Arteta must sell Arsenal star who’s a “bit of a moaner”

While the last four or five years have seen Arsenal continuously improve under Mikel Arteta, this season has been a rude awakening.

While the Gunners finished in a close second place for the last two campaigns, they are already 13 points off Premier League leaders, Liverpool.

Injuries have undoubtedly played a significant part in the North Londoners’ poor form, but at the same time, the squad clearly isn’t good enough.

This summer represents a massive opportunity for the board to make the necessary investments to push the team over the line next season, but arguably just as important is shipping off those who aren’t up to scratch, including a regular starter who’s already been linked with a move to the Middle East.

The Arsenal players who need to be sold

Starting with an easy one here, as for a while there, it looked as if Oleksandr Zinchenko would be sold in the winter transfer window.

Borussia Dortmund were supposedly targeting the

Ukrainian international, and while his quality on the ball and the impact he had on the team alongside Gabriel Jesus in the 22/23 season cannot be forgotten, it’s clear that he’s now surplus to requirements.

For example, he’s made just 15 appearances this season, with only four of those being starts, and with the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, his importance is only going to further diminish, and as he’s on a whopping £150-per-week, it also makes financial sense to move him on.

Likewise, Polish international Jakub Kiwior has seen his already minor importance to the team fade even more this term, as his only appearances have come when Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba have been injured, ill or suspended.

Moreover, with Ben White now back to full fitness, Jurrien Timber continuing to impress, and Riccardo Calafiori in the squad, there are far more players who can do his job of filling in at centre-back and full-back, so it would make sense for his career and the club’s coffers if he was sold in the summer.

However, it’s not just in defence that players need to be moved on, as it might be time for one of the club’s main attacking outlets to leave in a few months.

Why it’s time for Arsenal’s £90k-per-week star to go

With Bukayo Saka being the world-class talent he is, Kai Havertz hitting 20 goal involvements this year, Gabriel Martinelli still possessing plenty of upside, and Jesus being out with a long-term injury, it should come as no surprise that Leandro Trossard is the forward Arsenal should sell in the summer.

Now, the first thing to say is that when the Belgian is at his incredible best, he can be near enough unplayable for opposition defenders, but therein lies the problem: he’s not been anywhere near his best this year.

For example, in his first six months with the club, the former Brighton & Hove Albion star racked up a brilliant haul of one goal and ten assists in 22 games, and then last year managed to rack up a tally of 17 goals and two assists in 46 appearances.

However, instead of going one better this season, or even just maintaining his level of output, the Waterschei-born winger, who Arteta described as “a little bit of a moaner,” has regressed.

In his 39 appearances across all competitions this year, the usually reliable attacker has only been able to muster up five goals and seven assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 3.25 games, compared to one every 2.42 games last season and every other game in his first half-campaign.

In short, the 41-capped international is not as dangerous as he once was, and considering he’ll be 31 at the end of this year and his £90k-per-week contract expires next summer, the club must cash in on him in the next transfer window.

The good news is that there does seem to be interest in him from the uber-wealthy Saudi Pro League, as reports from September revealed that the North Londoners turned down an offer from Al-Ittihad.

Ultimately, Trossard has been a useful player for Arsenal, but this season has seen his effectiveness dwindle, and unless Arteta and Co want him to leave for nothing next year or continue to underwhelm next season, they should be looking to sell him as soon as possible.