Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal are believed to be open to offers for as many as four first team stars in the January transfer window.
The Gunners, who are flying high at the top of the table, boast one of the most complete squads in English football and have immense depth in almost every area of the pitch.
They’ve finished runners-up in the last three campaigns but have spent more than a further £250m on quality reinforcements such as Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres among others to finally try and deliver a first league title in 21 years. However, part of the challenge of having a big squad filled with expensive talent is keeping them all happy, leading to growing speculation that some stars could be about to depart mid-season.
Ethan Nwaneri set for potential loan exit
Ethan Nwaneri could be ‘offered an opportunity’ to go out on loan, according to Mail Sport. Nwaneri made his Premier League debut against Brentford in September 2022, becoming the youngest player to appear in the top flight of English football, at 15 years and 181 days old at the time.
That same season, he reached the FA Youth Cup final with the Gunners before being slowly integrated into the first team squad by Mikel Arteta.
Overall, he’s played 48 times for the Gunners, including 37 times across all competitions last term, in what’s been his strongest career season to date. Nwaneri registered nine goals and two assists to firmly earmark himself as a potential superstar for years to come before capping off his achievement with a European Championship at Under-21 level over the summer. However, he’s slipped down the pecking order by making just nine appearances so far, with not a single one of his starts coming in the Premier League.
Ben White’s future ‘under review’ along with Gabriel Jesus
Ben White, who arrived from Brighton in a £50m deal four years ago, also faces an uncertain future in North London. White has made 166 appearances in total for the Gunners, including 51 in the 2023/24 season where he barely missed a minute and was in contention for the PFA Team of the Season. However, he’s rarely started at right-back over the last 18 months following Jurrien Timber’s return from an ACL injury and has also struggled to break up the formidable centre-back pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba.
The 28-year-old hasn’t featured in the Premier League since the opening day of the season and has been an unused substitute in all of the last seven league matches.
Similarly, Gabriel Jesus, who hasn’t featured since January after sustaining an ACL injury, could be allowed to leave. The Brazil international is reportedly the subject of interest from Everton and is unlikely to feature heavily when he returns amid competition from Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz.
Finally, Gabriel Martinelli, arguably the biggest name in this list based on his achievements at Arsenal, is also someone that could depart. He’s still seen as a useful player in Mikel Arteta’s group but is believed to be attracting interest from Saudi Arabia which could potentially leave Arsenal with a lucrative sum of cash to sign players in other areas of the pitch.