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Arsenal ready to sell star at over £20m LOSS: report

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Arsenal have struggled to sell deadwood in recent years, with another high-profile example set to follow

Mikel Arteta manager / head coach of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Arsenal FC at Molineux on January 25, 2025 in Wolverhampton, England.
Mikel Arteta is ready to make a big loss on a first-team star (Image credit: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Arsenal are ready to sell a first-team star for over £20 million less than what they paid for him.

With the North Londoners ready to pay over £100m for the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Martin Zubimendi in the coming weeks, according to reports, it appears that Arsenal are in a strong financial position when it comes to the transfer window.

But with any incoming sales helping to boost funds for additional squad players, new sporting director Andrea Berta is looking to recoup as much as he can from deadwood.

Arsenal set to sell first-team star for just £8m

Atletico Madrid's sporting director Andrea Berta has also been touted

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is trying to sell fringe stars (Image credit: Alamy)

The Gunners have a tricky history when it comes to selling high-profile players, with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Shkodran Mustafi all released on free transfers – when combined, they cost almost £300m.

While manager Mikel Arteta's tenure has seen the odd contract termination, selling improved in N5 last summer, with generous fees received for the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Emile Smith Rowe of Fulham gestures on the pitch during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Fulham FC at Old Trafford on August 16, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Arsenal sold Emile Smith Rowe for a decent fee (Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite spending £30m on Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City just three seasons ago as per The Athletic, however, TuttoJuve have relayed the information that the Ukrainian has been offered to Lazio for as little as £8m.

The Eternal City outfit have just completed a move for Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares but are said to be looking to spin the Portuguese for a profit, with the Gunners presenting Zinchenko as an affordable solution in the role – though Lazio are apparently uninterested in doing business.

FourFourTwo understands that Zinchenko's specificity is a huge stumbling block to any potential suitors, since the 28-year-old is an inverted full-back, capable of dictating play from deep, but struggles in defensive duels.

Zinchenko played more as a no.8 towards the back end of last season in cameos, with the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori and even Kieran Tierney – whom Zinchenko was signed to replace – all featuring ahead of the Ukrainian in what appeared to be a terminal blow to his Gunners career.

Oleksandr Zinchenko of Arsenal arrives at the stadium ahead of the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on January 07, 2025 in London, England.

Zinchenko's asking price has been heavily reduced (Image credit: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal have very few assets to sell this summer, with the likes of Jorginho, Tierney and Thomas Partey all available on free transfers.

Zinchenko is worth just €20m, according to Transfermarkt.

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.