Arsenal’s offensive duo Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah could leave Emirates in the summer as Mikel Arteta plot overhaul.
A recent report from Football.London has shed some light of Arsenal’s transfer policy in the summer. After a busy January transfer window, the club is expected to offload a few more players in the summer, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah among players who could head towards the exit door.
The report further states that Arsenal’s preparation for the summer transfer window have already begun, with the focus currently on handing a contract extension to David Luiz – an interesting and perhaps understandable decision given the club’s current status in the central defensive unit.
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The departure of Lacazette and Nketiah is set to raise a few eyebrows, especially given how Lacazette has played a key role in Arsenal’s revival in the past couple of months.
Indeed, the Frenchman had netted five goals during a stretch of six Premier League matches where Arsenal secured five wins. His form has died down since, with the forward notably getting axed from the starting eleven in the recent win over Leeds United. The return of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his subsequent hat-trick may have played a key role in the club’s desire to offload Lacazette.
It is also fair to point out that the 29-year-old’s contract at Emirates expires at the end of next season. The same applies to Eddie Nketiah, who has barely been a part of Mikel Arteta’s first-team plans after initially making a promising start to the campaign. The youngster was even linked with a move to West Ham in January, but a move did not materialise.
It appears Arsenal are now ready to move on, especially from Lacazette, who, at the age of 29, does not bring a lot of long-term value to the club. His presence in the team also blocks the route for Aubameyang in the number nine role, which is why the Gunners have been reportedly linked with a far more versatile forward in Tiago Tomas.
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It remains unlikely that Arsenal will be able to fetch any astronomical fee from the sales of Lacazette and Nketiah. But they could certainly contribute to a much more relaxed wage structure, especially following the added January departures of Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis – giving the club the financial leverage to usher in a squad overhaul this summer.
