Unai Emery is planning huge changes at Arsenal with four new signings and up to nine big-name departures, while Adam Johnson wants to raise his profile with the help of another controversial figure, according to Wednesday’s papers.
Unai Emery is ready to ship out up to nine stars at Arsenal this summer as the Gunners manager prepares wholesale changes to his squad.
The Spaniard has enjoyed an impressive first season in charge to date, though much of his success will be measured on whether Arsenal can secure a top-four finish and, or claim glory in the Europa League, for which they face Napoli in a two-legged quarter-final.
However, the Gunners boss is already pressing on with plans for the summer and with Aaron Ramsey already having agreed to join Juventus, as many as eight other stars could be following him out the exit doors.
The highest-profile casualties look like being Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil, with Emery wanting to take their giant wage bill off from around the club’s necks. According to the Daily Mirror, the Arsenal boss believes the £550,000 a week in wages he could save by offloading the duo would be better off spent elsewhere.
Following them out the exit door will be the retiring Petr Cech and the out-of-contract Danny Welbeck, while the Mirror also reckons the club will listen to offers on Mohamed Elneny, Calum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi.
The paper adds that Emery wants to then bolster his side with four new signings, with a left-back, a central defender, a midfielder, and a wideman all on his shopping list.
Nicolas Tagliafico and Kieran Tierney have been targeted as left-back signings, while Eric Bailly and Ben Godfrey represent possible central defensive recruits.
The club are looking at both Ander Herrera and Nicolo Barella as midfield recruits, though their hopes of signing the latter will likely hinge on whether they claim a Champions League place by the end of the season.
Atletico Madrid’s Gelson Martins – currently on loan at Monaco – looks likely to fill the attacking wide role Emery is seeking.