When the topic of Arsenal's summer transfer window arises, usually the main discussion is with regard to potential signings.
And understandably so. After falling short in the Premier League title race, amid links to the likes of James Maddison, Ivan Fresneda and Moises Caicedo among many overs, it's clear that the Gunners need to strengthen in certain areas if they're to overcome Manchester City next season.
But while football.london understands West Ham United and England international Declan Rice is a priority signing for the north London outfit this summer, it's worth pointing out that outgoings will be just as important for Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar to oversee - whether it's permanent sales or loan moves.
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Now, the three senior players set to leave Arsenal for good in the next month have already been revealed as Ainsley Maitland-Niles is to become a free agent, Pablo Mari will join Monza after a successful loan spell and football.london understands Granit Xhaka is in advanced talks with Bayer Leverkusen.
What this triple exit does is allow for the Gunners to get ahead of the curve in terms of trimming the first-team squad even further. Going by the club's official website, the 2022/23 campaign ended with 24 senior players at Arteta's disposal after plenty of activity across both transfer windows.
However, taking the aforementioned trio of exits and returning loanees - Runar Alex Runarsson, Arthur Okonkwo, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares, Auston Trusty, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nicolas Pepe, Folarin Balogun and Marquinhos - into account, the number increases to 32. That's for too many especially when considering Premier League regulations.
After the summer transfer window closes, Arsenal will be permitted to name no more than 25 players in their Premier League squad for the 2023/24 season, from which 17 overseas players are the limit with the remaining eight places available to homegrown members of the squad.
For next season, under-21 players will have been born on or after 1 January 2002. This means William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli must be registered in the 25-man Premier League squad in order to be eligible for the competition thus leaving Karl Hein and Marquinhos as the only senior players that can be included in a separate list.
Therefore in order to adhere to the guidelines Arsenal have to let five first-team players, at a minimum, leave this summer - whether it be on loan or permanently - with more to follow to free up space for any new signings.
Having said that, it would appear that all is under control as Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey have both been linked with moves away and Balogun is likely to be off as well, with no first-team football in sight despite a very impressive spell in France with Reims this season.
In addition, Pepe could see his contract terminated if an offer doesn't come in, Nuno Tavares is another member of the loan army could leave permanently with just two years left on his contract and is reportedly attracting interest from West Ham United while Lokonga has been tipped for a reunion with Vincent Kompany at Burnley.
That's already six potential exits and the number could increase further with Runarsson, Okonkwo and Trusty unlikely to figure into Arteta's plans. As a result, the Spaniard is on course to avoid any issues when it comes to naming his Premier League squad for next season.
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