4 – Mikel Arteta
It seems like a bit of a curse to be handed the captain’s armband as an Arsenal player, and for Mikel Arteta it seems he’s been unable to withstand that curse.
The Spanish star has endured a season full of injury, which as a result has made his inclusion in the first team incredibly rare.
The surprise emergence of Francis Coquelin and revival of both Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere has seen the captain take a step down in the pecking order, and with rumours of a move for the out-of-contract Sami Khedira, all the signs point to a summer exit for Arteta.
Do we need him?Â
That’s a tough question to answer but when it comes down to what happens on the pitch you can’t see much of a future for the 33-year-old.
We’ve got the depth without him and for the majority of the season we’ve learnt to cope with life that doesn’t involve our captain.
Reports have suggested the Arsenal star has put pen to paper for a new one-year contract, but is yet to be confirmed by Wenger, who will consider his position after this weekends FA Cup final.
People talk about needing him for experience, but surely that just comes down to his age. The midfielder hasn’t featured heavily whilst winning any major trophies for club or country, and when your captain is sitting out week after week you know there’s something wrong with him.
How much could we get for him?
For a player like Arteta, you could get something in the region of £3million, which is hardly the knockout price tag that justifies his ability.
As it stands the Spaniard is out of contract in the summer, which means we could see him head out for free, something that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world given his transfer value.
The MLS could beckon for Arteta, who may join up with plenty of other Premier League stars who are raising the profile of football in America.