It’s clear that it could take some time for Mikel Arteta to turn this Arsenal team into title challengers, but he’s doing a great job of overhauling the first team squad.
When he first took over the team was somehow full of centre backs but woefully short of cover in other areas, but he started to address that in January as Sokratis and Mustafi moved on.
A report from The Evening Standard has looked at the situation again ahead of the summer, and it sounds like there could be three more departures.
The main one would be David Luiz as his contract is set to expire, although he’s clearly valued as a character behind the scenes as well so it would be a surprise if he did move on.
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It’s also believed that Callum Chambers could move on if he doesn’t force his way back into the team, while Dinos Mavropanos may stay in Germany on a permanent basis after an impressive loan spell with Stuttgart.
That would leave William Saliba, Gabriel, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding as the main options, so it’s reported that Arsenal would be looking to sign RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate to bolster the squad.
He’s been an effective partner for Dayot Upamecano who has gained most of the attention from the partnership in recent months, although he’s already agreed to move to Bayern so it would be a big call for Leipzig to let both defenders leave at the same time.
Konate is only 21 and he’s got immense potential so he does fit the profile of player that Arsenal have been looking to sign, but it’s also stated that a host of top European clubs are chasing his signature so it could be a tough transfer to pull off.
There’s no sign of a buy-out clause so it could depend on how much Leipzig are asking for, and it looks like other players will need to leave first.