Who is next to go?

Is Edu and Mikel Arteta done downsizing the current Arsenal squad this month? If not, who is next to go?

You would have to believe Runar Runarsson is on thin ice, especially if the Gunners find a more experienced replacement in the transfer market to back-up Bernd Leno. The young keeper is too inconsistent, and too inexperienced to fill the big German’s shoes if that would be deemed necessary.

Then there is the on going discussion surrounding Ainsley Maitland-Niles.  Now that Sead Kolasinac is gone, Arteta has only AMN to back-up Kieren Tierney. Yes, of course, Bukayo Saka can play the left back position too, however, his skills are better served elsewhere on the pitch. So, unless a new left fullback emerges in the Arsenal squad in the next few days, one would have to think Maitland-Niles is safe for now.

What about Calum Chambers? Is he expendable? For some reason Arteta wants to keep Shkodran Mustafi hanging around, so that puts Chambers down in the pecking order. I don’t see Chambers leaving Arsenal on a permanent transfer any time soon, however, a short-term loan spell could be in his immediate future.

Should Eddie Nketiah be sold and that contract money used to keep Folarin Balogun? I don’t think we really know if Balogun will be better than Eddie in the long run. Do we?

What about Reiss Nelson? Does he figure into Arteta’s long range plans?  Who knows? We hardly ever see Nelson on the pitch.

And then there’s Willian and Pepe. I would give these two over-paid paid players until this summer to prove their worth, or else it’s bye-bye.

So, those are the guys on the bubble. With just eleven days to go in this January transfer market a lot can still happen, but I’m really more concerned about who is coming in, than who is going out.

There are a lot of names floating around in the transfer rumor mill, so hopefully, we will get a few new players signed and on board soon! We will need the help as the fixture list gets very congested, and very difficult in the weeks ahead.

Cheers.

Gunner1953