Arsenal fans are understandably delighted about the news that the club are set to smash their transfer record to sign the Lille forward Nicolas Pepe, but what will happen next for the Gunners?
Unai Emery is also hot on the trail of the Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney, but with finances tight at Arsenal there is also going to be a need to balance the books at some point.
So who can the Gunners get rid of to bring in some extra cash?
Of course they won’t lose all seven of these players, but there are a few who could find their days at the Emirates Stadium numbered.
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(Image: REUTERS)
Alex Iwobi
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
The Nigerian is a much better player than he is often given credit for, but he can’t have looked at the arrival of Ceballos and soon-to-be signing of Pepe and felt anything other than a sense of dread.
Iwobi often has to work hard to get a place in the team, and it just seems to have become a lot harder for him.
If the Gunners were to get a good offer then they might offload him.
Laurent Koscielny
(Image: PA)
The Frenchman’s impending exit is entirely of his own doing of course, as his nine-year relationship with the Gunners has become unfortunately strained in the last month or so.
He’ll have his reasons for staying away from the club’s pre-season tour of the US, but it is best for all concerned if he just leaves as soon as possible now.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Possibly the toughest player to move on given the fees that are going to be involvement, the Armenian is another who, like Iwobi, might just be wondering where his next game is going to come from.
He’s certainly not going to have any guarantees from Emery, and at 30, if the Gunners can find a buyer then a sale could make sense.
Mohamed Elneny
(Image: X03812)
Having been away at the Africa Cup of Nations, the Egyptian will have had plenty of time reflect on what was an odd 2018/19 season for him.
He only played eight times in the Premier League as he was largely reduced to cup appearances, and he might feel as though the time is right to move on and gain more first-team action.
Carl Jenkinson
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Reportedly wanted by Crystal Palace as a replacement for the Manchester United new boy Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and so therefore mentioned in the Wilfried Zaha negotiations, Jenkinson is still – amazingly – an Arsenal player after the club took out an extension on his contract.
Now 27, he has impressed in pre-season, but surely he has to take the chance to move elsewhere for first-team football soon?
Calum Chambers
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Often used in midfield during his loan spell at Fulham last season, Chambers is surely more at home in the centre of defence.
He might feel as though he’ll get a chance there this season given Arsenal’s deficiencies at the back, but he’s good enough to be a first-choice elsewhere.
Eddie Nketiah (loan)
(Image: Stuart MacFarlane)
Arsenal wouldn’t want to lose the 20-year-old forward permanently just yet, but a season on loan somewhere could do him the world of good after he impressed in pre-season.
Nketiah finds himself down the Gunners pecking order at the moment, and the arrival of Pepe is only likely to push him further away from the action that he wants.
