players like Cech and Welbeck reaching the end of their contracts will ease the pressure on Arsenals purse in terms of wages but will lead to huge losses when it comes to potential transfer fees.
Had Arsenal decided to sell these players a while earlier, the club could have gained some much-needed cash to fund Unai Emery’s transfer budget. However, all is not lost. Let’s take a look at the player the club can cash in on in the summer transfer window.
David Ospina
Currently on loan at Napoli, the Colombian international could be one of the players Arsenal decides to sell in the summer transfer window.
With Bernd Leno, clearly the first choice goalkeeper this season and probably remaining so in the years to come, there is very little chance for Ospina to return back as the first choice keeper.
Even though Cech is off in the summer, its highly doubtful how attractive a player of Ospina’s calibre will find playing second fiddle to a 26-year-old keeper.
This leaves very little game time for David Ospina, who will either have to satisfy himself as a backup goalkeeper or look elsewhere for starting position.
Mohamed Elneny
The Egypt international was expected to leave the club in January. That never materialised, though.
Yet we could still see the 26-year-old leave London once the transfer window opens. With only 4 Premier League appearances to his name this season, Elneny has been at the end of the pecking order and it seems highly unlikely to change any time soon.
Arsenal may very well try to bring in some cash in exchange of the midfielder, who himself wishes to leave in search of regular first-team action.
Mesut Ozil
Unai Emery has made it very clear that Ozil is not a part of his plans for Arsenal. The ex-Real Madrid midfielder has made only 14 appearances in the Premier League this season, with Unai Emery choosing to leave out the World Cup winner from most of their important matches and some unimportant ones also.
Rumours of a deteriorating relationship between the manager and the player have been constantly in the new. As such, letting Ozil go may be the best for both parties.
Arsene Wenger reckons Mesut Ozil has been in a "comfort zone" at Arsenal. https://t.co/mxx9uh5FNW pic.twitter.com/n1BN1MCyi5
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) February 19, 2019
Stephan Lichtsteiner
The 35-year-old joined Arsenal on a free transfer from Juventus. He has, however, failed to make a mark for himself in the Premier League at the twilight of his career.
The Swiss international has been in terrible form and in the absence of Hector Bellerin, the former has looked out of place in the right full-back position.
His lack of form has led Unai Emery to field Maitland-Niles in the full-back position ahead of the more experienced Lichtsteiner, despite his availability.
Lichtsteiner will most likely be sold as soon as the transfer window opens, and whatever money comes from his sale will be added to Emery’s transfer budget.
Stephan Lichtsteiner voted Arsenal's second-worst defensive signing in the last 20 years https://t.co/p05Y1HbdHp pic.twitter.com/fApBsmX5gm
— Sun Sport (@SunSport) February 4, 2019
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenian has failed to reproduce his Dortmund form and talent in the Premier League.
His disappointing days at Manchester United where limited to just two seasons and his days at the Emirates Stadium may be numbered as well.
Though he has been a regular in his Spanish Boss’s team whenever fit, he has struggled to produce his best performances consistently and that has been a major cause of concern for the manager and the fans alike.
His sale may fetch Arsenal something in the region of £ 20-30 million which Arsenal can actually look to invest in other areas where they desperately need some reinforcement and investments.
