While fans must be infuriated by the kind of transfer season Arsenal had this summer, the recent revelations by David Ornstein, one of the most trusted source when it comes to Arsenal, on his BBC twitter account states Arsene Wenger had little choice anyway.
It was reported that the club had made it clear to the agents of Wojciech Szczesny, Olivier Giroud, Jack Wilshere, Mohamed Elneny, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Chuba Akpom and others that offers for the players would be entertained. The drastic decision was taken the club as they were eyeing a strong wage structure to retain the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The arrivals of Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac also meant that the club took a hit in their treasury and wanted to make up for it. They had a specific target in Thomas Lemar and failure to get him meant their business was over for the summer.
However, the window took surprising turns as the likes of Wilshere, Chambers and Elneny stayed and Arsenal’s failure to find a proper replacement at the back meant Shkodran Mustafi had to be retained too. Chamberlain’s sale was surprising as Wenger had thought he would extend his stay at the club, which now leaves a huge gap on the defensive wide flanks.
The Gunners are definitely expected to come back for more in the winter when their Europa League and domestic league takes more shape and the immediate needs get clearer. However, that would mean the Gunners selling some players too.
Here are 3 players who could leave Arsenal this winter –
Mohamed Elneny
It would be wrong to say that the Egyptian has failed at the club since his move two seasons back. Given his strengths from the middle of the park, the player has always delivered what is expected of him. Although his tendency to keep it safe has been a tad bit frustrating for the fans, he has hardly been error prone in his game. But, Arsenal are definitely going for a centre half in the winter that will further push Elneny down the pecking order as he is not the first-choice midfielder either.
Calum Chambers
The sale of Gabriel Paulista and Arsenal’s inability to get Virgil van Dijk meant that the Southampton academy product gets another shot at proving his mettle at the club. With Rob Holding doing a great job at the back, Chambers could be determined to show his abilities in the EFL Cups and the Europa League nights.
However, with Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Holding and Sead Kolasinac all capable of taking the centre half position, Chambers isn’t likely to get first team chances that often.
Shkodran Mustafi
Arsenal were reportedly displeased with his performances last season and didn’t have any problem in letting him go when Inter Milan came calling. However, things didn’t materialize, as expected his place in the team is on balance with Chambers with any one of them leaving in the winter.
With the World Cup coming next year, both would need solid performances to have a shot in their respective national team.
