Arsenal are having a clear out in the transfer window this month. Whilst no players have yet joined the club, it certainly appears that Edu Gaspar is clearing the decks for some potential new arrivals.
First to leave the club this month was Sead Kolasinac. On an initial loan deal, the Bosnian was earning around £140,000 per week at the club, and Fresh Arsenal understands through a mix of the player taking a pay cut and Schalke covering his wages, the Gunners financial commitment to the player this season is extremely minimal.
Kolsinac was one of the players to play very rarely for the Gunners. With just one Premier League game this season it was clear boss Mikel Arteta did not value him.
Next out the door officially is Matt Macey. Whilst his salary commitment was extremely minimal, it is another player out the door as he joined Hibernian.
More recently Arsenal have confirmed the decision to cancel the contract of Sokratis by mutual consent. The Greek international had just 6 months remaining on his contract and had been left out of the clubs registered squad. Arsenal are likely to have rewarded Sokratis financially to end his contract early, but they can now write off his weekly £100,000 per week wage. For a player who was not playing and earning such a high amount, it was in everyone’s interest to resolve this situation this month and well done to the club for getting this done.
And finally the big one. The deal that is not yet confirmed but the one that the world knows about. As we told you earlier this week, Mesut Ozil, another to be left out of the squad this season is finally moving on. And with that goes his huge £350,000 per week wages.
Now we will see if Arsenal utilise the new squad space and wages to bring in one or two bodies into the squad before the window closes at the end of the month.