Arsenal gossip and transfer rumours

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Who are the 8 Arsenal players for sale this summer?

There are at least eight Arsenal players for sale this summer, so who are they all and how could it cause a homegrown problem for Arsenal?

The S*n write that Arsenal are willing to listen to offers for Alexandre Lacazette this summer, and are likely to sell loan midfielders Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira for around £25m each.

Left-back Sead Kolasinac will probably leave for a nominal fee, and Joe Willock, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson, and Eddie Nketiah are all also at risk of being put up for sale.

In addition to sales, the report highlights the possibility that Arsenal and David Luiz will part ways. The player’s contract expires this summer, so that would be on a free transfer.

Despite the unreliability of the source, it’s hard to make an argument that it’s impossible for any one of these players to leave.

We’ve already heard rumours about Lacazette and Nketiah’s potential departures, and the reason Guendouzi and Torreira went on loan in the first place was that things weren’t completely working out in North London.

Kolasinac is almost certain to leave as long as Arsenal have a buyer. If Schalke stay up, they’ve already shown their intentions to sign him.

As for Willock, Maitland-Niles, and Nelson, none of them have much certainty over their long-term future right now. All three of them were up for loans in January, only Nelson stayed and he hasn’t made a matchday squad since.

Arsenal players for sale – The homegrown problem

I have to say it would surprise me to see all four of the homegrown youngsters leaving at once. Arsenal need to have at least some homegrown players in their squad, and having so few at the moment is why they keep struggling with non-homegrown spaces.

Obviously, when you don’t have many homegrown players, and you can only afford to sign non-homegrown players due to the premium on homegrown, you end up hitting the 17-player non-homegrown limit very quickly.

Arsenal have some homegrown players you’d expect to stick around for the long term. Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba (who should both get homegrown status) are among them.

But when you look at the homegrown Arsenal over-21s right now, it’s a short list: Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Dejan Iliev, plus Maitland-Niles on loan. How many of that list will even stay past the summer?

Unless Arsenal have some homegrown summer signings lined up, I think at least one or two of Willock, Maitland-Niles, Nketiah, and Nelson will stick around, because the club will need them to fill squad spaces.

Jordan Amavi

Arsenal recently made an enquiry with Marseille left-back Jordan Amavi, whose contract expires this summer.

L’Equipe report that Arsenal recently made an enquiry for Jordan Amavi, though they’re still yet to place any kind of formal offer. Amavi’s contract expires in June 2021, so he’s free to talk to foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement.

Crystal Palace and Napoli are also both looking to secure the player on a free transfer this summer. Palace are reportedly the favourites as things stand.

Amavi has made 14 appearances for Marseille this season, proving their first-choice left-back when available. However, he’s had a red-card suspension and a muscle injury to limit his minutes so far this campaign.

Some Premier League fans may remember Amavi from his time in the division with Aston Villa. He made 10 appearances before suffering an ACL tear in 2015/16, returning to make a further 34 appearances for them in the Championship the next season.

Since then, he’s been playing regularly for Marseille, but it looks like a return to England could be on the cards. There’s certainly no suggestion he plans to extend his contract with his current club.

We know Arsenal are in the market for a left-back, following Ryan Bertrand and Tyrick Mitchell, who are also free agents in the summer. Given the Gunners already have Kieran Tierney, signing someone on a free as a backup makes sense.

Players linked with Arsenal

From Houssem Aouar to Wilfried Zaha, Philippe Coutinho and Thomas Partey, the list of players linked with Arsenal is long.

Here are just some of the players linked with Arsenal over the past 12 months.

Josh Doig

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND: Josh Doig of Hibernian and Craig Conway (L) of St Johnstone battle for possession during the Betfred Cup Semi-Final match between St Johnstone and Hibernian at Hampden Park on January 23, 2021. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)Arsenal are closely monitoring Hibernian defender Josh Doig, as they scour the market for a backup to Kieran Tierney.

Sky Sports report that Arsenal are among three clubs currently watching 18-year-old Hibs left-back Josh Doig. Celtic and Chelsea are also following the teenager’s progress after plenty of impressive displays since last August.

Doig has a deal lasting until 2023, but a transfer looks more likely for the summer. Sky claim that’s when Celtic are looking to make a deal, and you’d imagine it’s a similar situation for Arsenal.

Doig wouldn’t qualify as homegrown, so there isn’t much space for him in the squad right now. That could be different in the summer when Arsenal have the opportunity to move some players on.

Arsenal have already established a relationship with Hibs, having sold them Matt Macey earlier this month. The goalkeeper has made a couple of appearances for them since then, keeping a clean sheet against Kilmarnock and conceding once to Celtic.

You’d hope that would help to smooth negotiations, although Hibs will still be looking to get a good deal for such a young player who is having a big impact on their first team. Doig has made 19 appearances this season.

The Scottish youngster joins the likes of Ryan Bertrand, Tyrick Mitchell and Jordan Amavi on Arsenal’s apparent left-back shortlist – with all three available as free agents this summer.

Georginio Rutter

L’Equipe (via GFFN) reported that Arsenal were one of the clubs to place an enquiry with Stade Rennais over Georginio Rutter last summer.

There were plenty of other clubs in the race for the teenager as things stood. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, AC Milan and Newcastle all joined Arsenal in their pursuit of the France u18 international.

Thiago Alcantara

This rumour didn’t last long. It was in the papers and then denied within the space of about two days. Arsenal are not, apparently, in for Thiago Alcantara. Besides, he went to Liverpool.

Felipe Anderson

Arsenal reportedly wanted to take Felipe Anderson on loan from West Ham but the Hammers wanted a permanent sale.

Houssem Aouar

Arsenal reportedly held talks over the signing of Houssem Aouar with more planned. But nothing came of it al.

Ousseynou Ba

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 27: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal FC is tackled by Pape Abou Cisse and Ousseynou Ba of Olympiacos FC during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg match between Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC at Emirates Stadium on February 27, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)A player who was lined with us after we played Olympacos, what happened with that?

Enis Bardhi

Another random player we were meant to have made an offer for or showed interest in that popped up and then vanished.

Diego Carlos

Another Arsenal were said to be tracking.

Philippe Coutinho

A strong rumour at the start of the window that died down significantly following Raul Sanllehi’s departure.

Amadou Diawara

Seen as a replacement for Lucas Torreira or a back-up to Thomas Partey, depending on where you do your reading.

Abdoulaye Doucouré

Same as above.

Joelson Fernandes

Another we were heavily linked with until his agent said it was all nonsense.

Andrea Petagna

A random link that won’t go anywhere and you can see here why.

Aaron Ramsey

Told by Juventus he can leave, many want him to come back. It’s not a good idea.

Daniele Rugani

Mentioned only in terms of a swap with Hector Bellerin.

Wilfried Zaha

Wanted by Unai Emery when the club bought Nicolas Pepe, he was back being linked again last summer even though Emery has gone and Zaha’s price is still stupid.

There have, of course, been others, but some, like Lionel Messi, are just too nonsensical to be bothered with.