English Premier League giants, Arsenal have gone through a rough patch in the past few seasons and one of the players that have been blamed the most is German star Mesut Ozil. According to reports, the troubles of the 2014 World Cup winner are set to end as Arsenal plan to get of him this summer.
Arsenal coach Unai Emery has been shackled just like the manager before him and has been told that he cannot make any major transfers unless key members of his squad are released and the wage bill of the club is drastically reduced.
This led to the loan deal that brought Spanish midfielder Denis Suarez from Barcelona on loan and the release of Aaron Ramsey to Serie A giants Juventus where he will receive a lump sum of about four hundred thousand pounds per week.
North London club Arsenal will then sell Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan this summer to fund moves for Celtic’s Kieran Tierney and Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella, according to reports. The Gunners are looking to reduce their wage bill to help raise a high budget for the transfer market.
Welsh star Aaron Ramsey is already a confirmed departure to Juventus on a free transfer at the end of the season and Petr Cech is set to retire. However, The Mirror believes that Ozil, who earns £350,000 a week, and Mkhitaryan, who’s on £180,000 a week, could be sacrificed to help boost club finances.
The report says that the Gunners could begin the summer with a budget of £45 million if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. However, manager Unai Emery is believed to be keen on bringing in Tierney and Barella should that figure increase.
Scotland international Tierney is said to be his preferred choice to strengthen the left-back spot, while Italy star Barella is a midfield target, but comes with a price tag of around £43 million.
A move for the 22-year-old could therefore depend on Arsenal achieving a place in next season’s Champions League, while Emery is also believed to want a new central defender and an attacking midfielder.
Tierney made his competitive senior debut for Celtic in April 2015 under manager Ronny Deila, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in a Scottish Premiership match against Dundee. He made one further first team appearance that season, playing over an hour in a league match away at St Johnstone.
Barella is considered to be a promising and highly talented young midfielder in the European sports media. He was named the best young Italian player born in 1997 for two consecutive years between 2012 and 2013.