According to the latest reports, Premier League side Arsenal have confirmed that seven players will be leaving the club in the upcoming summer transfer window in order to free up space for new arrivals. The names that are leaving the Gunners are Stephan Lichtsteiner, Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey, Petr Cech, Charlie Gilmour, Cohen Bramall and Julio Pleguezuelo this summer.
Unai Emery guided Arsenal to fifth place in the Premier League table in his debut season with the club and literally allowed a top-four position to slip out of his hands. The Spanish boss inherited the club from legendary manager Arsene Wenger, who has been in charge of the club for 22 long years. The 69-year-old French boss won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups with the North London side but towards the latter end of his career, even the most ardent of Arsenal fans wanted him out of the club.
In the summer of 2018, Wenger left Arsenal for good and Unai Emery breathed fresh life into the club as he implemented his philosophy into the team. Most summer signings hit the ground running as he helped the club reach the finals of the Europa League but suffered a shambolic 4-1 defeat to fierce local London rivals Chelsea in Baku.
There are also a number of players that will leave Arsenal this summer and they are as follows. Aaron Ramsey’s contract will expire on June 30th and the 27-year-old Welsh midfielder will be joining Serie A champions Juventus on a free transfer.
Post the departure of Swiss right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, who had a horrendous debut season with the Gunners, the fans were a bit relaxed. The north London giants too the smart option of not renewing his contract by another year and he had to leave, with an emotional message for the Arsenal faithful.
Veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech announced earlier this season that he will hang up his boots and 37-year-old will be joining Chelsea’s backroom staff as the West London club’s goalkeeping coach. Englishman Danny Welbeck will also be leaving the club as confirmed by Arsenal, the 28-year-old who arrived at Arsenal from Manchester United and spent five years in the English capital. Welbeck’s Arsenal career was often plagued with injuries and was mainly utilized as an option off the bench on several occasions.
Arsenal have placed Mesut Özil on the transfer list after a bust-up with Unai Emery after the Europa League final loss to Chelsea, allegedly telling the manager repeatedly, “You are not a coach”, after being substituted off in the second-half. [Fanatik] #afc pic.twitter.com/XvLd1tKXix
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) June 3, 2019
Cohen Bramall, Julio Pleguezuelo and Charlie Gilmour(20) are also all set to leave the Emirates and pursue their careers elsewhere. In lieu of that, the club recently released a statement on their official website in which they thanked the players for their contributions to the team over the years and wished them good luck for the future, “We thank them all for their contributions to the club and we wish them every future success.”
Midfield duo Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil could also be leaving Arsenal if they agree on a mass clear-out, with new stars coming on most probably. Hopefully, the release of all these players will get the wage rate flexible and Arsenal could use their funds more efficiently and bring in some quality stars who can help them win titles.