Arsenal are planning to balance the books by selling several players this summer
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gestures during the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Brentford in February 2023.(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal are planning a summer clearout with up to seven players in danger of being sold, according to reports.
The Gunners are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table as they seek to win their first title since 2004.
Mikel Arteta has done a fantastic job this season and many of the players signed in the last couple of years have been integral to his team's title tilt.
Nicolas Pepe has struggled to live up to his £72m price tag at Arsenal (Image credit: PA)
With Arsenal set to be back in the Champions League next season, they will be looking to further bolster their squad this summer.
But in order to do so, they will first need to raise some funds by clearing out some deadwood.
According to The Sun, as many as seven players could be made available for transfer at the end of the campaign.
Albert Sambi Lokonga is on loan at Crystal Palace until the end of the season (Image credit: PA)
They include club-record signing Nicolas Pepe, who has failed to impress since his £72m switch to the Emirates Stadium in 2019.
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However, Arsenal fear that they will have to pay the winger, who is currently on loan at Nice, to depart.
Albert Sambi Lokonga, who is spending the rest of the season at Crystal Palace, also faces an uncertain future in north London.
Arsenal are eight points clear of the top of the Premier League table (Image credit: Getty Images)
Southampton loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles is another who is out of favour under Arteta, while former Saints defender Cedric Soares will likely to plying his trade elsewhere in 2023/24.
Nuno Tavares, Pablo Mari and Alex Runarsson are the other players who could be moved on ahead of next term, when Arsenal will hope to be challenging for major prizes once more.
Arteta's side will return to action after the international break with a game against Leeds on Saturday.
Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
