Arsenal could move on four peripheral players who were absent from the squad for their Community Shield win over Manchester City on Sunday. The Gunners launched their campaign by defeating their Premier League title rivals 3-0, with Mikel Arteta's squad selection offering clues about potential departures.
While attention focused on new signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, who made their competitive debuts in Cardiff, Arteta omitted some big names and complained about the matter post-match. Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri, Marli Salmon, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson were all absent from the matchday squad.
Interest in Omitted Players
Martinelli has attracted interest from Galatasaray, who have submitted an offer worth £38million for the striker. The Brazilian is understood to be reluctant to relocate to Turkey despite entering the final year of his Arsenal deal.
Salmon is a 16-year-old defender who has made four first-team appearances for Arsenal but will need to be patient for further chances. The other four players who were uninvolved at the weekend could be offloaded before the September 1 transfer deadline.
The Athletic reports that Vieira and Nelson are attracting attention from Hamburg and West Ham, respectively, following loan spells last season. Meanwhile, Napoli are eager to sign Jesus, who has just 12 months remaining on his contract, and the Gunners could reluctantly allow Nwaneri to depart as well.
Nwaneri's Situation
Nwaneri faces a battle to secure playing time in Arsenal's attack and there is a reluctant acknowledgement that a move might be the optimal solution, particularly as the homegrown talent would register as pure profit on the balance sheet. The 19-year-old spent last season on loan with Marseille and AC Milan, and Galatasaray are amongst the clubs to officially lodge enquiries this summer.
The battle for places at Arsenal has the club needing to shift more fringe players, with Arteta exasperated that he cannot name more players among the substitutes.
Arteta's Complaint
"It's really sad not to have their availability," Arteta told TNT Sports after the win. "I've been fighting with the Premier League to extend and accommodate more players in the squad because they deserve to be in the squad, there's no question.
"Ethan and Marli as well, who has had the whole pre-season with us. Hopefully we can change that rule so players can enjoy on the pitch and can be an option to play and contribute to the team going forward."
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is working tirelessly to push through a number of departures, with Leandro Trossard (Besiktas), Jakub Kiwior (Porto), Karl Hein (Werder Bremen) and Christian Norgaard (Everton) the only players to have departed the club for transfer fees this summer.
Outgoing deals are essential to help finance moves for a central defender to provide backup for the injured William Saliba, as well as a world-class attacking addition.
