Arsenal’s hopes of retaining the FA Cup were dealt a blow last night, when they were drawn away to Manchester United in the quarter finals of the competition.
Arsene Wenger’s side will fancy their chances of progressing however, after a recent turnaround in form that has seen them move to within one point of the top four.
The defeat at Tottenham aside, Arsenal have been playing some decent football – with the returning Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott adding a new threat to the side.
Olivier Giroud continued his recent run of good form with a brace against Middlesbrough at the weekend, whilst Alexis Sanchez is still to come back into the side.
It looks to be coming together for the Gunners at the right time, but a slow start has prevented them from challenging for the Premier League title.
That must be a realistic target for Wenger next term, and shifting these five players in the summer in favour of some new signings would certainly be beneficial.
Click on Arsene Wenger to reveal 5 Arsenal stars Gunners fans want rid of this summer
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Wojciech Szczesny
Some Arsenal fans have lost patience with their young Polish goalkeeper, who seems to take one step forward and then two steps back in terms of his progress.
Szczesny has lost his place in the Arsenal line up following a couple of howlers in the defeat at Southampton, whilst becoming the latest Gunners star to be caught smoking off the pitch has not helped his cause.
Arsenal fans are keen to give David Ospina a chance to prove himself as a number one, but failing that then a top class goalkeeper at the level of Petr Cech, David De Gea or Thibaut Courtois should be a target for the summer, with Szczesny making way.
Abou Diaby
Anyone remember him?
The French midfielder perhaps can take the title of the most injury prone player in Premier League football.
He has managed just two appearances in his last two seasons – with the one this term coming in the home defeat to Southampton in the Capital One Cup.
Regarded as someone with plenty of talent, Arsenal fans have simply waited too long for him to get fit for him to warrant keeping a place at the club.
Mikel Arteta
The Spaniard has been getting slowly phased out of the Arsenal team, although the latest injury to Aaron Ramsey may see him feature more often over the coming weeks.
Arteta has been a decent servant to Arsenal, but last season in particular he was exposed in big matches away from home, whilst his influence on matches has slowly started to decline – bar the taking of penalties.
A couple of Spanish clubs were interested last summer, and it would be no surprise to see him return home at the end of the season.
Mathieu Flamini
Arsenal are still on the hunt for that elusive defensive midfielder, with it having become quite obvious Mathieu Flamini is not considered the answer.
The Frenchman has recently lost his place to young Francis Coquelin, and must have noticed the speculation linking the Gunners with a host of top class midfielders over the past couple of transfer windows.
If Wenger finally manages to get one on board, we don’t expect Flamini to stick around at the Emirates for too much longer.
Joel Campbell
The 22-year-old has not done much wrong when given an opportunity at the Emirates, but the fact he was sent for yet another loan spell in January – this time at Villarreal – suggests he doesn’t have a future at the club.
The battle for those striking positions at Arsenal is fierce, with Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and 19-year-old Chuba Akpom all keen to play as a central striker.
With young Akpom having been given more chances in recent weeks, Arsenal fans would suggest Campbell is the most likely of the two to make way in the summer – especially if Wenger wants to add further reinforcements.
