Arsenal legend names six players who should leave the club

With Arsenal on the brink of more signings this week, who should leave as part of the team’s reshuffle?

Arsenal legend Alan Smith has named six players who should leave the London club this summer.

Mikel Arteta is looking to bring in new players. The Gunners manager has already welcomed Kai Havertz from Chelsea to the fold. Next up on Arteta’s list are West Ham captain Declan Rice and Ajax defender Jurrien Timber. Together, the trio may cost a combined £210 million.

Naturally, the arrival of such expensive recruits suggests the club will have to make sales to balance the books – but who should leave?

Speaking on the Gambling Zone, Smith outlined six players who need to leave. The first one is record signing Nicolas Pepe. The Ivorian spent last season on loan at OGC Nice, but struggled to make his mark at the French club.

“He was bought for far too much money,” Smith said of Pepe. “It’d be great to recoup some of that because I don’t think Arteta is a massive fan.”

Folarin Balogun is another player who Smith thinks should leave the club. The striker is attracting lots of interest following a goal-laden loan spell at French side Reims last season.

“He’s a valuable player who can fetch £30m plus after the season he had in France,” Smith added on Balogun. “With financial fair play and all the rest of it, that that could help Arsenal a fair bit.”

Central defender Rob Holding, full-back Nuno Tavares, and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga are also on Smith’s list of players who should leave.

He also suggested Kieran Tierney is another player the club should sell. The Scotland international struggled for game-time last season. He played second fiddle to left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko for much of the campaign.

“Alan Smith 2” by Ronnie Macdonald is licensed under CC BY 2.0.