Football

Arsenal transfer news: Unai Emery to prioritise THREE positions with £40m summer budget


The Gunners were hammered 4-1 by their London rivals Chelsea in Baku in a defeat which condemns them to a third straight season in Europe’s second competition.

A victory for Arsenal would have booked them a direct spot in the group stages of next year’s Champions League, having not played in the tournament since 2016-17.

Failing to qualify means Emery will be left with a limited budget which could be just £40million before player sales, when it might have been over double that had they made the Champions League.

The Mirror report that the Spanish boss has huge plans this summer and wants to completely revitalise his first-team squad with incomings and outgoings, with the manager aware his entire tenure at the club could rest on having a successful summer.

Three players who Emery could sell are Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan as he looks to free up added funds to bolster his side.

Ozil was linked with an Emirates exit back in January but his £350,000-a-week wages mean few clubs are able to take him off of Arsenal’s books.

The Mirror claim that if Ozil – who disappointed with an anonymous second-half display in the Europa League final – is to leave then the north London club will have to subsidise his wages with a loan switch or a permanent move to Inter Milan possible.

It is claimed offloading all of the trio would take as much as £50m off of the club’s wage bill, which would offer Emery added finances to target more signings.

But with the money that he starts off with, Emery will look at bringing in a winger – with Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser his top target – as well as a box-to-box midfielder to replace Aaron Ramsey and a commanding centre-back.

Arsenal’s defence has been their critical weakness for several years and their back-line’s deficiencies were exposed again by Chelsea in Azerbaijan on Wednesday night. 

Mustafi’s future, however, will be key as to whether or not Arsenal bring in a new centre-half with the club needing to sell the German to sign another defender.

In midfield, Ramsey’s departure on a free transfer to Juventus takes some more money off of the wage bill but the Welshman leaves a big hole to fill in midfield.

And having strengthened his options in defensive midfield last year with Lucas Torreira, Emery now wants a box-to-box player capable of adding to Arsenal’s game defensively and offensively.

Bolstering the squad out wide is also a key objective for Emery with Fraser his No 1 choice.

The Bournemouth winger had an excellent season for the Cherries with seven goals and 14 assists in the Premier League, with only Chelsea’s Eden Hazard setting up more goals.

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha had been a potential target but without the boost of Champions League qualification, Arsenal will be unable to meet Palace’s demands – thought to be around £80m.

Another player who could depart Arsenal is captain Laurent Koscielny, who Emery must make a decision on.

The Frenchman played 31 games – including the final – this season and has one year left on his contract but is thought to want a new extension.

Now 33, he could be allowed to leave if Emery does not see a place in his plans for Koscielny beyond this season.



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