Arsenal put Bernd Leno up for sale as Mikel Arteta prepares to ditch SIX players
Arsenal are preparing to ruthlessly overhaul their squad this summer with current number one Bernd Leno among the players who are up for sale, according to reports.
The Gunners have endured a miserable season and sit in ninth place in the Premier League table, with the club likely to miss out on European football for the first time in a quarter of a century.
But Mikel Arteta still retains the support of Arsenal’s hierarchy and the club are prepared to spend big in an ‘unprecedented’ transfer window as they look to win back trust after their attempt to join the European Super League.
A big part of the club’s plans in the market will hinge on offloading players, with the north Londoners needing to both trim a bloated squad and raise funds.
According to Football.London, Arteta has put six players on the chopping block all of whom the club hope to receive sizeable fees for.
The most surprising of those is Leno, with Arteta seemingly having run out of patience with the shot-stopper following a number of mistakes this season, particularly at the back-end of the campaign.
Arsenal have already been linked with a move for Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana for a bargain fee of just £7million, with the Cameroonian coming to the end of a 12-month suspension, while Lille’s Mike Maignan has also been linked in the past.
Another high-profile player Arteta is prepared to cash-in on is right-back Hector Bellerin, with the defender having been heavily criticised for his performances this season.
A quartet of players who spent the past season on loan round off Arteta’s list of unwanted players: Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac.
Arsenal would want at least £15m for both Torreira and Guendouzi, who have been on loan at Atletico Madrid and Hertha Berlin respectively, while they would expect to get a decent fee for Maitland-Niles after his spell at West Brom.
There are more players whose futures are still uncertain, such as Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson, while the loans of Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard will both end over the summer.
Arteta is not expected to push for compatriot Ceballos to be retained, while Real Madrid are keen to reintegrate Odegaard into their first-team squad, meaning at least eight players are set to leave the Emirates this summer.
A new midfielder is thought to be high on Arteta’s list of new recruits and the club have recently been linked with young Rennes star Eduardo Camavinga.
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