How much Arsenal could make in January by selling their wantaway players

James Shearman

• Updated: 17 Nov 2021 13:45 GMT
• 4 min read

Arsenal have undergone an exceptional turnaround in recent weeks, enjoying an eight-game unbeaten run after three defeats to start the Premier League season.

It appears manager Mikel Arteta has settled on a starting eleven, as well as a few bench options, which has brought great consistency to the Gunners' performances.

Helped by the absence of European football, the Spanish boss has taken advantage of being able to keep his lineups similar from game to game.

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New signings Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Benjamin White have made good impressions in their short time at the club, while youngsters Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, in particular, have continued to develop.

However, one downside to this approach is that, with Arsenal's large squad, a number of players have struggled to earn first-team minutes.

This has raised doubts over the futures of a number of fringe players, who Arteta may look to offload in the January transfer window.

The numbers below are taken from FootballTransfers' valuations.

How much could Arsenal make from player sales in January?

Eddie Nketiah - £12million

Eddie Nketiah's only starts this season have come in the Carabao Cup, with the striker struggling to even make the bench for Premier League fixtures.

At 22, Arsenal may look to give him one last loan before deciding on his long-term future in the summer.

Although, it seems unlikely that the academy graduate will ever reach the level required to excel at a top-half team, meaning he could be sold for a fee in the region of £12million this January.

Bernd Leno - £22million

Bernd Leno was one of Arsenal's standout performers two seasons ago, but he has since somewhat lost his way.

The 29-year-old now finds himself backing up new signing Aaron Ramsdale, with little to no chance of returning to first choice anytime soon.

The German has just a year-and-a-half remaining on his contract, so now would be a sensible time for the Gunners to cash in.

That said, £22m may be a difficult sum to receive in January.

Sead Kolasinac - £4million

Sead Kolasinac was never going to remain a regular starter at the Emirates, but he may not have expected 21-year-old Nuno Tavares to take his place as the backup left-back to Kieran Tierney.

The Bosnian defender's contract runs out at the end of the season so, from an Arsenal perspective, he may as well be sold in January.

However, he may want to see out the remainder of his contract in hopes of receiving a more lucrative contract offer in the summer, as a free agent.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - £21million

Maitland-Niles made the headlines towards the end of the summer transfer window for publicly displaying his annoyance at his standing within the Arsenal squad.

And while the 24-year-old remained out of the Arteta's plans for much of the current campaign, he did play a full 90 minutes in the Gunners' recent 1-0 win over Watford.

Albeit, his chances at nailing down a place in the starting eleven are slim, and £22m may prove to be too much to turn down for a squad player.

Calum Chambers - £4million

With Gabriel and White forming an excellent centre-back partnership and Rob Holding captaining the side in a recent cup match, Chambers no longer has a future in north London.

The 26-year-old is at a stage in his career where he should be seeking assurances of first-team football, most likely at a bottom-half Premier League club.

Arsenal could look to earn more than his market value of £4m given the premium placed on English players due to the homegrown quota.

In all, Arsenal could recoup around £63m by selling these five players, a figure that would help tremendously towards signing one or two top class individuals.