Willian set to be a ‘prisoner’ at Arsenal for two more years
Arsenal are aiming to off-load a truckload of players this summer as they prepare for a season without the additional burden of extra games in European football for the first time in 25 years.
One of the names on the list is former Chelsea man Willian. The 32-year-old has flattered to deceive in his first year at the Emirates. The Brazilian took 37 appearances before opening his account with the club which has not gone down well with the Gunners hierarchy.
The former Premier League winner is now facing the daunting realisation that he may have to sit tight and buckle up for the next two years until his contract is up, as the north Londoners continue to fail to sell him on thanks to his astronomical wage demands.
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According to a report by tuttomercatoweb Willian now risks being a ‘prisoner’ for the next two years as Arsenal struggle to find a suitor that will take him on a transfer.
Arsenal have already been the busiest of any Premier League side so far with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares as incomings, that with a £50m transfer for Ben White imminently in the pipeline too.
In terms of outgoings, it’s been even busier, two loans for French duo Mattéo Guendouzi and William Saliba to Marseille. The end of three loan deals in the names of Martin Ødegaard, Dani Ceballos, and Mathew Ryan and of course the end of the contract of David Luiz, who left on a free.
Despite being six squad players lighter, Mikel Arteta is still looking to shave the squad down even more. Currently, the club only have three free first-team squad numbers available bizarrely – 8, 11, and 18.
Some other names who are set to leave are Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson, Sead Kolašinac, Héctor Bellerín, and Eddie Nketiah with the futures of Alexandre Lacazette, Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson also up in the air.
The term ‘fire sale’ has been mentioned around the club recently. This is the approach technical director Edu and his team will have to take to continue with the fairly successful summer transfer window so far. Arsenal have to sell to buy after the Ben White deal.
Time will tell if the Gunners can bridge the gap to the top four positions which is where they will aim to be in 12 months.
