Arsenal still have 11 players that sporting director Edu can try to sell as manager Mikel Arteta looks to raise late-window transfer funds, including offloading Nicolas Pepe.

The north London club have been among the biggest spenders across Europe this summer. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s owner, has backed Arteta to make the Emirates Stadium natives title contenders in 2023/24. They missed out on the 2022/23 Premier League title by five points.

Finishing second to Manchester City, despite topping the table for 248 days, also sealed the Gunners’ Champions League return. They have not featured in UEFA’s elite club tournament since March 2017. But Arsenal will contest their opening group stage tie in late September.

Arsenal are not done in the transfer window after signing Raya

Arteta has sealed transfers for Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and now David Raya in the hopes of adding to Arsenal’s trophy cabinet in 2023/24. But the Spaniard is now set to be without Timber for the foreseeable future following his injury against Nottingham Forest.

Losing Timber to a serious knee injury could force Arsenal back into the transfer window for another defender. But Gunners sporting director Edu is also currently busy hastily bidding to clear the remaining deadwood before the deadline. And Arsenal have lots of players to sell.

Besiktas are targeting a free transfer from Arsenal for Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal paid LOSC Lille £72m to sign Pepe in August 2019 but he now tops Arteta and Edu’s deadwood list. The Ivory Coast winger has failed to justify the then-record sum spent for his signature under Unai Emery. He is also due to be out of contract in north London next June.

Reports by Fanatik have claimed that Pepe has an agreement to join Besiktas if Arsenal grant him a free transfer. The 28-year-old is even ready to slash his salary to sign a three-year deal worth just €2.5m-a-season (£41k-a/w). But the Black Eagles only want Pepe as a free agent.

Arteta has no intentions of including Pepe in his plans during the 2023/24 term. The 37-cap international has only offered Arsenal 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 games with the club. He also offered OGC Nice eight goals and one assist in 28 games whilst on loan during 2022/23.

Newcastle United want to sign Kieran Tierney on loan from Arsenal

Another player Arsenal could sanction a transfer for to boost Arteta’s late-window budget is Kieran Tierney. Reports by The Telegraph note the left-back is a target for Newcastle United. But the Magpies only aspire to take the 26-year-old on loan as they prepare to launch talks.

Newcastle believe that Tierney would like to move to Tyneside, although Arsenal will prefer to sell the Scotland international. The Gunners are very eager to offload Tierney as he does not feature prominently in Arteta’s plans. So, they will bide their time for a permanent sale.

Timber’s injury could also now see Arsenal hold off on sanctioning a transfer for Tierney to keep depth at left-back. The Dutchman started and impressed from the position during the Community Shield against Manchester City and then against Nottingham Forest last week.

Tottenham Hotspur are considering the transfer of Folarin Balogun

Arsenal can likely gain the largest fee on offer by agreeing to sell Folarin Balogun before the transfer window ends. Gazzetta dello Sport, rather strangely, claims that Tottenham Hotspur are considering the 22-year-old to replace Harry Kane, against competition from Inter Milan.

Edu set Inter Milan a €55m (£47m) valuation during talks with the San Siro side over selling the striker. While Arsenal have also rejected a €40m (£34m) bid for Balogun’s transfer from AS Monaco, per TuttoMercatoWEB. The Ligue 1 side are also considering making a new bid.

Balogun has a wealth of suitors after scoring 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 matches last season. The USA talent excelled on loan to Stade de Reims. But he has returned to Emirates Stadium and faces an uncertain future with their academy graduate only under contract until June 2025.

Nottingham Forest have made Arsenal an offer for Nuno Tavares

Another left-back could leave Emirates Stadium this summer with Tierney if Arsenal permit a transfer for Nuno Tavares. The 23-year-old only left Benfica to sign for the Gunners in July 2021. But he has an uncertain future after spending the 2022/23 term on loan to Marseille.

Life in Ligue 1 had good and low moments for the Portugal U21 international as he recorded six goals. But the Lisbon-born dynamo marked one goal against Montpellier with a red card. He also only started 30 of his 39 appearances from a potential 40 games in all competitions.

Now, Arsenal could look to sell with Nottingham Forest making an offer for Tavares’ transfer, per Fabrizio Romano. The City Ground natives recently raided Emirates Stadium to sign Matt Turner. Now, Steve Cooper’s club are speaking with Arsenal and to Tavares’ representatives.

Gabriel Magalhaes is now a target for a move to Saudi Arabia

It is beyond unlikely that Arsenal let Gabriel Magalhaes leave north London, despite Arteta’s shock decision to bench the Brazilian against Nottingham Forest last week. But the centre-half is attracting late-window interest after three seasons as an essential name under Arteta.

The Mirror reports that clubs in Saudi Arabia have identified Arsenal defender Gabriel as the latest target for a transfer. The Middle East state has marked the Brazilian as an option for a big-money move. While the Gunners know of the interest, they have not yet received a bid.

Arsenal are under no pressure to sell Gabriel and Arteta is particularly unlikely to permit any transfer. He only signed a new contract at Emirates Stadium last October that ties him to the club until June 2027. While Saturday’s match ended his run of 78 consecutive league games.

Arsenal have priced Thomas Partey out of a transfer to Juventus

Thomas Partey’s future at Arsenal has been in doubt all summer given the arrival of Rice this July. But Tuttosport reports that the Gunners have priced the 30-year-old out of a transfer to Juventus. The Bianconeri consider the Ghanaian too expensive especially given Partey’s age.

Reports by Calciomercato had noted that Juventus wanted to pay Arsenal just €15m (£13m) for Partey’s transfer. The Serie A side also resumed talks earlier this August only to now back out again. Juventus scoffed at the Gunners’ €40-45m (£34-38.5m) price tag, per Romano.

Jorginho’s future is in doubt despite only signing in January

Arsenal only signed Jorginho from Chelsea this January to strengthen Arteta’s midfield amid their Premier League title challenge. He would also replace Partey near the end of the term as a regular fixture of the line-up. But the 31-year-old’s future at the club is already unclear.

Joao Santos, the agent of Jorginho, has stated that the Italian ‘will stay at Arsenal’ and that he is ‘happy in England’. The representative also confirmed to TuttoMercatoWEB that they had received approaches from clubs in Saudi Arabia and Spain. But they ruled out a switch.

Nonetheless, Jorginho remains an option for Arteta and Edu to consider as Arsenal look to improve their transfer budget again. The interest in the midfielder’s signature could yield a reasonable fee to go toward a superior replacement. Yet he can also be valuable for Arteta.

Burnley may have left Albert Sambi Lokonga stuck in limbo

Burnley may have left Albert Sambi Lokonga stuck in limbo at Arsenal following the Clarets’ recent transfers. Vincent Kompany has now welcomed Sander Berge from Sheffield United to Turf Moor. While The Athletic reports an agreement with Aston Villa over Aaron Ramsey.

It had earlier appeared likely that Lokonga would be the midfielder to strengthen Burnley’s squad with a transfer from Arsenal. The Mirror reported that the Belgian was on the verge of a move to Lancashire. The Gunners were also tempted to accept an initial loan deal, as well.

Kompany knows Lokonga well having made him RSC Anderlecht’s captain at just 21 before he joined Arsenal in July 2021. But the midfielder has failed to fulfil his potential in England. Arteta also sent Lokonga on loan to Crystal Palace in January given his lack of match action.

Arsenal have told Runar Alex Runarsson he can seal a transfer

According to football.london, Arsenal have told Runar Alex Runarsson that he is free to agree a late-window transfer. But the Gunners might struggle to find a team willing to buy the 28-year-old. He has so far enticed little interest since returning from a loan spell at Alanyaspor.

Arsenal sent the Iceland international to the Super Lig club for the 2022/23 season. He had also spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan to Oud-Heverlee Leuven in Belgium. Runarsson’s only season at Emirates Stadium came after his transfer from FC Dijon in September 2020.

Arteta only fielded the goalkeeper in six matches after quickly accepting that Runarsson was not up to the standards required. He also replaced the 24-cap stopper with Turner and now Raya. Even his six clean sheets from 32 games at Alanyaspor will not save his Arsenal career.

Rob Holding can 100% leave Emirates Stadium this summer

Charles Watts told TEAMtalk in July that Rob Holding can ‘100%’ agree a transfer away from Arsenal this summer. David Ornstein also reported that Besiktas had bid €2.5m (£2m) for the 27-year-old. But the Super Lig club’s bid was far below what the Gunners would ever accept.

Just Mohamed Elneny has been at Emirates Stadium for longer than Holding among Arteta’s Arsenal squad. Arsene Wenger signed the centre-back from Bolton Wanderers in July 2016. He has since amassed 162 appearances for the Gunners and has even registered five goals.

But Holding will struggle to add to his tally of outings under Arteta in 2023/24, like he did in 2022/23. The former England U21 international only played 1,396 minutes across 24 games last season. He also failed to make Arsenal’s bench against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Mikel Arteta has given Cedric Soares the green light to leave

Arteta has given Cedric Soares the green light to leave Arsenal before the transfer window slams shut, per the Daily Mail. The 31-year-old is also the subject of interest from Villarreal and from clubs in his native Portugal. Villarreal have also informed Arsenal of their interest.

Yet the Germany-born right-back remains at Emirates Stadium, despite entering the last year of his contract. No side has offered the Gunners an acceptable deal for the 34-cap defender yet. He also struggled to impress whilst on loan to Fulham over the second half of last term.

Marco Silva struck a deal to get Cedric to Craven Cottage in January. Yet the Cottagers boss would only field his compatriot in six Premier League matches for a mere 195 minutes. The full-back further only started twice and he must now find another route away from Arsenal.

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