3 Players who should leave Arsenal to kickstart their careers

After a poor start to the 2019-20 Premier League season under Unai Emery, Arsenal have experienced a resurgence as of late under new boss Mikel Arteta. The Gunners have won their last two league matches and they are now unbeaten in their last 7, dating back to the start of 2020.

Since Arteta’s arrival, young stars like Bukayo Saka and Dani Ceballos have established themselves alongside Arsenal’s big stars such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil – but some players have been less fortunate, slipping in the pecking order since the arrival of the Spanish boss – and if they want to regain some traction, an exit from the Emirates may be required.

Here are 3 players who need to leave Arsenal to kickstart their careers.

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#1 Alexandre Lacazette

Could Alexandre Lacazette's future lie away from Arsenal?

Signed by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2017 for a then club-record fee of £46.5m, French striker Alexandre Lacazette enjoyed a strong debut season at the Emirates, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, but it’s safe to say that things haven’t been going as swimmingly for him as of late. The arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018 pushed him down the totem pole at Arsenal somewhat, but while Unai Emery was happy to deploy him alongside the Gabonese striker at times, that hasn’t been the case recently.

Since the arrival of Arteta in December 2019, Lacazette has struggled for form in front of goal – missing plenty of big chances in the games that have taken place in 2020 – and has only managed a single Premier League goal, taking his tally for this season to a disappointing 6 overall.

More notably, it appears that the Frenchman is beginning to slip further in the pecking order in the eyes of his new boss, as Arteta has deployed youngster Eddie Nketiah as the starting striker in the Gunners’ last two Premier League fixtures, with the England U-21 international repaying the faith with two good performances and one goal.

With 18-year old Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli also knocking on the door of a first-team spot at the Emirates, it’s easy to see a scenario arising in the very near future that sees Lacazette become the odd man out entirely, particularly if Aubameyang commits his future to the club.

Therefore, it could be a good idea for Lacazette to look for an exit from the Emirates in the summer; at 28 years old he’s probably approaching the end of his prime years and so cannot afford to spend them sitting on the bench, especially when he could probably offer another big club so much.

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#2 Reiss Nelson

First team football may lie at another club for Reiss Nelson

While Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli – and to a lesser extent, Joe Willock – have been granted plenty of playing time since the arrival of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, one academy graduate who hasn’t fared so well has been winger/forward Reiss Nelson. The 20-year old spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Hoffenheim, scoring 7 goals while mainly being used as a substitute, but things haven’t gone quite the way he must’ve planned upon his return to the Emirates.

Nelson was given a fair few chances by Unai Emery at the start of the season, but after showing largely patchy form, he once again found himself relegated to the bench. Arteta’s arrival as boss saw him given some more opportunities – he started the games against Bournemouth and Chelsea in December – but once again he failed to set the world alight and hasn’t started a Premier League match since.

Nelson clearly has a tremendous amount of talent – his displays for Hoffenheim and for England’s U-21 side made that perfectly clear – but despite Arteta stating his admiration for the youngster in a recent interview, it was also telling that the Spanish boss described him as being “a little bit confused” in recent months.

Can he break into Arsenal’s first team? He certainly has the raw ability, but whether he’ll be given a fair chance in what could end up being a high-pressure situation at the Emirates is another question entirely. Therefore it could be a good idea for him to look for a move in the summer – either on loan or permanently – so he can have a fresh start elsewhere.

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#3 Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has only been used sparingly by Mikel Arteta

A World Cup winner with England’s U-20 side in 2017, versatile youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles became a favourite of Unai Emery’s during the 2018-19 season, making a total of 26 appearances in the Premier League and Europa League, and he was largely being deployed as Arsenal’s first-choice right-back under the Spaniard during the current campaign until the return of Hector Bellerin from injury in the autumn.

Unfortunately for Maitland-Niles, the re-emergence of Bellerin as the Gunners’ main right-back and the replacement of Emery with Mikel Arteta seems to have left him on the outside looking in. He hasn’t appeared in a Premier League game since the 18th January now, and the momentum he was beginning to put together seems all but lost.

The biggest problem facing him could be his versatility; the truth is that Maitland-Niles was never an orthodox right-back in the first place – his best position is actually in midfield – but Arsenal have a plethora of players in the centre of the park that are clearly miles ahead of him in the pecking order, and it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll displace Bellerin at right-back any time soon.

It’s clear that this talented 22-year old has a lot to offer, but it could well be the case that he’d be better off away from the Emirates at this stage. Plenty of game time will be key to his development at his current age and it simply seems unlikely that he’ll get it at Arsenal – so a summer move could be the best thing for him.