Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have all been linked with January moves, but letting them go could be catastrophic.

With the three out of contract in the summer, speculation about their futures was always inevitable. Currently, the debate is whether to keep all three all the way up to the expiration of their contracts, or to sell them in January for whatever money Arsenal can still get.

The Express believe the club are leaning toward the latter option. They reported that should good offers arrive, Wilshere, Ozil and Alexis would be sold in January.

Putting aside the issue of what a good offer would be, Arsenal must be aware that losing those three would mean losing their three most creative players.

We’ve seen Arsenal without Ozil and Alexis in the side. At best, you could describe them as workmanlike. Otherwise, the team looks devoid of imagination. The three provide different types of creativity.

Ozil is the best decision-maker in the squad, in my opinion. He takes up spaces that give him the best chance to provide a key pass and create opportunities for his teammates. He creates several chances for his teammates in every game he plays in.

Alexis, meanwhile, is more spontaneous. He takes risks, and has the ability to pull them off. It was notable that Arsenal looked for him every time they attacked against Burnley on Sunday.

Wilshere isn’t as productive, but he brings drive to the team and combines extremely well in tight areas. He’s been the only player to make things happen in Arsenal’s much changed Europa League line-ups.

Arsenal could get away with not having one of these players, but losing all three in one go would leave a gaping hole in the squad.

They would certainly need to bring in replacements, but January is hardly the ideal time to be performing major surgery on the squad.