According to an exclusive from Arsenal youth expert Jeorge Bird, the club are preparing to release a handful of promising youngsters this summer.

Creative midfielder Savvas Mourgos and versatile defender Kostas Pileas are expected to leave whilst Glen Kamara, Kristopher da Graca and Stefan O’Connor are just three other players who are set for departures to pastures new.

Between the pair of them, Mourgos and Pileas only made ten league appearances for the u23s this season.

Having joined the Young Guns as a scholar back in 2014, big things were expected from Mourgos as he impressed in the UEFA Youth League along the likes of Alex Iwobi and Krystian Bielik.

Towards the end of 2015, it was clear that he had continued to improve and asserted himself as a regular starter in the u18s side.

When the format of the u21s competition changed, the Greek international faced extra competition in Steve Gatting’s side.

Unfortunately though, opportunities were few and far between.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Gedion Zelalem and even Ismael Bennacer prior to his loan spell in France were all high in the pecking order for midfield places meaning Mourgos had to continue working hard for his chance centre-stage.

He earned a professional contract 13 months ago but hasn’t seen regular football since and despite his ability, it doesn’t make sense from a financial standpoint to retain a player that features infrequently.

The same goes for Pileas, who can play both at full-back and as a central defender.

Increased depth in defence has seen the Cyprus youth international shifted to the back of the queue, especially after a poor start to the campaign with three successive league defeats, all of which he featured in.

Having made a number of defensive errors, it seemed inevitable that he’d leave the club as he was not deemed good enough to justify a step-up in quality.

He has reportedly been on trial with Leicester City, having been given permission to look for a club elsewhere.