90min

Mikel Arteta calls for 'ruthless' Arsenal squad overhaul

By Jamie Spencer

Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal must be 'ruthless' as they continue trying to build a squad capable of challenging for trophies
Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal must be 'ruthless' as they continue trying to build a squad capable of challenging for trophies / Pool/Getty Images
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that the Gunners must be ‘ruthless’ in clearing out the deadwood from an underperforming squad, pointing towards a potential overhaul at the end of a season.

Arteta insists that Arsenal are building and are going to be in a better position than they were when he started, but only if the necessary action is taken to reach that next step.

Arsenal are in danger of recording their worst season in more than 25 years
Arsenal are in danger of recording their worst season in more than 25 years / Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

“We have not been competing with the top clubs in this country for five years. It is not as if this process started six months ago – it started five years ago and you can see this trend. This year is not year one,” the manager is quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

“I think a project has its phases and I am telling you we are in a much better position today to be where we want to be very soon, if we do what we have to do. But we have to be ruthless. There is no time to waste and there is a lot to do.”

Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League in 2019/20, which was a record low since they placed 12th during a disastrous 1994/95 campaign. On that occasion, winning the FA Cup provided a ticket into the Europa League, but another challenging domestic campaign now brings the real threat of missing out on European football altogether for the first time since 1996.

Arteta is keen on building his squad around a core of younger talents like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, while targeting players with a specific profile from elsewhere.

“It gives me a lot of confidence because they have shown what they can do,” Arteta said of Saka and Smith Rowe, via Arsenal.com.

“It is true that playing in a [Europa League] semi-final at this level is a different story, but as well they need the right surroundings around them to grow, without putting too much pressure on them.”

90min recently revealed that Arsenal are confident of landing 21-year-old Norwich right-back Max Aarons as a replacement for Hector Bellerin, whom they are prepared to sell.

The Gunners are also ready to sell Alexandre Lacazette, who will soon enter the last year of his contract but will soon turn 30 and is no longer a long-term investment. Selling the popular Frenchman is perhaps indicative of the kind of ‘ruthless’ decision making that needs to happen.

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