Arsenal are heading towards a significant summer of change, with five senior first-team players set to leave the club for nothing at the end of the season. David Raya’s backup Neto and Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling – will return to their parent clubs once their loans expire, while Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney, and Jorginho are all out of contract and look almost certain to depart as free agents.
Frankly, none of these exits come as much of a surprise. Neto and Sterling were always short-term solutions, and there’s little-to-no expectation Arsenal will push to make either move permanent. Partey and Jorginho, meanwhile, are among the club’s highest earners and on the wrong side of 30. Injuries have caught up with Partey, and while Jorginho has been a useful squad player, the time feels right for the club to move on. It’s believed Arsenal have already made that decision.
The consequence of this is obvious Arsenal have a lot to do in the summer and it’s not going to just be about attackers. To build your Arsenal XI, you’ll need new players! Amongst those, Arsenal will need a new number six. Even if you believe that Declan Rice is best deployed there, he simply can’t play every minute of every game. Depth is essential, and it’s no secret Martin Zubimendi has been right at the top of Mikel Arteta’s wishlist for years now. With his release clause sitting around £50 million, this could finally be the summer Arsenal get their man, though it may come at the expense of funds that were otherwise earmarked for the much-needed signing of a new forward—likely two.
A backup goalkeeper will also need to be brought in to replace Neto, adding to an already busy shopping list. Joan Garcia appears the most likely arrival there. It raises the question of whether Arsenal might try to keep hold of players like Jakub Kiwior, just to avoid a full squad overhaul. But really, his future feels entirely offer-dependent. If the right bid—say, upwards of £20 million—comes in, selling him makes a lot of sense.
With Kiwior, Tierney, and potentially Zinchenko all gone, there would also be scope for Arsenal to invest in another defender. Given Takehiro Tomiyasu’s latest injury troubles, there’s even a case to be made that another versatile centre-back should be part of the summer plan. Either way, this is shaping up to be a major window of change at the Emirates, and with so many gaps to fill, Arsenal’s recruitment team have plenty of work ahead.