Chronicle Editor
Arsenal are likely to get rid of five players this summer as Mikel Arteta oversees a serious overhaul of his squad, according to reports.
The Gunners manager – who was the first Premier League figure to test positive for Covid-19 – will have his first summer transfer window in charge at the end of the current season.
And, according to Football.London, he has identified five squad members he is willing to move on.
Arteta brought in defender Pablo Mari on loan in the January window – with Cedric Soares also joining on a temporary deal – and the Spaniard is likely to make his move from Flamengo permanent.
Cedric is not likely to make his move permanent, and he could be followed out of the door by Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papasthathopoulos.
Mustafi has been close to the exit before, although he has become a more impressive figure under Arteta’s guidance.
The report states, though, that there is a belief it would be for the best if the former Sampdoria and Valencia man moved on.
Sokratis, meanwhile, might move on because he is 32 and this is an opportunity to cash in on him, while William Saliba will be returning from his loan at St-Etienne.
Left-back Sead Kolasinac has also been tipped to leave, with Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka the options in his position.
And Mohamed Elneny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who have spent the season on loan at Besiktas and Roma respectively – would make up the group of five who might leave to fund other business.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have revealed they will continue to pay all of their matchday and non-matchday staff until April 30 despite the club not being in action due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Premier League has been suspended until April 30, at the very least, leaving part-time and full-time employees of football clubs without a job during the current crisis.
Workers across the country will be hit financially if they are unable to work but Arsenal have vowed to pay their staff in the current challenging times.
Arsenal’s managing director Vinai Venkatesham confirmed the Premier League club’s gesture in an official statement.
It read: “We are truly grateful for the outstanding efforts of all our staff across the club every day. We rely on their tireless service to provide a first-class experience for our fans on matchdays and non-matchdays.
“These are challenging times for everyone, but in particular our casual workers. This gesture is intended to ease their financial uncertainty while football is currently suspended to 30 April 2020.
“We are truly grateful for the outstanding efforts of all our staff across the club every day. We rely on their tireless service to provide a first-class experience for our fans, on matchdays and non-matchdays.
“We look forward to welcoming football back to Emirates Stadium as soon as possible”.
Arsenal have cancelled their training that was scheduled for today, the club confirmed.
The Gunners were placed under self-isolation after their manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for the coronavirus.
A statement from Arsenal read: “Our men’s first-team players were scheduled to return to training on Tuesday (today) after completing 14 days isolation following Mikel Arteta’s positive diagnosis for the virus.
“As a result of the current situation, we are clear it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to ask players to come back at this time.
“Therefore, our men’s first team, women and academy players are all remaining at home. Stay at home and save lives.”
Meanwhile, the Premier League held crisis talks last week and have concluded that all games will remain suspended until 30 April due to the virus outbreak.- AFP-mailonline.
Online Reporter