A member of Mikel Arteta's squad is now closer to leaving the Emirates Stadium after agreeing to a drastic wage cut elsewhere.
Players who could leave Arsenal next as deadline day looms
Arsenal's most high-profile departure of the window thus far has been that of Emile Smith-Rowe. The 24-year-old put pen to paper on an Arsenal exit after seeing his opportunities limited under Arteta last season, making just 13 Premier League appearances with only three of those coming as fully fledged starts.
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The Hale End academy graduate's lack of inclusion was thanks partly due to reoccurring fitness issues, with Smith-Rowe deciding to complete a £35 million move to Fulham to further his career – a club-record fee for Marco Silva's side.
Appearances
115
Goals
18
Assists
13
Yellow cards
2
Red cards
0
Minutes played
5,846
The Englishman joins Mohamed Elneny, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares and Albert Sami Lokonga in leaving the north Londoners, but a few more are expected to follow them.
Reports in recent weeks have cast doubt on the futures of Kieran Tierney, Aaron Ramsdale, Jakub Kiwior, Thomas Partey and Reiss Nelson as well – who are all players linked with an Arsenal exit before deadline day.
Partey is out of contract next year, and a potential Arsenal arrival for Mikel Merino could push the 31-year-old further down Arteta's pecking order. Ramsdale lost his place between the sticks to new number one David Raya last season, meaning the 26-year-old could well depart before deadline day on August 30.
Journalist Charles Watts believes it's a matter of when, not if, Ramsdale leaves Arsenal – while Kiwior could be sold after Arsenal agreed to sign Riccardo Calafiori.
An interesting few weeks lie ahead in terms of how Arsenal finish the summer window, and another player who's been widely tipped to leave is striker Eddie Nketiah. The striker has attracted serious interest from Marseille this window, and according to reports this week, his move to Ligue 1 is still very much on the cards.
Nkeitah close to Marseille move after agreeing wage cut
Indeed, as per Football Transfers, Nketiah is now closer to joining Marseille from Arsenal after agreeing to take a wage cut on his £100,000-per-week salary.
The deal would be an initial loan, including an obligation to buy clause for next summer, and it is believed Arteta's side want to conclude this deal as soon as possible so they can source a replacement for the 25-year-old.
Nketiah is apparently valued at around £30 million by Arsenal, and even though the French heavyweights haven't agreed to meet that valuation, the transfer is now "progressing" and moving in the right direction.
The 25-year-old scored five goals and assisted two others in 27 Premier League appearances, but the majority of his cameos came off the substitute's bench. Arteta seemingly preferred Kai Havertz in a makeshift forward role, or Gabriel Jesus, so perhaps Nketiah's best career decision is to move on for more game time.