Five-man Arsenal exodus touted as key figures could face summer axe

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After suffering a huge setback of missing out on the top four in the Premier League, Arsenal boss Unai Emery could reportedly make big changes to his squad this summer.

The Gunners still have the chance to secure a return to the Champions League for next season, as they try to see off Valencia in their Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday night ahead of potentially facing either Chelsea or Eintracht Frankfurt in the final.

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However, one of the major objectives for Emery in his first season in north London would have been to qualify for Europe’s top table through their league finish, but results at the weekend mean that they will finish outside the top four again this year.

As noted by The Sun, the Spanish tactician could respond to that by making cuts to his squad, with the funds raised from those potential sales going towards his own signings to continue to stamp his mark on the squad.

The report claims that Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Carl Jenkinson, Shkodran Mustafi and Mohamed Elneny all face the axe, with all the names in question either failing to make a prominent impact this season or often disappointing despite being given minutes by Emery.

It’s easier said than done though to suggest that Arsenal can simply offload those in question this summer, as it remains to be seen if the interest is there and if rival clubs are willing to satisfy their demands.

Further, Emery will surely need to be careful that he doesn’t lose too much quality and depth either, as with Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck and Petr Cech also leaving this summer due to their contracts expiring, Arsenal will see their squad numbers dramatically fall if the five names above are also offloaded.

More Stories Carl Jenkinson Henrikh Mkhitaryan Mesut Ozil Mohamed Elneny Shkodran Mustafi