The 18 players leaving Arsenal, and who’s left in the 25 man squad.

By Sir Hardly Anyone

Arsenal’s 25 man squad is complete – in the two senses that we have 25 men in the squad and only 16 of them are foreign grown, the rest being either home grown.  We also have a few who are not included in the 25 because they will be classified as under-21 for the purposes of this season.

Which means that while as ever the media is full of the men who we are going to sign, from here on it is going to be one in and one out – unless we are going to do that awful “freezing out” process again.

1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
2. Mohamed Elneny
3. Sead Kolasinac
4. Alex Lacazette
5. Bernd Leno
6. Albert Sambi Lokonga
7. Pablo Mari
8. Gabriel Magalhaes
9. Martin Odegaard
10. Thomas Partey
11. Nicolas Pepe
12. Alex Runarsson
13. Cedric Soares
14. Kieran Tierney
15. Willian
16. Granit Xhaka
17. Hector Bellerin (HG)
18. Calum Chambers (HG)
19. Jonathan Dinzeyi (HG)
20. Rob Holding (HG)
21. Ainsley Maitland-Niles (HG)
22. Reiss Nelson (HG)
23. Eddie Nketiah (HG)
24. Aaron Ramsdale (HG)
25. Ben White (HG)

Freezing players out has given Arsenal two problems.

First, Arsenal have to continue paying the wages and second, Arsenal already have a nasty reputation having done this before.  That is not the sort of deal players want.  They know they can fall out of favour, but simply being left without any football to play is not their idea of how it is supposed to be.  Fall out of favour and leave at the next transfer window is the rule – and Arsenal decided to break that rule.

However Lucas Torreira (who is not in the 25) has seemingly resolved his position by going to Fiorentina confirming on a season-long loan deal.  And this despite stories saying that he was desperate to go to Boca Juniors because his mother had died.   (Sorry I am not going to try and resolve that one – the two clubs are 7000 miles apart).

So ideally, in these last few days of the window it should be not just one in and one out, but also one foreign grown in one out, and one home grown in, anyone out.

One of the top names being touted around is still Houssem Aouar of Lyon who plays midfield.  Top of the leaving list to accommodate him is Willian (“according to reports”).  On the downside the reason for finally agreeing to the sale is “his poor attitude”.  Although it might have been “his poor altitude” as he is only 5 feet 9 inches which is considered a little on the low side.

However the player is earning far more in England than he would in Brazil, and so Arsenal if Arsenal were to loan him to a team in Brazil they would have to continue paying most of his current salary – not least because of the poor financial position of clubs in Brazil.

Other players who are being talked up as on the way out are Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac, with it being said that both were in the team against West B., in order to show to the potential buyers that they are fit enough to play.

Meanwhile the attempts to undermine Mikel Arteta go on day by day, as with the Independent’s long piece  ‘He thinks he knows it all’: Mikel Arteta under pressure at Arsenal as mood inside club shifts.  It is a typical piece of ignoring the evidence that does not fit.  And there is the hint that the whole thing is a fantasy as they quote “the mood in the boardroom”.   An online newspaper having access to the boardroom?  I doubt it. 

Mind you I did love “The Arsenal board has been instructed to give Mikel Arteta more time by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.”   Roy Keane “instructing” the Arsenal board – that by itself is enough to lighten the mood.

Kieran Trippier is being mentioned as a possible incomer, but that again would require the removal of a foreign grown player such as Sead Kolasinac.

So quite a few players already moving on, and the need to move more if we are going to buy in some more – unless we damage our reputation even further.   Here’s the list of those going:

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