Likely to leave:
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – confirmed leaving.
Cedric Soares – Fulham. Leaving – end of contract.
Alex Runarsson – Alanyaspor. Leaving hopefully.
Nicolas Pepe – Nice. Leaving surely.
Nuno Tavares – Marseille. Leaving probably.
Auston Trusty – Birmingham. Joining SPL Rangers apparently.
Pablo Mari – Monza. Signing for Monza.
Miguel Azeez – Ibiza/Wigan. 13 appearances. Likely to leave.
Gawd knows what’s next for this group after a season on loan:
Mazeed Ogungbo – Crawley, injured for much of the season.
Marcelo Flores – Real Oviedo. Made just seven starts.
Mika Biereth – RJK Waalwijk. 13 appearances. Injuries.
Omar Rekik – Sparta Rotterdam/Wigan. (21)
Taylor Foran – Hartlepool.
Kido Taylor-Hart – Derby. Played for Under 21’s only.
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji – Accrington Stanley
Billy Vigar – Derby. No first team appearance.
Tom Smith – Colchester/Bromley.
Tim Akinola – Chesterfield
Nikolaj Moller – FC Den Bosch. 5 goals in 24 games.
Ryan Alebiosu – Kilmarnock. 14 starts for the SPL side.
Tyreece John-Jules – Ipswich but returned to Arsenal with injury which then ended his season.
Alex Kirk – Ayr United. Another loan? Good reports.
Ovie Ejeheri – SJK Seinajoki/Chelmsford.
Rumoured to be up for sale:
Arthur Okonkwo – Sturm Graz/Crewe.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy – Coventry/Rotherham. Backup right-back next season?
Albert Sambi Lokonga – Crystal Palace. Started under Patrick Vieira but out under Roy Hodgson. Rumoured to be wanted by Burnley.
Marquinhos – Norwich. Another loan perhaps.
Charlie Patino – Blackpool. Rumoured to be up for sale.
Folarin Balogun – Reims. Excellent season on loan but rumoured to be up for sale. Bonkers in my opinion. 20 goals, 3rd highest scorer in the league and more goals than any player at Arsenal.
There’s 29 players, all whose Arsenal career is up in the air. If five of them are still listed as Arsenal players come the end of the transfer window, I’ll be surprised.
As well as the above 29, there’s the current first team squad which needs strengthening which in turn means, more players need to be moved on in order to make space for new signings. This is the squad submitted to the Premier League for this season:
Goalkeepers:
Aaron Ramsdale
Matt Turner
Karl Hein
James Hillson (22)
Defenders:
Kieran Tierney
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Ben White
William Saliba
Gabriel
Rob Holding
Jakub Kiwior
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Reuell Walters (18)
Lino Sousa (18)
Midfielders:
Thomas Partey
Bukayo Saka
Martin Odegaard
Granit Xhaka
Mo Elneny
Emile Smith Rowe
Fabio Vieira
Jorginho
Amario Cozier-Duberry (17)
Catalin Cirjan (20)
Ethan Nwaneri – linked to a move away. (16)
Bradley Ibrahim (18)
Matt Smith – out of contract
Mauro Bandeira (19)
Forwards:
Eddie Nketiah
Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Martinelli
Reiss Nelson
Leandro Trossard
Charles Sagoe Junior (18)
Khayon Edwards (19)
I think we can forget the eight on the first list as in my opinion, they’ll be gone this summer. Those who are under 21 don’t count as they don’t have to be listed in a squad but even so, we still have a lot of players who are over 21 who if around next season, will have to be included within the 25 man squad list. Balogun is one of them.
Then there’s the homegrown ruling to bear in mind too which requires a minimum of eight homegrown players named in a Premier League squad of twenty five. Currently, Arsenal’s homegrown players are Rob Holding, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nkeitah, Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe, Ben White, and Matthew Smith.
So, if Nelson doesn’t sign a new contract and Smith Rowe, Holding and Smith leave, surely that will leave the club in need of signing a number of homegrown players this summer? No, because Balogun, Saliba, Martinelli and Saka, all of whom will need to be listed in the ‘main squad’ next season as they’re no longer considered under 21, will be ‘homegrown’. I hope I’ve got this right. Lol
Regardless, I hope Arsenal sign Premier League proved players this summer because at least then we know what we’re getting and there’s more chance of them hitting the ground running than a player from a different league. I think it’s fair to say that Vieira, Tavares, Lokonga, Pepe, Runasson, and Mari have been disappointing and the jury remains out on the many other younger players the club has signed over the last 2/3 years, just as it is for other young academy player who has been out on loan this season and as we know, just because someone is performing well out on loan in the Championship or at a lower League club, there is zero guarantee they are going to make the enormous jump to Premier League football successfully. Plus, how long does a manager give a player to reach a required level? It can’t be easy because all the time there are fans, sports writers, social media trolls who jump on a player at the first opportunity.
Glad you’re not a manager? Me too…
Reports are that Bukayo Saka has signed a new five year contract..
Excellent..
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1660990941644337154?s=20
Morning Rico and all,
interesting story Rico, I’m hoping it’s going to be a very busy Transfer Market.
In regard to lokonga I was hoping we would get him but for some reason it didn’t work out for us, however I am wondering if Arteta has missed something about Lokonga as Vincent Kompany was his coach / manager and if roomers are true Kompany wants to buy him back.
Good news about Saka.
It’s official
https://www.arsenal.com/news/bukayo-saka-signs-new-contract
Speaking after signing his new deal, he said: “I’m just really happy. There’s been a lot of talking and it’s been a while, but I’m here now. I think this is the right club, the right place to make the next step. It’s a beautiful club – look where we are.
“For me, it’s about achieving my personal ambitions; how much I push myself and demand from myself each game, week in, week out. Then I have all the right people around me in terms of family, and when I come to the training ground, my teammates, the coaching staff.
“I think I have everything I need to become the best player I can be, and that’s why I’m happy to stay here and be here for the future, because I really believe that we can achieve big things.”
Bukayo has come a long way since making his debut in November 2018, but so has his club. The two have helped each other develop during that time, to the point now where we have achieved our goal of returning to the Champions League, handing Bukayo a chance to experience playing in Europe’s premier club competition in the process.
The progression has been gradual, but ultimately has seen us become a challenger for the Premier League title again. As one of a number of young, ambitious players in our squad with their best years still to come, Bukayo is adamant that even better things are on the horizon.
Reflecting on the past and looking to the future, he added: “I have seen a lot of change. I’ve seen this team and the club grow, and one thing that everyone around us can be excited about is that we are going in the right direction.
“Time is on our side. You can look at our team and a lot of the players are young. We’re hungry, and a lot of us haven’t won trophies at Arsenal so we want to achieve big things. If you watch the way we all speak, we want to win and we want to win here.
“It’s been too long since this club has had Champions League football. I’m really looking forward to Tuesday and Wednesday nights in this stadium, the atmosphere is going to be special.”
Emirates Stadium is sure to be rocking when that famous pre-match operatic music returns, especially after our supporters made a name for themselves throughout the game this season for their vocal backing from the stands.
Bukayo admits he feels the love from every Gooner he comes across, and he can’t wait to continue playing in front of them for many more years to come.
“The fans have been so crazy, they’ve been so good this year,” he smiled. “Even when I see them out, we have so much in common in terms of how passionate we are for this team. Sometimes I feel like some of these fans can play the game, that’s how passionate they are.
“They would give everything; I can see it in their eyes when they’re speaking to me. It’s really nice to see that. I feel like we are all really connecting with the fans more and you can feel it in the stadium as well.”
Hi Geoff, the rumour of Lokonga to Burnley makes sense to me, after all, it was Kompany who was raving about him before we signed him.
Afternoon rico, all, have printed off this post to keep a check on all our outgoings, thanks. Just the news we want to give a boost in this slight letdown end of season.
Mind you, I remember saying the same thing when Aubamayang signed, but sure this will be different!
I’d imagine every team in Europe would have wanted Saka, but WE have him.
Afternoon Andrew, I hope it’s correct then. 😂
I reckon Saka is a much bigger and better deal than Auba… Now for Saliba hopefully.
Arteta: We hope for more contract renewals
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he hopes that more of the Gunners’ top young stars join Bukayo Saka in committing to the club.
Saka joined Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli in penning new terms at the Emirates Stadium, with the England attacker signing a four-year deal until 2027.
“We are hoping on a few of those,” Arteta told Sky Sports News when asked about more contract renewals.
“We have gone through the season and we have tied down a very important part of the team and that’s what we wanted to do. This never stops, they keep evolving and developing.”
Good news about Saka’s contract.
Interesting to see Pep being glaringly effusive in his praise for Mikel and de Zerbi. Surprising in fact after his rather churlish behaviour this season and his dour demeanour. I imagine it’s because his latest triumph has been greeted with a shrug of the shoulders by the general public when he is more used to a queue of admirers fighting to lick him from top to bottom.
Still, he’ll find his greatest admirer there when he looks in the mirror.
The more I read about and from him Adam, the more I detest the man. Arrogant p***k…
Rico!
Calm down😂😂
😂 Adam
It sounds like Saka has the right people around him for advice. Better to be at a club where you are happy and enjoy it than keep changing clubs to chase the big trophies that you may not even get or even worst less game time.
According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal is considering selling ESR to buy James Maddison if Leicester get relegated.
Good morning all.
“It is understood” pundit speak for “best guess” that Saka’s new contract is worth £200,000 per week rising to a possible £290,000 with bonuses. From what I’ve read of his interviews, he seems to have his feet firmly on the ground and is contented to stay, and improve, at Arsenal. I think he has a massive career ahead of him….as long as he isn’t overplayed to the extent of burn out. Edu/Arteta are in the market for right sided backup for Saka, perhaps our own Marquinos could fill the void.
My personal opinion only, bring back Balogun, he will offer a different option to Jesus up front and won’t cost a penny.
Off for my weekly swim shortly, at my age fitness is everything.
It could be argued that much of the reason for our end of season declines have been caused by certain players having too much game time.
It has always occurred to me that Arteta is rigid is his patterns of play and that players are trained to move to places in certain situations and part of the problem is that a good manager with experienced players can form ways to negate the effectiveness.
Saka and Martinelli have hardly had a break and were on their knees towards the end of the season and the lack of earlier substitutions might have been part of the problem . Furthermore bringing them on later in the game for half an hour could have contributed too.
Arteta said that once we were concentrating only on the league that players should be able to handle the schedule but clearly they were not. If they stay we have to make more use of Trossard , Smith- Rowe and Nelson and we have to switch them about and keep asking the organised defences different questions .
Just because a player is young doesn’t mean that he is a Duracell bunny , When I was playing our physios said that man reaches his physical peak at 26 years old , a lot of our squad have a few years to reach theirs. .
I just read this article and I think it just about sums up my feelings on the matter.
https://shewore.com/2023/05/24/arsenal-do-not-need-2-xis-to-compete-with-manchester-city/.
Hi all.
I agree, we don’t need two teams, just a squad which Arteta will use instead of relying on 15/17 of them.
Potter @4:06pm very good article, it sounds like what most of us are saying but worded better than I can.
I still believe and as Arteta said himself, we need to install a killer instinct in this squad to finish off games, looking at the other sides now all teams need to a 3-goal lead to feel safe.
RIP Tina. Simply the Best.
I was shocked to hear of her passing this morning Cicero.
New post up now