Arteta confirms decision to sell TWO high-profile stars

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has proven to be a master of turning over his squad during the summer transfer window, and it appears that he is already planning for two high-profile players to leave the club this summer.

Nothing has been confirmed officially by Arsenal, yet the clues have been there for months.

Arteta’s squad has been slowly shaped for weeks, with the Spaniard picking the pace up in this regard in recent days. His actions have confirmed his main intentions for the summer transfer window.

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Ben White’s contract extension was made official on Thursday while confirmation that Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to commit his future to the club should follow shortly.

Arguably the biggest move, meanwhile, will be the decision to sign David Raya on a permanent basis from Brentford. His loan will be bought out for something in the region of €30 million.

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The Raya move is an indication that Arsenal have decided to stick their lot in with him rather than Aaron Ramsdale. Arteta has publicly backed the England goalkeeper to remain at the club. That has rarely seemed a possibility since it was made clear that Raya was No.1.

Despite the former Bournemouth goalkeeper making a blunder against Brentford last weekend, his stock in the market remains high and he actually boasts a higher Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) than Raya. Ramsdale is worth €30.1 million, the Arsenal No.1 just €24.8m.

The Partey is over at Arsenal

The other player who will leave the Emirates for sure this summer is Thomas Partey.

While Arsenal have conspicuously worked to tie down the players to prevent them from going into the last year of their contracts, Ghana international Partey has been allowed to drift towards the final 12 months of his deal without an indication of negotiations.

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The former Atletico Madrid midfielder has spent much of the season on the sidelines, and it appears that Arteta has had enough. When he did start, it was in a right-back role – a position the Gunners have just filled by re-signing White and Tomiyasu.

Now fit again, Partey will have to do something exceptional in the weeks ahead to save his Arsenal career.