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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Taylor

Arsenal's starting XI of players axed by Mikel Arteta this season after January exodus

Mikel Arteta has axed so many players this season, it is genuinely possible to build a team with them.

Arsenal have undergone something of an overhaul over the past six months or so, splashing a club record £142milllion on six players last summer.

But the biggest focus has been on departures, with plenty of fringe players either getting loaned out or axed for good.

Arteta's desire to trim his squad seems to have been taken to the max, with an alarming lack of depth to his side, that may well come back to bite him.

So just how would all these players line up in a starting XI? Mirror Football takes a closer look.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given the boot to plenty of players recently (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

In goal, Alex Runarsson's time with the Gunners was short lived, as his shaky performances last season earned him a loan spell in Belgium at OH Leuven.

There was talk that Bernd Leno would be going out on loan in January after falling behind Aaron Ramsdale in the pecking order, but no such move transpired.

At right-back, long-standing Arsenal player Hector Bellerin clinched a loan move to Real Betis, but he could return for Arteta next season.

While on the left, Sead Kolasinac finally ended his time at the Emirates by agreeing a permanent switch to Marseille.

In the middle, William Saliba was loaned out to Marseille after clearly failing to impress Arteta, but Gunners fans will be hoping he will finally be given a chance next term.

The same will probably not be said of his centre-back partner Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is now into his second season on loan at Stuttgart, with a view to a permanent move.

Arsenal let several stars leave on loan like Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Getty Images)

Moving into midfield, Lucas Torreira was once again loaned out last summer, with Fiorentina picking him up, while the frozen out Matteo Guendouzi is another currently plying his trade in Marseille.

Rounding off a midfield three of loanees on the continent, Ainsley Maitland-Niles joined Jose Mourinho's Roma in January in search of regular game time.

One player who can perhaps feel a little harshly done by is Reiss Nelson, who has been on loan at Dutch side Feyenoord all season, but has struggled for form.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended his Arsenal nightmare on deadline day by completing a free transfer to Barcelona, and he would no doubt pick up the captain's armband for this team.

And up front is promising striker Folarin Balogun, who will be hoping to find his stride in the Championship with Middlesbrough.

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