Could any of the ten exit-linked Gunners hamper pre-season preparations? | OneFootball

There are a number of players being linked with moves away from Arsenal at present, but how many of them could be difficult amidst the uncertainty?

Hector Bellerin appears to be in agreement with the club that a change would be best for all involved, and with him appearing amongst the leaders in the group, I would be shocked if he was to cause any issues.

Alex Lacazette and Willian have both been involved in the pre-season thus far, and despite appearing open to moves, it is the North London side who appear most keen on a break-up. As the window draws down, they could well become unhappy toward the end of the window if their future hasn’t been arranged, but I still don’t personally believe either would cause any disruption in training. That being said, if moves are not arranged for them, that could well hamper our transfer plans.

Sead Kolasinac is another who has been involved in pre-season also, and actually looked pretty sharp against Hibernian in our opening friendly of the summer. We allowed him to leave on loan in January despite not having sufficient backup, and with Nuno Tavares having arrived you would be shocked if this one dragged on really. I imagine he would be allowed to leave on the cheap, or an agreement could well be found to allow him to leave for free or on loan, and I don’t see him becoming an issue for the rest of the squad either.

Alex Runarsson has played no part in pre-season, but his move to Altayspor is believed to have broken down over a loan fee. While he has shown no inclination to being a problem, he can’t be particularly happy with his current role, and I’m yet to notice him training with the first-team squad.

Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson all have seemingly less certain futures. According to reports, you would believe that all are available possible departees, but I’m not sure the reports are true where the former pair are concerned. Willock is supposedly set to play a role under Arteta this season according to the manager, and while Nketiah looks likely to lose some of his minutes to Folarin Balogun, the Spaniard has reiterated on numerous occasions that he is a fan. Knowing our homegrown quota isn’t in the best shape, I wouldn’t be overly consistent that all four of those were to leave.

Granit Xhaka is another strongly linked with a move, and for me he could be the one to cause the biggest stir. According to Fabrizio Romano, he has agreed terms on a move to Roma, but Arsenal are refusing to back down on their asking price, and the Swiss international could grow frustrated with the situation.

He’s not one to shy away from controversy, and you will recall him shouting abuse at the fans previously, and should this continue to rumble on motionlessly, we may find ourselves best suited to just lower our demands…

Do you expect any of the above to cause issue this summer? How many of the ten are you certain will be leaving in the current window?

Patrick