It’s been a disappointing season for Arsenal who, midway through the campaign, were considered to be the favourites for the Premier League title. However, a huge downfall in results handing the advantage to surprise champions Leicester City.
To make matters worse, it also allowed Tottenham Hotspur to move ahead of Arsenal and, should Mauricio Pochettino’s men beat Newcastle United at the weekend, they’ll finish above their north London rivals for the first time in 20 years.
That double whammy is extremely painful for Arsenal supporters and that’s without even considering their surprise FA Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Watford and another disappointing Champions League venture, where the Gunners once again failed to reach the last eight in the competition.
It’s led Arsenal needing a massive shake-up this summer, as the competitiveness within the Premier League increases tenfold, and the Gunners need to axe some of their deadwood in the summer- and our fans believe these four are definitely on their way out.
Hit the image below to see FOUR players Arsenal must wave goodbye to this summer!
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Theo Walcott
The England international, now 26, marks a decade with Arsenal this year but there hasn’t really been too much to celebrate. In his early years he was overlooked in favour of more senior members of the squad and now, when he should expect to be in the first-team regularly, he’s struggled with an array of injury problems.
Walcott had the chance to make an impression this season and looked like he’d finally reach his true potential after a fine end to the last season continue into the new term, already injury issues soon derailed that rise. Since his return, the pacy winger has been pretty much abysmal.
Not good enough to be Arsenal’s first-choice striker or a winger in the squad, it would make sense for the Gunners to cash-in whilst they can still earn a profit on the £16m they paid Southampton for his services back in 2016.
Joel Campbell
Whilst others in the squad see their place under threat due to poor performances, Joel Campebll has simply been unlucky. Having spent a number of years on-loan away from Arsenal, he finally earned his chance with the first-team this season.
It all seemed to be going well as midway through the season Campbell was one of the stand-out performances, coming in when Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were injured, but since then he’s vanished.
Questions will be asked as to what’s gone on in the background as despite poor performances from the aforementioned duo, Campbell has remained absent. He’s now seen young Alex Iwobi earn opportunities ahead of him, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Costa Rican international sold this summer.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Another English player who’s failed to live up to his early hype, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has struggled for form during the past two seasons and has juggled that with vast injury problems. With the player failing to show any signs of progression, Arsenal may cash in.
It’s a difficult one as there is no doubt Oxlade-Chamberlain has plenty of potential but his failure to reach into that makes him pretty useless for Arsenal at this current time. A loan move would probably be the most beneficial to the player but whether that comes about is a different matter entirely.
With Oxlade-Chamberlain not showing the sort of displays that suggest he can be a regular starter in the coming years, you have to wonder whether Arsenal should just give up on him.
David Ospina
Like Joel Campbell, David Ospina is a player who’s seen first-team opportunities decrease significantly through, mostly, a lack of faults on his behalf. He ended last season as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper but the summer arrival of Petr Cech pushed him down the pecking order.
It seems Arsenal will choose between Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny this summer, with the latter the most likely choice given his age and potential. The Gunners also tried to split responsibilities between league and cup this season, with Ospina given opportunities in the Champions League, but he failed to grab onto those chances, or indeed the ball itself, with both hands.
In truth, Ospina is too good to be a reserve goalkeeper and there’s likely to be plenty of suitors if his services become available on the market.
