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It's 2021 and the brand of football that Arsenal took pride in is gradually losing its essence. At the helm reigns the Kroenke family, the owners of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. Arsenal's fan base stands largely discontented with the club's owners in terms of their investment, both financially and sentimentally.
This has made life difficult for manager Mikel Arteta, who accepts that the squad needs to go through a rebuild. But the support from the hierarchy, or the lack thereof, is not the only reason Arteta finds himself under the firing line.
Arsenal continue to stick with unnecessary baggage of players
Arteta has shifted from a 3-4-3 system that he first employed on his arrival, to a rather popular 4-3-3. He has often been left disappointed as Arsenal continue to get outplayed. Many football pundits were of the opinion that there aren’t enough quality players at the club to allow the Spaniard to establish this system.
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Now, in the fourth transfer window under Arteta’s management, the club spent a total of £156.8M on six arrivals and sold or loaned a total of 10 players.
Surely the manager by now should have parted ways with those that he deems unfit to continue at Arsenal. Well, the arrivals of Ben White, Sambi Lokonga and Takehiro Tomiyasu in particular indicate that Arteta is not a man without a plan.
However, there are still names at this club that the Arsenal faithful would have loved if they had eased off the wage bill. On that note, let’s take a look at five players who should never play for Arsenal again:
#5 Runar Alex Runarsson
No, this is not a list of the most unmindful signings Arsenal have ever made, but if we made one, Runar Runarsson would make that list too. If one was to speak with an empathetic heart, you wouldn’t blame Runarsson for being asked to don the Arsenal jersey.
He was the average bloke guarding the goal in Ligue 1 and suddenly one day the opportunity to play for Arsenal Football Club was at his doorstep. There was no way he’d look away.
Additionally, the circumstances surrounding the exit of a resurgent Emiliano Martinez added to the ridicule of Runarson’s signing. Martinez was tall, strong and confident on the ball, with an impressive distribution from the box. His replacement, rather meek in build, lacks strength and confidence with his gloves and is very hesitant to play from the back.
Surely, this was a waste of £1.5m. His stats at Ligue 1 club Dijon, where he conceded 60 goals in 36 league games, were a premonition of the horror show Arsenal potentially bought seats for.
He started above Bernd Leno in a Carabao Cup game against Manchester City in 2020 and had a nightmare of a game. The game potentially ended Runarsson’s Arsenal career which was already in its infancy. The keeper was on loan this summer in the transfer window to Belgian side OH Leuven. Arsenal had signed the Icelandic keeper from Dijon on a four-year contract. They hope the loan move will help the club get rid of him.
#4 Sead Kolasinac
Sead Kolasinac put in a transfer request at Arsenal last winter to allow him to be loaned to his boyhood club Schalke in the German Bundesliga. Schalke were hopeless and heading towards relegation, while Arsenal defenders Shkodran Mustafi and Kolasinac went out to help their boyhood club. It was quite evident that the Arsenal faithful were done with the two, especially Mustafi.
Schalke went beyond saving and the German club were relegated for the first time in three long decades. The romance between Schalke and Kolasinac wasn’t strong enough for the Arsenal defender to follow his club into Bundesliga 2. So, he returned to Arsenal.
Throughout the summer transfer window there were rumors that Arsenal would either terminate the contract for the out-of-favour left-back or sell him. But rumors were all that there was.
In a shock move, Mikel Arteta started Kolasinac in Arsenal’s third Premier League game against the mighty Manchester City in a back five. This despite having Pablo Mari and Nuno Tavares on the bench. It is quite clear that Kolasinac hasn’t been able to keep up the pace with the Premier League. Understandably, he struggled in the 5-0 thumping by the Premier League champions.
As far as the left-back position is concerned, Tavares is a bright spark and has a breath of fresh air about him. It only makes sense to get rid of Kolasinac in favor of the young Portuguese.
#3 Eddie Nketiah
Every time an attacking prospect at Arsenal is deemed “not good enough” for the club, one can’t help but fear what if this is Serge Gnabry 2.0 in the making. As harsh as it may sound, football at an elite level does not give you time to prepare for it at your own pace.
Eddie Nketiah is in his fourth season with the Arsenal senior squad. Since his debut in March 2018, each of those seasons was seen as the build up to Nketiah’s proper breakthrough campaign. Unfortunately, the clock is running out on Nketiah as Arsenal deal with a crowd of young attacking starlets.
The young England striker has been simply prolific for the U18s with Arsenal and U21s for his national side. He broke Alan Shearer’s goalscoring record of 13 goals at U21 level, but Nketiah’s game isn’t maturing.
The 22 year-old offers a rather one dimensional striking prospect, whereas Gabriel Martinelli, with his extra pace and intelligence, is emerging as a more complete forward. Unlike Nketiah, the Brazilian also contributes willfully when Arsenal defend.
Arsenal were close to striking a deal for Nketiah with Crystal Palace this summer but the player’s wage demands were too high for a move to be completed. Arsenal definitely do not see Nketiah as the heir to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette for that matter. The upcoming January window will be a good opportunity for the striker to secure regular football elsewhere.
#2 Calum Chambers
There has been such a buzz around Arsenal’s new right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu that many forget what's well begun is only half done. Hector Bellerin saw his wish of leaving Arsenal for a Spanish club fulfilled by a loan to La Liga side Real Betis.
Following on with the momentum, it’s time Arsenal cut ties with Calum Chambers as well. The right-back is 26 and can still attract enough interest from a few Premier League sides that struggle in the division.
Chambers has been with Arsenal since 2013 but never looked like he’ll really own the right-back position. His struggle with injuries has shunted his potential and there are no signs that he’ll grow beyond the player he already is.
For someone of Chambers' stature, his contribution to aerial duels is quite disappointing. Mikel Arteta has Cedric Soares at his disposal who has more experience, is less injury prone and tracks back after forward runs quite well. Chambers, on the other hand, never felt confident enough while defending in the box as was on display in the opening game against Brentford.
Additionally, Arteta also blocked a possible loan move for Ainsley Maintland-Niles to Everton. On any given day, Maintland-Niles would make the squad over Chambers. The former has an impressive change of pace and is very good while defending one-on-one situations. So with options seeming plenty for Arteta, this should be the ideal time to move on from Chambers.
#1 Granit Xhaka
No one knows why Granit Xhaka’s new contract announcement has stalled indefinitely since his move to Roma this summer, so tantalizingly close, broke down. But everyone knows Jose Mourinho and Roma dodged a bullet after volunteering to take one in the head.
Xhaka at present is busy doing what he loves the most; serving a three-match ban for a red card. Arsenal are busy doing what they do best, enduring Xhaka.
One of the best midfielders to commit tactical fouls is Manchester City’s Fernandinho. Ideally, Xhaka could have been Arsenal’s Fernandinho, taking one for the team at times, doing the dirty work for the manager. However, Xhaka’s tendency to back-pass frequently puts unnecessary pressure on him. This has also hampered Arsenal’s progressive tempo against teams that can dominate in attack.
Former boss Arsene Wenger has previously mentioned that he advises Xhaka to keep his tackling to a minimum. Clearly he did not pay enough attention. Arsenal now have Sambi Lokonga, Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Maintland-Niles in the middle of the park. All of whom have the ability to protect the ball without relying too much on back passes.
Mohamed Elneny found some good form this previous season and though he can be a little slow in his decision making at times, he is not as reckless as Xhaka.
In addition to that, the captain’s armband predominantly stays with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Both Xhaka and Alexandre Lacazette shared it on other occasions. Clearly Xhaka isn’t bringing too much to the table in terms of his captaincy as well. Players like Kieran Tierney and Odegaard have emerged as successful leadership figures in their national camps.
The Swiss international will continue to divide opinion for as long as he stays. But Arsenal must cut short his stay in north London as soon as possible, if they are to move forward.
