Four Arsenal Players who Might see the Exit Door in This Summer Window

Arsenal players summer exit, summer transfers 2022, Alexander Smith

Some Arsenal players will see the exit door in the summer transfer window as manager Mikel Arteta prepares for the 2022/23 season with lofty objectives to achieve. The Gunners fell at the final hurdle with injuries and inexperience taking a toll on the squad as they finished just outside the Champions League slots.

The 2021-22 season has been easy for manager Mikel Arteta in terms of fixture congestion with the team getting ample rest due to no European football. The Gunners certainly don’t have the squad depth to compete in four competitions next season and win a trophy. Injuries to Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu caused a huge drop in form against mid-table teams.

Arteta has had time to work with the squad and identify the weaknesses, but the Gunners need to invest in multiple areas heavily in this transfer window to ensure all this hard work doesn’t go to waste. Since the Spaniard arrived at the club, he has sought to fix Arsenal’s mistakes in recruitment by bringing in young players. The likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu were signed last summer and have become important players in the side.

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal, summer players exit — Image Obtained Via Football.london

Mikel Arteta signed a three-year contract extension with Arsenal football club last month. The deal keeps the Spaniard at the Emirates until the end of the 2024-25 season. Since taking over from Unai Emery, he has coached the side for 127 games and managed 72 wins and 20 draws which is impressive, considering it was a rebuild.

Josh Kroenke has told Arteta that he will support the club in the transfer market this summer. The Kroenke’s have been criticised for failing to supply enough funds in the past, but Josh says he trusts the Spanish manager to bring in the right players. The American believes Arteta’s strategy complements the players who are elevated through the youth academy, and it promotes a healthy culture at the club.

Before spending on the squad this summer, Arsenal need to clear out the fringe players with the likes of Pablo Mari and Hector Bellerin already looking to move through the exit door. Let us look at four players who have most likely played their last game for Arsenal on Sunday

1. Alexandre Lacazette

When Alexandre Lacazette arrived at Emirates from Lyon in 2017, he immediately became a fan favourite. He had an amazing 2018-19 season where he took the Gunners to the Europa League final and managed to get 32 goals in 49 appearances. After Aubameyang moved to Barcelona, the Frenchman was made captain for the rest of the season temporarily. With Lacazette’s departure, it is time for the Arteta to decide his future captain for many more years to come.

Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal summer players exit — Image Obtained via The Metro

This season, Lacazette has been plagued with multiple Covid diagnoses and a slump in form which saw him get benched despite having the captain’s armband. It will be a good time for him to leave on a positive note after five years of dedicated service. He has won the respect of the fans and the manager. but age seems to have gotten the better of him and he now looks unable to deal with the physicality of the Premier League.

From multiple Covid diagnoses and his swift elevation to the captaincy to a slump in form that has seen him benched for the last six consecutive matches in the Premier League, the veteran Frenchman embodies the emotional rollercoaster the fans have been taken on throughout the season. With significant financial disparities leaving contract talks in deadlock and impending changes up top, it now feels like an appropriate time for both parties to go their separate ways.

2. Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe has been one of the worst signings of this decade. The highly-rated winger moved from Lille for £72 million with the hopes that he would become the next Andrei Arshavin or Thierry Henry. It is safe to say Arsenal haven’t got the return on investment with the player having just 900 minutes of game-time this season (stats via Transfermarkt).

He has been mostly limited to substitute cameos and had a surge of form towards the end of the season which gives the manager hope going ahead. Pepe is not part of Arteta’s plans and has scored just one goal and an assist in 19 league matches this season. Reports emerged this week that he has hired a new agent to secure a move away to interested parties like Everton and put an end to his nightmare time in North London.

3. Bernd Leno

Since he arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018, Bernd Leno has been one of the most consistent players in the Arsenal rebuild. He has had a high save percentage and managed to keep clean sheets even with a leaky defence. He was a major reason for the club to make it to the Europa League final against Chelsea in Baku. However, Arteta felt it was time to upgrade on the 30-year old keeping the future in mind and brought in Aaron Ramsdale from Bournemouth.

Ramsdale has been a revelation, making eye-catching saves and playing out from the back, something which Leno couldn’t provide to the team consistently. The Gereman keeper leaves Emirates having achieved a second-place finish in Arsenal’s 2019 Player of the Season award and with multiple FA Cups under his belt. With the World Cup approaching this winter, Leno will need to get more playing time if he wants to secure a spot in the German squad and Arsenal will need to free up some funds to secure players in other areas on the pitch.

4. Granit Xhaka

If there was an award for passion and giving it all on the pitch, Granit Xhaka would be winning it every season. The Swiss international has been largely inconsistent, giving world-class performances on one day and giving a disaster class the next game.

Xhaka has proven himself unreliable in big games; making unnecessary, dangerous tackles and accumulating several red cards. Commitment is good on the pitch as long as there is some sensible approach to it. He has to contain his feelings on the pitch, especially against the big teams. He’s a true icon, who would be missed more by the Arsenal players and staff than the fans if he goes through the exit door this summer.

There are several other names that can be added to this list. Players such as Cedric Soares and Rob Holding have good chances of departing this summer while Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketiah were also nearing the exit door before they signed new contracts with Arsenal.

The Gunners managed to get 69 points this season compared to the 61 points they got last season. This is their highest points tally since 2018/19 and Arteta’s style of play became more defined as the season progressed. The Gunners are back in Europe next season and they have achieved that feat with the youngest team in the Premier League.

The club have cut the wage bill, reduced the average age of the squad and scored more points and goals despite the strikers not performing well. Arteta will need to make a strong start, unlike in previous years. They need to get their business in the transfer window done in advance and sell unwanted players like Pepe, Xhaka, Leno, Bellerin and Lacazette. Moreover, with the club set to spend on centre-forwards this summer, the team will only progress further next season.

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