The focus of Arsenal's transfer window will certainly be on the needs at striker and central midfield. However, there remains work to do with the surplus talent that Mikel Arteta has no plans to continue using in the short and long term future.
There was a major overhaul during the previous three transfer windows and there seems no sign of this mass exodus of players slowing. In fact, Arsenal could see players leaving the club reach double figures, but Edu has a huge challenge ahead of him to make one crucial change to the club's methods.
Edu must begin to get more financial reward for player sales. Players have left for little to no transfer fee recently. Only Joe Willock and Emi Martinez represent significant sales in the previous two summers. Hector Bellerin is one player expected to leave and Edu has the opportunity to extract maximum value from the Spaniard, although his accepted price tag is causing a divide. football.london's Arsenal writers are split on the topic.
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Bailey Keogh - Arsenal Fan Brand Writer/Presenter
The maximum amount Arsenal will receive in funds for Bellerin will most likely be around the £10m mark. But the Gunners should be willing to accept an offer if it ranges between £5m-£10m.
The Spaniard will have one year remaining on his Arsenal contract when he returns from his season-long loan with Real Betis. This means that his value would have been massively debunked as he could be signed on a free transfer just six months later.
Considering his serious injury record where he has torn his ACL, and a constant dip in performance levels, it is highly unlikely that a major club will come into sign Bellerin. So it will be unlikely that the Gunners will receive a handsome fee for the full-back.
Arsenal have let go of many players on a free transfer in recent times and it wouldn’t surprise me if Bellerin followed this path. But with the Spaniard having a good loan spell at Betis, Edu could certainly receive some funds in a summer sale, but it certainly would not exceed the £10m mark.
Tom Canton - Arsenal Fan Brand Writer/Presenter
Put simply Hector Bellerin should not be sold for anything less than £10m. Granted, he has just a single year left on his deal however, at 27 years of age with Premier League experience the Spaniard represents one of the better fullbacks in Europe.
Creating the opening goal in the Copa del Rey final for Real Betis, before they went on to win the trophy, was just a small example of his talents. There is little reason why a player of his talents shouldn’t be drawing in a figure in this region.
From Arsenal’s perspective, they should be holding out for a figure close to this as well. Edu cannot afford to keep offloading players below their market worth. Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Dinos Mavropanos are all expected to move on well below their value. Bellerin, whose loan does not include an option, cannot be allowed to fall into the same category.
Chris Davison -Arsenal Fan Brand Writer/Presenter
If the Spaniard had more than a year left on his current deal, my valuation would sit a lot higher. Unfortunately, I can only see us receiving around £8m-£10m for him this summer.
Bellerin has enjoyed a successful loan spell with Betis, helping them win the Copa del Rey while managing to stay injury-free over the course of the season which is great to see.
He's still only 27-years-old too which is kind of crazy considering how long he's been around, but it means he still has a lot to offer as he heads into his prime over the next few years.
With the pace and intensity of the Premier League in mind, I don't believe Hector has what it takes to play a part for us any longer. However, he has proven to be a reliable option for Manuel Pellegrini this season and will no doubt represent shrewd business by the La Liga side should they complete a permanent move for him this summer.
Kaya Kaynak - Arsenal Writer
I've been genuinely really happy to see how Hector Bellerin has done at Real Betis. As an academy product, he served Arsenal well during his 10 years with the club both on and off the pitch (let's not forget that he was the first player on the men's team to speak out against the Super League), and I never understood the hate he seemed to get from some sections of the fanbase.
Despite that though it seems his long term future lies away from the Emirates. He was never capable of playing that inverted full-back role that Mikel Arteta wanted from him and so it's time to let him go.
When it comes to price tags there are two things to consider that might lower things. Number one is that he's in the final year of his contract, which means that teams will not be willing to put in bids that are realistically close to what Bellerin is worth - just look at Matteo Guendouzi. It's also worth noting that the player wants out of north London, and with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric in the squad, Arsenal are probably willing to let him go.
However, the fact that he has done so well with Betis may give the Gunners some bargaining power. Bellerin has become popular with the Betis fans and it would be an easy PR coup for them to sign him on a permanent basis. With that in mind, I'd look to get around £15m for the Spaniard. We're not really in the post-COVID market anymore and with a season of full stadiums under their belt I think most teams would be able to afford that. Ideally, that kind of business could then be used to go and fund the striker that the Gunners so desperately need
Tashan Deniran Alleyne - Arsenal Writer
Arsenal used to be very good at sales. £35m from Everton for Alex Iwobi was good business, as was selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool for the same price as he's not quite developed further - even if he's gone on to enjoy great success under Jurgen Klopp.
But in recent years, things have changed. Aside from the £25m deal that saw Joe Willock join Newcastle United last summer, we don't often get good value when letting players leave. In fact, the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Shkodran Mustafi all left on a free transfer.
Therefore, I'm hoping Arsenal can get back on track with Hector Bellerin this summer. With a new right-back seemingly on Mikel Arteta's radar, all signs are pointing towards the two parties going their separate ways.
As per Transfermarkt, Bellerin has a valuation of £18m. Now, it's probably unlikely that Real Betis will pay that sum to turn the Spaniard's loan deal into a permanent one this summer and the fact he will be into the final year of his contract at the end of the season means Arsenal won't be in a strong negotiation position.
Even so, I'd be looking at around £10m-£12m as an acceptable asking price for a player who has been a great servant to the club and still only 27 years of age which means he should be entering the prime of his career.
How much would you sell Bellerin for? Please tell us what you think in the comments below to get involved in the debate!
