Foriegn

Mustafi, Ozil others for sale

UNAI Emery will sanction an Arsenal clearout this summer — with defender Shkodran Mustafi among the players for sale.

Emery will head into the transfer window with a budget of as little as £45million.

But the manager, who has impressed the Gunners hierarchy during his first season, has been told he can reinvest a significant amount of any money raised from player sales.

Emery is therefore ready to offload a number of his players so he can bolster his kitty. Despite the progress made in his first campaign — Arsenal already have three more points than last season’s final tally under Arsene Wenger — Emery still believes his squad need major improvements.

Among those whose futures are in doubt is Mustafi, whose latest horror show in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace reinforced the belief at the club that they should listen to offers for the German.

Arsenal have been open to selling Mustafi, who joined from Valencia in 2016 for £35m, for the last two summers but have struggled to find a buyer. And given his poor season, that is unlikely to change.

Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will also be in the shop window. The Gunners are under pressure to reduce their wage bill, especially if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Selling Ozil, despite his recent renaissance, remains a key objective because of his mammoth £350,000-a-week wages. Mkhitaryan earns £180,000 a week and the Armenian is another one Arsenal hope to sell.

The club will also listen to offers for Carl Jenkinson and Mohamed Elneny, while Calum Chambers and David Ospina are likely to be sold once they return from their loan spells at Fulham and Napoli respectively.

The departures of Petr Cech and Aaron Ramsey will slash close to £200,000 from the weekly wage bill. Danny Welbeck, who earns around £80,000 a week, is also expected to leave when his contract expires this summer.

– MailOnline

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