Sol Campbell thinks Arsenal need to sell 10 players this summer, and he argues the fans need to stop building attachments to individuals over the club as a whole.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Southampton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 24, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 24: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Southampton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 24, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Arsenal have had a run of terrible results, losing to Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leicester City, causing many supporters to search for scapegoats in the squad.

One popular choice is Shkodran Mustafi, who was at fault for a game-changing goal in the Palace match that set off the run of defeats. However, former Gunner Sol Campbell thinks the centre-back is far from the only one Arsenal need to look at replacing this summer.

“I think there’s probably 10 players who aren’t good enough,” Campbell said (via Mirror). “I’m not just blaming [Shkodran] Mustafi for what happened at Crystal Palace because I think it was a team thing, although he made a mistake. There are 10 players who Arsenal really need to look at getting out of the club.”

Arsenal's Spanish coach Unai Emery attends the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg football match between Stade Rennais FC and Arsenal FC at the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes, northwestern France on March 7, 2019. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)
Arsenal’s Spanish coach Unai Emery attends the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg football match between Stade Rennais FC and Arsenal FC at the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes, northwestern France on March 7, 2019. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

Part of the reason Arsenal fans have such a problem with scapegoating players is that they all play favourites on social media. It’s impossible to hold balanced opinions on every individual centre-back, for example, you have to rate one or two and then argue all day over why your picks are the best and everyone else is wrong.

Campbell thinks supporters need to stop viewing the team through that lens.

“I think the fans need to not fall for the name on the back of the shirt,” the former centre-back continued. “What the fans have to do is see what the players do on the pitch and can they fight and have the desire for the club.

“It may not be a world-class name but we got showed up by Wolves and not many people knew who these Wolves players were at the start of the season.”

Let’s hope the team at least has it in them to win a few more games this season and qualify for the Champions League. That would make the club’s job of buying and selling the right players this summer that much easier.