5 players Arsenal can sell to fund Lautaro Martinez transfer
Arsenal have been heavily linked with Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez in recent weeks. Though Arsenal have spent big in the summer transfer window with the signing of Ben White for a reported £50 million, they are seemingly not done yet.
The club are looking for a new striker this summer and have reportedly set their sights on Lautaro Martinez, who is also on the radar of Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.
Martinez has quickly developed into one of Europe's top strikers and due to Inter's current financial difficulties, the player could end up leaving the Serie A giants for the right price.
Reports have stated that Inter will demand around £75 million to part with Lautaro Martinez this summer and in order to afford a fee that size, Arsenal will most likely have to sell a number of fringe players. Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, he has got a lot of players that could be cut from the team without really losing any key members of the squad.
So here we take a look at 5 such players who Arsenal can sell to fund Lautaro Martinez's transfer.
#5 Joseph Willock
Coming through the ranks at Arsenal, Joseph Willock made 94 appearances for the Gunners since making his debut in 2017, with most of his appearances coming from the bench. To get more game time, Arsenal sent Willock on a short-loan to Newcastle United in January 2021.
Willock had a tremendous loan spell at the Magpies during the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, scoring 8 goals in 14 appearances. Willock also matched Alan Shearer's record by scoring in seven straight Premier League appearances for Newcastle United.
The 21-year-old is currently back at Arsenal, but with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Emile Smith-Rowe already at the club, Arsenal could look to cash-in on the youngster to fund Lautaro Martinez's transfer.
He has been linked with a return to Newcastle and recent reports have stated that Arsenal have agreed a £25 million fee for the youngster.
#4 Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Another academy graduate, Maitland-Niles, made his debut for Arsenal in a Champions League game in 2014 when he was just 17 years of age. The midfielder has since gone on to make 121 appearances for the club, with loan spells in between to Ipswich Town and West Bromwich Albion.
The 23-year-old did well in right-back and wing-back positions under Mikel Arteta, but the player wanted to play in a midfield role, an area Arsenal were well stocked in and hence was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion in January last season.
Maitland-Niles is back at Arsenal now. However, with no guarantee of regular first-team football, the player might look to leave and Arsenal could do with offloading him in a bid to fund Lautaro Martinez's transfer.
According to reports, Leicester City, Southampton and Burnley are the most interested clubs in the English international right now.