by Lee Hurley

Wojciech Szczesny and Matthieu Flamini are moving ever closer to the exit door at the Emirates with deals expected to be finalised soon.

Szczesny will join Roma on a season long loan which will see the Gunners net €1m while Flamini will leave on a permanent basis, joining Lukas Podolski at Galatasaray.

Arsenal and Roma have been locked in negotiations for the past few days according to a report in the Guardian with the main sticking point being the Pole’s wages – Roma wanted Arsenal to pay a portion of them while he is in Italy – however an agreement has now been reached which will see Roma cover the full cost.

Arsenal's Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (L) speaks to fans by Arsenal's English midfielder Theo Walcott from an open top bus during the Arsenal victory parade in London on May 31, 2015, following their win in the English FA Cup final football match on May 30, 2014 against Aston Villa. Arsene Wenger's side made history at Wembley with a 4-0 rout of Aston Villa that underlined their renaissance in the second half of the campaign and served as a warning to English champions Chelsea. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL
Arsenal’s Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (L) speaks to fans by Arsenal’s English midfielder Theo Walcott from an open top bus during the Arsenal victory parade in London on May 31, 2015, following their win in the English FA Cup final football match on May 30, 2014 against Aston Villa. Arsene Wenger’s side made history at Wembley with a 4-0 rout of Aston Villa that underlined their renaissance in the second half of the campaign and served as a warning to English champions Chelsea. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL

It is also said that they will look to buy him for around £3.5m next summer which seems awfully cheap if you ask me, especially given his homegrown status.

I must say the deal puzzles me for many reasons. It’s not like Woj needs the first team experience and it seemed to make logical sense that he would stay at the club to learn from Petr Cech. One reason he could be being sent off to Italy is in the hope that it will ground him somewhat and give him more of a sense of perspective without his support network around him.

Flamini, meanwhile, is moving every closer to leaving permanently with the club happy to let him leave.

SINGAPORE - JULY 15: Mathieu Flamini of Arsenal competes for the ball during the Barclays Asia Trophy match between Arsenal and Singapore at National Stadium on July 15, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
SINGAPORE – JULY 15: Mathieu Flamini of Arsenal competes for the ball during the Barclays Asia Trophy match between Arsenal and Singapore at National Stadium on July 15, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)

After arriving on a free just a few seasons ago, his limited ability on the pitch has seen him slip down the pecking order and, even without Mikel Arteta fully fit, the boss preferred to use other options in front of the back four rather than trust the Flamster.