Arsenal board tells Wenger to sell, buy players this summer

According to the Express, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will have to sell as well as buy players this summer.

The Express has published a report, which won’t please a large quantity of Arsenal fans.

The national daily paper has suggested that while Arsenal are likely to bring in players this summer, the board has decided that departures will be necessary in the process.

“But it is thought that certain Arsenal board members would like to see departures as well as arrivals at the Emirates at the end of the season,” writes Ben Jefferson.

Arsenal need to up the ante ahead of next season because they have fallen short in the race for the Premier League title and were knocked out of the Champions League for the second season in a row by Bayern Munich.

There are several key areas of the side where extra players are going to be needed.

Right-back will be a big problem for Arsene Wenger, another centre-back will be a priority and bodies are needed on the left hand side of midfield and up front to support Olivier Giroud.

The report won’t come as good news to Arsenal fans who have been told throughout this season, while paying more than ever before to watch their side play, that Wenger has a good cash reserve to use this summer, which isn’t based around a necessity to sell players.

So who might leave?

A realistic sale could be club captain Thomas Vermaelen who has struggled to break up the partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny in the heart of the defence.

There has also been speculation that Lukas Podolski could leave the club, a player who would warrant a big transfer fee.

The problem is that other players who would have commanded decent fees will be leaving the club on free transfers, most notably Lukasz Fabianski and Nicklas Bendtner to name just two.

If Wenger is forced to buy extra replacements on top of the ones he’ll need to cover the free transfers, it stretches Arsenal’s already large budget to a point where the boss may be unwilling to risk large quantities on a single player as he did with Mesut Ozil at the back end of last summer’s transfer window.

It sounds like a case of one step forwards and two steps back.

Who should Arsenal get rid of this summer?