Arsenal could now focus on player sales following their big transfer spending on Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
The Gunners are having a brilliant summer so far, with Romano confirming that it’s now ‘here we go’ for Rice and Timber after the earlier confirmation of Havertz’s arrival from Chelsea, and it now seems the club will turn their attention to offloading unwanted players.
According to Romano, one of those will be Nicolas Pepe, who is returning from loan at Nice, while Granit Xhaka’s move to Bayer Leverkusen could also finally get the green light.
Thomas Partey is another player whose future is in some doubt, and if he does end up leaving then Romano says we could see another midfield player heading to the Emirates Stadium.
“It’s here we go for both Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber to Arsenal, and I expect now will be the time for Arsenal to focus on selling players,” Romano said.
“They’ve done great work with Timber, Rice and Havertz, but now the focus will be on finding a solution for some players who are not crucial in the project, especially Nicolas Pepe. They also have to approve Granit Xhaka’s move to Bayer Leverkusen soon, with an agreement in place since May and just awaiting the green light.
“Let’s see also what happens with Thomas Partey; in case he leaves, another new midfielder could join. My guest columnist Neil Jones has a little more on Romeo Lavia and the battle between Arsenal and Liverpool here.”
Both Partey and Xhaka were hugely important performers for Mikel Arteta’s side last season, but fans will surely have confidence in this major rebuilding job going on at the Emirates this summer.
Replacing xhaka and partey with rice and havertz isn’t an upgrade
Most would disagree.
Selling Xhaka and Partey in the same season, in my opinion, is not a good move. Rice seems a good deal but even if Arsenal signs another midfilder in Lavia or Caicedo, trust me, Arsenal still needs one of the two senior midfielders just incase things don’t workout immediately for those coming in. So let Xhaka, Lokonga & Elneny go, Partey stays aleast for a season and bring in either Lavia or Caicedo. And on Balogun, Edu kindly don’t sell this kid. Give him another full season loan spell either in Germany or Spain then make a decision after that.
Balogun doesn’t want to stay. He wants to go. That’s the main reason for selling him
Compare the statistics of Rice and Party on one hand, and Havertz and Chaos on the onetr hand, and you will see the clear upgrade.
How is Declan Rice not a update on Thomas Partey? Partey:s injury records with Arsenal has not been good. Rice, on the other hand, played ALL games for West Ham last season. The only one I am not sure of here is Kai Harvetz. That is why Fabrizio Romano says we will need another midfielder to which I agree. Whether that is Latvia or another person, we do not know.
Too true need another midfielder and and a proven no 9
A proven number 9 is what is hindering arsenal from winning the EPL
Xhaka and Partey will bring enough money to sign another midfielder for the bench, maybe 2.
The point here is that we need Strikers….at least one that is better that Nkieta…and then we need another 2 good defenders for the bench.
Champions League, Premier League, etc…if you want to compete you need wonder player even on the bench..
Arsenal needs a striker in the mould of Hallaand. Jesus plays too deep and may not be getting the goals.
Arsenal’s loss of the title last season was because of the limited “squad depth”, so xhaka should not have left for Leverkusen as well as Thomas Party. These two remaining would only reinforce arsenal’s squad, which I believe would aid Arsenal this season amidst all competitions.
But I think why they are selling them is because they can’t afford to bench any of the 2.
Whatever is gonna happen ,keep Thomas at the Emirates
Partey will not leave arsenal in this window. The players who should are pepe, tavares, lokonga, holding, balogun, elneny, cedric, xhaka*( for decent fee),
Xhaka & Partey should leave, Xhaka needs an upgrade, Partey on the other hand is inconsistent. He cannot be depended upon the whole season. Caicedo in my opinion will be too expensive given the monies already spent. Romeo Lavia should replace Partey. Balogun should stay and Nketiah leave instead. Pepe, Tavarez, Cedric, Lokonga, Holding, Mari, Runarson, should go
It will be another disappointing season for arsenal if thy dare to sell both party and xhaka. Just remember what happened when they sold van persie and Alex song in 2012.
It exception of Balogun…all the aforementioned can leave.
With all due respect, I don’t know what is wrong with Arteta. I’m happy that Nelson has extended his stay despite Arteta ‘s hostility towards him. Nelson started just one Premiership game last season. Some even say he did not start! This is a boy that always get us out of jail. We hardly win game without Partey in the defensive midfield, yet his name keep do appearing as potential exit. Ever since he entered Arsenal three seasons ago, Arteta has been doing everything to push him out from Arsenal. Many of us did not know that Arteta did not approve of Partey’s coming in the first place. We need deputy for both Partey and Saliba, yet, Arteta has spent 210m pounds without looking into that direction.