Alex, Pepe: Mikel Arteta to sell 6 Arsenal players this summer – Reports

Mikel Arteta could reportedly sell six Arsenal players this summer, including Nuno Tavares, Pablo Mari and Albert Sambi Lokonga.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Cedric Soares and Runar Alex Runarsson complete the six-man list. According to the Sun (h/t The Boot Room), the sextet, who is out on loan till the summer, could be leaving the Emirates shortly.

None of them are important first-team players under Arteta. Tavares is playing for Olympique de Marseille on loan, where he’s having a mixed season. The Portuguese left-back was signed in 2021 from SL Benfica for €21 million with add-ons. Arsenal have Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney at left-back, which could mean the 23-year-old is expendable.

Maitland-Niles, who’s the only player out of the six who wasn’t signed by Arteta, is on loan at Southampton. The 25-year-old right-midfielder has made 19 appearances across competitions for the Saints this term.

Pablo Mari, 29, is with Monza till the summer, where he has 20 Serie A appearances this season. The Spanish centre-back does not match up to the quality the Gunners’ current crop of centre-backs provides.

Runarsson, meanwhile, is with Alanyaspor in Turkey till the end of the campaign. The Iceland international could have a tough time trying to get minutes over Aaron Ramsdale and Matt Turner once he returns to north London.

Sambi Lokonga could be a surprise departure considering the hype that followed him to the Emirates when he signed from Anderlecht in 2021 for £15 million. The Belgian midfielder left the Gunners to join Crystal Palace on a six-month loan deal in January. The 23-year-old made just six league appearances for Arsenal in the first half of the season.