GUNNERS FIRE TEAM OF FLOPS!
Arteta wants to flog at least 11 stars as he rebuilds Arsenal
ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta is trying to kick out a whole team of players to raise cash for star signings.
The Spaniard is under pressure after the Gunners struggled to finish eighth in the Premier League last season.
Arteta knows a bad start next month will put his job at risk. And there are a host of Gunners players who have underperformed since the former Man City No2 took over.
From back to front, there are established Arsenal stars on their way out of the Emirates.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno is a target for serveal European clubs and is likely to make way as he’s one of the more valuable players in the squad.
Arteta is a known fan of Aaron
Ramsdale who has just been relegated with Sheffield United. Leno could bring in around £30m while the Blades stopper would cost half that figure.
There are a host of other Gunners players who appear to have no future at the club.
Granit Xhaka played well for Switzerland in the Euros and is on the verge of joining Roma.
The midfielder has reportedly agreed personal terms with the Italians but Arsenal are not happy with the fee being offered.
They are holding out for north of £15m while the Serie A side want to keep it to single figures.
Thanks to his good showing on the international stage, other teams are expected to come in but Xhaka wants to play for new Roma boss Jose Mourinho.
Fellow midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has signed for French side Marseille in a £10m deal that kicks in after he spends a year on loan with the Ligue 1 side.
Hector Bellerin is another highprofile player thought to be on his way out of the capital.
Sniffing
The 26-year-old was linked with Paris St Germain although their interest seems to have cooled.
Now Inter Milan are sniffing around the full-back but don’t want to cough up the £25m asking price.
Bellerin has gone on the Arsenal pre-season training camp but he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to spend another season sitting on the bench.
Other players expected to move on include Joe Willock who was a big hit on loan at Newcastle last season.
The Magpies would like to bring him back to St James’s Park on a permanent deal but he’s another player that won’t be going cheap.
The 21-year-old will want game time if he’s forced to stay at the Emirates and Arteta may choose to cash in.
He would be another priced at around £20m should a deal be done.
The rest of the departures could be led by Willian, Sead Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Lucas Torreira, Eddie Nketiag and Reiss Nelson.
If most of those names move on, Arteta will have to act fast to bring
in the players he wants to make Arsenal challenge for a Champions League place again.
Two Premier League stars head his shopping list.
Arteta is a major fan of Wolves striker Ruben Neves and some reports suggest talks have already started for the Portugal hitman.
He has just under two years left on his deal at Molineux and there are signs that the Midlanders are looking to cash in on some of their biggest names.
Wolves would want around £40m for one of their prized assets who could be interested in the move now what Nuno Espirito Santo has left the club.
There seems a fair chance of getting that deal but Arteta faces a bigger fight to prise James Maddison from Leicester City.
The England midfielder became one of the Premier League’s biggest stars last season but his wages are not massive by current standards.
Arsenal would have to fork out around £50m to get their man which is why so many of their current players are up for sale.
Moving on ten players or more would also make a massive hole in their wage bill.
Neves and Maddison could cost around £100m between them and each player would have their wages doubled to a total of £300,000 per week.
Leicester want to keep Maddison and boss Brendan Rodgers will dig in over the move.