Mikel Arteta Selling Arsenal Players for Spending Spree

After Arsenal’s Premier League title bid collapsed, Mikel Arteta has been given the go-ahead to spend in excess of £200 million this summer in an attempt to bolster a squad that failed to last the distance. The Gunners’ board have already green lighted moves for key targets Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, and are preparing their opening offer for the West Ham captain. Arsenal also made two club-record bids for the Ecuador international in January, and will make a renewed effort to sign him this summer. Arteta is also likely to target defensive cover, both at full-back and centre-half, a winger who can provide competition for Bukayo Saka, and possibly a striker who can act as a target man. To fund their ambitious recruitment drive, Arsenal hope to raise about £100 million from player sales with some popular figures in the dressing room and the fanbase likely to depart. Granit Xhaka, Emile Smith Rowe, Nicolas Pepe, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Folarin Balogun, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Cedric Soares and Nuno Tavares are all expected to be made available for transfer, while Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney may also leave the club. In the wake of Sunday’s defeat against Brighton, Arteta hinted that major changes were afoot given his side’s collapse over the course of the home straight which has seen Arsenal win just two of their last seven games. He said: ‘If the team can show that face as well, there are things that have to be addressed. With the level required for the Premier League and Champions League, there’s a lot to think about.’