While Arsenal bid to keep Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at the club, there’s also uncertainty surrounding the future of another of their important players.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was terrific towards the latter stages of last season but there are rumours that the England international could leave this summer, with Liverpool a possible destination.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has one year remaining on his contract at the Emirates Stadium and it’s understandable why he would be ready to consider his future elsewhere.
The 23-year-old has voiced a desire to play in the middle of midfield but Arsene Wenger seems intent on playing him on the flanks.
He played as a right-wing back in the 2-0 win over Manchester United in May and was even deployed on the left side of a 3-4-2-1 in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea.
And Oxlade-Chamberlain, like Sanchez and Ozil, probably harbours ambitions of winning titles instead of settling for FA Cups.
Whether Merseyside offers a better opportunity for him to do this is up for debate. But it’s Liverpool, not Arsenal, who will be playing in the Champions League next season.
According to the Independent, Arsenal are ready to sell the Ox to Liverpool. But the former Southampton man won’t be the only player to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.
Rules mean Arsenal have to sell
The Independent’s report says another eight players will depart as the Gunners attempt to cut their wage bill.
New Premier League rules, coming into force this summer, mean clubs are required to cut back.
The rules say a club’s wage bill shouldn’t be more than £7 million more than it was in 2016-17, or £19m more than the 2012-13 campaign.
It it does exceed those limits, the money can only come from external sources rather than Premier League central funds.
It’s unlikely that revenue from external sources, such as player sales, ticketing or commercial money, will reach the required amount, if Sanchez and Ozil do agree to new, lucrative contracts.
Which means the club must offload a number of fringe players and first-teamers.
Giroud and Wilshere among those who could depart
Olivier Giroud and Jack Wilshere could both leave, with Marseille and West Ham monitoring the Frenchman’s situation.
Wilshere spent last season on loan at Bournemouth and it’s unclear yet whether Wenger thinks the midfielder has a future at north London.
However, his wage demands make a permanent move to Bournemouth problematic.
Six more players who are likely to depart are Calum Chambers, Wojciech Szczesny, Chuba Akpom, Kieran Gibbs, Lucas Perez and Carl Jenkinson.