Arsenal Transfers: 8 Players Wenger Must Sign
The Frenchman faces one of his most important transfer windows.
Arsenal are setting up for a mass exodus this summer, with as many as eight players heading for the exit door as Arsene Wenger looks to reshape his FA Cup-winning team.
That's according to the Daily Mail, anyway. It claims that the Frenchman is so desperate to land Monaco winger Thomas Lemar that he's prepared to pay a club-record £80m for his services, partly funded by a clear-out of some of his squad's dead-wood.
Olivier Giroud, Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs are reportedly among those on the transfer list - but departures such as these would leave a considerable hole in the Arsenal roster.
Wenger has faced costly injury crises in each of the last few seasons, and going into the new season short of senior cover could seriously undermine his hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title that has eluded him for the last 13 years.
Selling eight players is an opportunity to reinforce the ranks with genuine quality - and here are eight that the club should consider taking the other way.
8. Steven N'Zonzi
Arsenal's midfield has been crying out for an injection of steel over the past few years, and the acquisition last summer of Granit Xhaka looked to have at last answered fans' prayers.
But a year later doubts are beginning to creep in. The 24-year-old is a capable player in possession, but his ability to win the ball back and bring order to an often wayward team has been called into question (particularly given his own proclivity for rash tackles).
Sevilla's Steven N'Zonzi would make sense as an alternative. The 28-year-old is already acquainted with the demands of the Premier League, having spent six seasons on the books of Blackburn and Stoke, and at 6'3", would provide some much-needed physicality in the middle of the park.