Arsenal could be set for a clear out in the January transfer window with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang potentially departing after having the captaincy taken away from him.
After being the biggest spenders in the summer transfer window, manager Mikel Arteta could embark on another spree by raising funds through selling his former captain as well as other outcasts.
The 32-year-old was allowed by the club to visit his mother but arrived late back in England and subsequently had the armband taken off him.
Now his future is far from clear despite signing a three-year-deal in 2020 and could depart the club just 18 months into the new contract.
Aubameyang joined in 2018 for £56million and was an immediate hit, winning the Golden Boot in his first full season.
He even helped them win the FA Cup and Community Shield but he could now leave with his tail between his legs. But who could join him? talkSPORT takes a look…
Outgoings
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
After signing for the club, he netted 22 times in successive seasons in the Premier League, winning one golden boot in the process.
In 2020, fans were beggning the player to sign a new contract but now they might be thinking differently.
He’s had a torrid spell in the last season-and-a-half and only found the net on 14 occasions in 43 league games since the start of last season.
Aside from the captaincy issues, the no.14 has been a shadow of his former self and could now depart the club after four years at the Emirates.
Nicolas Pepe
Arsenal’s £72m flop could also leave the club after several seasons of underwhelming displays.
It’s a bitter disappointment for all parties since the Ivory Coast international arrived from Lille in the summer of 2019.
The Gunners man was even close to joining Liverpool such was his potential but chose to join the north London club instead due to better game time.
Liverpool clearly dodged a bullet as Pepe has only scored 25 goals in 99 games and is yet to find the net in the league this season under Arteta.
Alexandre Lacazette
Although he has fared better than Pepe since joining from Lyon in 2017, Lacazette’s time at Arsenal also looks set to come to an end.
The Frenchman’s contract runs out at the end of the season and given Arsenal’s policy of signing young players, it looks unlikely that they will give him a new deal.
They could, though, cash in early in January and at least get a couple of million for the striker.
For someone wearing the no.9 shirt at Arsenal, his numbers haven’t exactly been excellent.
In 184 games, the former Lyon forward has found the net 69 times and his best ever season in the league only amassed to 14 goals in 32 matches.
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Eddie Nketiah
The academy product had a lot of excitement around him after the records he produced at youth level.
For the Under-18s in the 2016/17 season, Nketiah found the net on 15 occasions in 16 games.
As he progressed up the ranks the goals kept on arriving with 12 goals in 13 games for the Under-23s in 2017/18 and 9 in 10 the following campaign.
Sadly, though, he wasn’t able to make the next step into the first team and has struggled to find the net with only 15 goals in 70 games across all competitions.
Similarly to Lacazette, Nketiah’s contract is also up at the end of the season, crucially though, aged at 22-years-old, time is still on his side and can fulfil the potential that many saw in him at academy level.
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