Arsenal are reportedly considering selling up to nine players this summer as part of the strategy to fund new big-money contracts for Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
Both players have just 12 months remaining on their current deals, and as of yet there hasn’t been significant developments in terms of signing extensions.
With the summer well underway, frustration and tension is undoubtedly building further amongst supporters, but according to The Independent, it could take a drastic squad reshuffle to get them signed up.
It’s claimed that Arsenal will have to raise funds through player sales in order to satisfy the demands of the pair and league rules, with both Sanchez and Ozil expected to collect close to £280,000-a-week each.
The report adds that Arsenal’s wage bill will be £7m higher than last year if one of the two merely signs a new deal, while both would make it a £15m increase. As per Premier League regulations, with any wage bill increase over £7m compared to last season, the money to fund that can only come from externals sources.
Handily, the Independent go on to state the names of the players that could be part of this nine-man clear out. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Olivier Giroud, Jack Wilshere, Calum Chambers, Wojciech Szczesny, Chuba Akpom, Kieran Gibbs, Lucas Perez and Carl Jenkinson could all leave.
Out of that list, it’s questionable as to how much Arsenal would really miss them. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud and Wilshere are arguably core pieces that should be retained, but aside from losing depth which could be a major problem in itself, perhaps Arsene Wenger can live without the rest.
It remains to be seen what happens this summer, but the priority will surely remain getting both Ozil and Sanchez to commit and helping Arsenal continue to build for a more successful future.