Arsenal to offload seven dead wood players including record signing

FOOTBALL Arsenal to offload seven dead wood players including record signing

Kiplagat Sang • 16:04 - 25.03.2023

The Gunners are expected to bolster the team ahead of their return to Champions League.

Arsenal are reportedly ready to let seven players leave in the summer in order to create room for new signings.

Among those expected to leave are 27-year-old Nicolas Pepe, a £72 million club record signing, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares, and Alex Runarsson, according to The Sun.

Pepe is currently on loan with Nice but is not in Mikel Arteta’s plan. The Spaniard is expected to bolster his squad for Champions League football next season.

The Ivorian has another year of his £140,000-a-week contract to run but has not yet attracted any offers. However, the French club has suggested they are willing to sign Pepe on a permanent deal in the summer.

Although Arsenal are willing to offload the forward, there has been no indication that Nice are prepared to pay a transfer fee for him.

Pepe – who became the most expensive signing by the Gunners when he joined from Lille in 2019 - has not started a Premier League game for the Londoners since October 2021.

Given his current wages, Arsenal face a stumbling block in their bid to offload the Ivorian. Arsenal are almost resigned to having to pay part of the £7 million in his contract.

In Arteta’s tenure, he has seen several players leave Arsenal for free, including Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers, and David Luiz.

Other players with uncertain Arsenal futures include Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding, and Folarin Balogun.

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