Arsenal set to axe five senior players in long-awaited revamp

It’s about time Arsenal let go of the deadwood in the squad…

I know what you’re thinking; progress involves signing the best players. You’d be right in thinking so. However, an underrated asset to progress is knowing when to let go, which is something Arsenal has struggled with in recent seasons.

Mikel Arteta is not going to let this fatal flaw continue on his watch. He resonates with the supporters and he knows what needs to be done. Consequently, he has been in discussion with the board of directors over what the right steps are in order to progress.

According to football.london, there are five Arsenal players that will be made available in the summer. The names include Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mohamed Elneny.

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Many of these you can understand; Mkhitaryan is simply bang-average, Elneny has never really stamped his authority, Kolasinac is riddled with injury and Sokratis is getting on a bit now.

However, the involvement of Mustafi I do not understand. Yes, he has been shockingly bad throughout the majority of his Arsenal career. However, since Arteta took over, Mustafi has actually performed like one of his best players. I don’t understand why he is in the firing line.

Mustafi is entering the prime stages of his career and although the last few seasons haven’t worked out for him, he is showing impressive progress under Arteta. Like, progress I didn’t even know was possible. He is now playing like a senior player and he is commanding the players around him to do the same. It’s been a true turnaround.

This progress deserves to be rewarded, not brushed aside. Mustafi seems to be enjoying life as an Arsenal man much more, which makes the whole conundrum more difficult to decipher. The rest, though, I can understand.

Do you think Arsenal are right to want to sell these five players or are there any you disagree with?