Arsenal: Arteta reaches final verdict on six players with two outcasts set to be axed in summer

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has reportedly reached his verdict on six of the club’s current crop and he is ‘reluctant to sell’ four squad players.

The Gunners have surpassed expectations this term as they are mounting a serious challenge for the Premier League title.

It would be an incredible achievement if Arsenal manage to edge out Manchester City to clinch the title given they do not have as much strength in depth as Pep Guardiola’s team.

The likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko have been among star performers this term.

But Arteta has also had to rely on his squad players when Arsenal’s key players have had injury issues. He is expected to bolster his squad this summer to ensure they can kick on following their immense achievements this season.

A few players will inevitably move on in the summer but Football Transfers claim ‘Arteta is reluctant to sell Emile Smith Rowe, Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding or Folarin Balogun in the upcoming summer transfer window’.

Smith Rowe, Tierney and Holding have only been bit-part players this term. This is while Balogun has shone while on at Ligue 1 outfit Reims. The report adds.

‘FootballTransfers has learned that Arteta would like to keep all four of these players.

‘Holding is considered as one of the leaders in the Arsenal dressing room, while Tierney is important as Arteta does not believe Takehiro Tomiyasu or Nuno Tavares are viable alternatives to Zinchenko at left back.

‘Indeed, Arteta considers all four of the quartet as very important members of the squad going forward into the 2023/24 season.

‘Arteta would not stand in the way of an exit if anyone requested to leave, as he believes it is futile to keep a player against their will. This is something he learned from working with Pep Guardiola at Man City.’

They go on to state that ‘the only two players Arsenal are willing to listen to offers for right now are Cedric Soares and Nuno Tavares’. They are out on loan at Fulham and Marseille respectively.

Tavares was slammed last season amid his struggles at left-back for Arsenal. It does sound like he has fared better in Ligue 1, though.

“He’s still a young player. He’s got fantastic physical capacities. He’s got an outstanding ability to run. He could play at Real Madrid, at Barcelona, at Manchester City… He still needs to grow and progress, we talk a lot to him,” Tudor said.