Ethan Nwaneri and the five players who could leave Arsenal before Deadline Day

8 Aug 2026 07:03 BST | 5 min read

Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal, 2025/26 — © IMAGO

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Arsenal have one of the most stacked squads in world football, but there is still some deadwood that Mikel Arteta would like to shift.

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The Gunners are the reigning Premier League champions and, as such, don't need to tweak their roster too much. However, manager Arteta wants to raise the level of his team even further with the targeted recruitment of elite players.

He has brought in Club Brugge sensation Christos Tzolis to replace the ageing Leandro Trossard, while Bruno Guimaraes has joined after becoming one of the Premier League's best at Newcastle. Arsenal also explored a stunning move for Vinicius Jr before he extended his Real Madrid contract.

The failure to sign Vinicius means that Arsenal will have to pursue a different high-profile left-winger, which was one of the main priorities heading into the summer. Because of the big-money arrival of Guimaraes, a major winger signing will likely have to be offset by sales.

But even if the Gunners decide to keep their powder dry and go into the season with 'just' Tzolis and Gabriel Martinelli, there are several players who are surplus to requirements and can leave the club before Deadline Day.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

In saying that, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is not necessarily being pushed out of the club. On the contrary, Arsenal are happy to go into the new campaign with the Spaniard as their No.2 behind David Raya.

The issue is more that Kepa, still the most expensive goalkeeper of all time, is keen to be a No.1. He is not desperate to get out, and given his error-proneness clubs are not necessarily queuing up to sign him, but he would jump at the right opportunity if it were to present itself.

Arsenal have signed Illan Meslier from Leeds on a free transfer to act as third-choice goalkeeper, but he could easily be bumped up to second-choice if Kepa were to depart.

Fabio Vieira

A supremely talented midfielder, Fabio Vieira will go down as one of the more disappointing signings of the Arteta era. The Portuguese never managed to nail down a regular starting spot and has spent the past two seasons out on loan.

Arsenal are now keen to offload him permanently, but this is proving difficult because he reportedly fell in love with loan club Hamburg last season. The Bundesliga side are keen to bring him back, but they can't match the Gunners' asking price of more than €20 million.

Arsenal are confident that a different suitor will come in and convince Vieira to join, while Hamburg are hopeful that the Gunners will become desperate and lower their demands as the deadline edges closer.

Ethan Nwaneri

Once the biggest talent at Arsenal, Ethan Nwaneri is now facing a potential sale after falling down the pecking order last season and struggling for minutes on loan at Marseille.

While the Gunners still retain faith in Nwaneri and believe in his huge potential, the harsh reality is that he is an extremely marketable asset and would represent pure profit due to being homegrown.

Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund already explored moves last year, and Nwaneri is now being courted by the likes of AC Milan and RB Leipzig. In fact, some reports have claimed that the latter are already in advanced talks over a deal for the teenager.

Reiss Nelson

The fact that Reiss Nelson is still at Arsenal is quite remarkable. He is a useful utility man, but he hasn't actually played for the club in ages due to injuries and being loaned out.

After disappointing spells at Fulham and Brentford, anything other than a sale would be hugely surprising this summer. Nelson is out of contract next year, so this summer is the final chance Arsenal have of receiving some money for the versatile 26-year-old.

Like Nwaneri, he is a Hale End product and would represent pure profit, although Arsenal, who have been notoriously poor sellers, will surely struggle to get a meaningful fee for him.

Gabriel Jesus

Due to his injury problems, Gabriel Jesus has been linked with an Arsenal exit for years. Though still a very good player when fit, the Brazil international has not been available anywhere near enough to justify his sizeable wage.

With a year left on his contract, it looks like this will be goodbye for the 29-year-old. Napoli have started exploring a move amid the uncertain futures of Lorenzo Lucca and Romelu Lukaku.

Jesus and new Napoli coach Max Allegri have the same agent, which could be a big boon for the Serie A giants. However, the fact that the Gunners are reportedly demanding around €20m for the injury-prone veteran could prove an issue.