Arsenal's inability to offload some of their squad players this summer is a "problem" for the club, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown.
What has Brown said about Arsenal struggling to sell players?
The Gunners were busy in the recent transfer market, bringing in six players aged 23 or under to bolster Mikel Arteta's squad. However, they struggled to sell many of their bit-part players.
Midfielder Joe Willock was the only player to leave the club on a permanent basis, while other promising talents such as William Saliba and Reiss Nelson were loaned out. Brown views this as an issue for the north London side.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “The problem really at Arsenal is they have a big squad full of players, and they still have a lot of players they can’t really get rid of, who they’ve been trying to get rid of for several windows. So, they’re in a situation where ‘okay, we’ve got A, B and C we’re trying to lose but we have no offers or none that are acceptable. So, do we then let X, Y and Z go?'”
Which players did Arsenal try to get rid of?
Much of Arsenal's transfer business in terms of incomings made sense, as led by technical director Edu they brought in several youngsters who could blossom at the club in years to come.
Their problem with selling players was difficult to comprehend, though. Eddie Nketiah was linked with a move to Crystal Palace during the final weeks of the window, but ended up staying put, while Sead Kolasinac was reportedly in talks with Benfica at one stage, before he was surprisingly thrown into Arsenal's starting line-up for their game against Manchester City last month, which the team lost 5-0.
Alexandre Lacazette is another player who looked as though he may be shown the exit door, yet he remains on Arsenal's books and is now into the final year of his contract, meaning that he could leave the Emirates for nothing in 2022.
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How can Arteta deal with this situation?
It seems clear that there was some uncertainty this summer about the squad that Arteta would have at his disposal by the end of the transfer window. However, he now knows who he will be working with until at least January.
His aim now should be to ensure that his fringe players remain hungry and motivated, so that they are ready to step in and perform if called upon.
It is equally important that he has a plan in place for January, though. If he wants to build a successful long-term project at Arsenal, he needs to sit down with Edu and figure out exactly who he wants at the club moving forwards, and then a concerted effort should be made to offload the players who are not part of his plans in the winter transfer window.