Arsenal are busy restructuring Mikel Arteta’s squad behind-the-scenes, with a few noteworthy exits anticipated before deadline day on September 1.
Marquinhos, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand have already left the club, as confirmed by Arsenal.
Tierney and Oulad M’Hand were named as the departing players via Arsenal’s retained list earlier this month, joining a host of senior and academy players out the door, with Neto and Raheem Sterling also returning to their parent clubs.
Marquinhos signed for Cruzeiro on a permanent deal following his initial loan spell in Brazil, while Jorginho’s contract was terminated before June 30, so he could join Flamengo early and in time for this summer’s Club World Cup.
Thomas Partey is still in talks to extend his Arsenal contract, which is why he wasn’t included in the Gunners’ retained list, but as yet, no agreement has been reached for the Ghanaian’s renewal
I think the first thing is where are you happy and where do you feel at home. At the end of the day you’ve been in football, you’ve been in different teams,” said Partey, speaking about his future in an interview with 3Sports this week.
“Then it’s about what is your next objective what do you want to achieve next. You still have to look at all this and at the end of the day we all have a family that needs money, this is our mind.
We are not getting younger. There are a lot of things where you have to look now with a family, where you want them to be happy. When you are young you just play anywhere.
“I’m an Arsenal fan, I can’t decide anything and just have to leave it to my agent and the club. Me, I just want to enjoy football.”
Until the ink is dry on paper, Partey’s potential exit remains a possibility. According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the African could be joined by both Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
La Gazzetta reporter Marco Guidi says that an emissary from AC Milan travelled to London and held a summit with Arsenal on Tuesday, with both Kiwior and Zinchenko discussed and targeted by the Rossoneri.
The duo, on a combined £208,000-per-week and further down Arteta’s pecking order, are prime candidates to leave north London this summer and Guidi writes that Arsenal could sell Zinchenko for less than £13 million.
Kiwior is also a popular name inside Milan, having impressed alongside William Saliba when Gabriel was out injured, not to mention performing well for Poland at international level.
The 25-year-old is a proven Serie A player from his time at Spezia as well, leaving little wonder Milan are considering Kiwior with Zinchenko as they look to strengthen after a disappointing 24/25 campaign.
