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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Arsenal can raise further £67m in transfer funds by selling five first team stars

With three signings already in the bag, Arsenal are now aiming to secure the signatures of another four if all goes to plan as Mikel Arteta takes a step closer to assembling his dream Gunners squad.

Brazilian wonderkid Marquinhos, Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira and American shot-stopper Matt Turner have all been confirmed - but Arsenal are showing no signs of slowing down. Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus is on the verge of also sealing his switch to the Emirates.

Once that move is wrapped up, Arsenal will turn their attention to Leeds United winger Raphinha and Ajax defender Lisandro Marinez in two deals that could cost a combined fee of just over £100million. Leicester City's Youri Tielemans is the final player on Arteta's transfer wish-list, with the Foxes midfielder having just one year left to run on his current deal at the King Power.

If the Gunners were to somehow secure the signatures of all these players, it would undeniably make them a favourite for a top-four finish next term. However, the question marks continue to linger over how they are actually going to fund this project.

Arteta refrained from making any purchases in the January window earlier this year while also sanctioning the departure of the club's highest earner in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - but that alone could surely not bankroll this entire plan.

Mirror Football has taken a look at five Arsenal players who could be on the move this summer in a bid to generate funds for further transfer dealings in North London.

Bernd Leno - £10m

Bernd Leno is expected to leave Arsenal this summer (Getty Images)

The German shot-stopper was one of the first signings of the Unai Emery-era back in 2018 and for the most part has been a decent signing. Leno has always been a very good shot-stopper, but his inability with the ball at his feet has long been a source of frustration for Arteta.

So much so that Leno actually lost his status as Arsenal's number one goalkeeper early on last season following the purchase of England international Aaron Ramsdale. Turner's arrival is also only likely to hasten Leno's departure.

Far too good of a goalkeeper to continue operating as a deputy, Leno is pushing for an Arsenal exit to revive his chances of making Germany's World Cup squad later this year.

Earlier this month, reports emerged that Leno was on the cusp of getting his wish and leaving for fellow London club Fulham in a deal thought to be worth around £10m including add-ons.

Nicolas Pepe - £24m

Few would have anticipated that just three years into his move Arsenal's club-record signing would be being used purely to generate funds for other players, but that is the case for Nicolas Pepe.

The Ivorian was purchased for £72m back in 2019 but has never truly managed to make the grade at the Emirates despite fleeting moments of brilliance. Much like Leno, Pepe is thought to be pushing for an exit and has even changed his agency to increase his chances of getting a move.

Arsenal would struggle to recoup even half of the transfer fee they paid for him, with barely any potential suitors being linked with the winger - such is the damage done to his reputation after a plethora of underwhelming displays in a Gunners shirt.

However, if any interest does appear later on in the window - Pepe is valued at around £24m, a steep decline from the kind of fee Arsenal forked out on him.

Rob Holding - £9m

The no-nonsense central defender is a fan favourite over at the Emirates, but his time in North London may be nearing its end as Arsenal prowl the market for another centre-back.

With the highly-rated William Saliba returning to Marseille and expected to finally be integrated into the first-team fold, the Frenchman is expected to go above Holding in the pecking order.

On top of that, if the Gunners can secure the signature of Lisandro Martinez it would see Holding slip down to fifth-choice centre-back at the club.

According to Transfermakt, the former Bolton Wanderers man is valued at a relatively low £9m but that figure could go towards the club's pursuit of Raphinha, Tielemans or even Holding's direct replacement.

Lucas Torreira - £15m

The Uruguay international has spent the last two seasons away from the club on loan at Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina respectively. While he failed to make much of an impact in Spain, he hit the ground running in Italy and was adored by fans.

It was widely expected that the defensive midfielder would remain in Florence on a permanent basis, but some unforeseen circumstances appear to have scuppered the chance of a switch, as revealed by an angry Torreira on Instagram.

As part of his goodbye message to the club, the 26-year-old wrote: "Know that I did my best to continue being part of this club, but unfortunately there were those who, acting in a bad way, according to my understanding, managed to prevent this from happening and that is why I have to leave. I wish you the best for the future. They will have one more fan cheering from wherever I have to be."

The Gunners are reportedly holding out for around £15m in compensation for his exit, a fee that none of the sides interested are yet to muster up.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - £9m

Ainsley Maitland-Niles struggled at Roma ((Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images))

The Arsenal academy graduate has not had the same luck as some of the other stars to emerge from Hale End in recent years.

While Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe play for England and Eddie Nketiah is handed the number 14 shirts with his new deal, Maitland-Niles is returning from another failed loan spell. This time with Jose Mourinho's AS Roma.

It has already been confirmed that the Italian outfit and recently crowned Europa Conference League champions have no desire to make his stay a permanent one after Mourinho bid the player farewell on Instagram.

As a result of his underwhelming time in Rome, Maitland-Niles is valued at a low £9m - an underwhelming price for a young England international, but Arsenal may be forced to take what they can get if they have other irons in the fire to address.

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