Report: Arteta selects the three Arsenal centre backs to put up for sale in the summer

Arsenal will be hoping to strengthen their squad in the summer transfer window and Mikel Arteta will use this season as a way to evaluate the players that he needs to keep in his squad. One of Arsenal’s main problems this season has been defence and reliable David Ornstein has revealed the three centre backs that could be sold in the summer transfer window.

It is believed that Arsenal will try to bring in atleast two centre backs in the summer transfer window but they will have to first sell on those they already have as the club now has way too many average defenders on its books and it looks like Mikel Arteta has decided on who will be leaving at the end of the season.

Highly reliable The Athletic journalist David Ornstein has confirmed that Arsenal will be looking to listen to offers for Rob Holding, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and maybe Shkodran Mustafi. Ornstein has always been in right in his reports about Arsenal and so we also take a look as to why Mikel Arteta could have chosen these three centre backs as the ones to be sold in the upcoming summer transfer window.

SOKRATIS PAPASTATHOPOULOS

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: Sokratis of Arsenal breaks past Marcus Rashford of Man United during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on January 01, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Sokratis Papastathopoulos is a great defender but he is however not great for teams like the one Arteta is building as he prefers to have players that are great on the ball. The Greek international might have been decent last season but he has however been abysmal in this campaign as he has made many mistakes with the most memorable one being against Watford where he passed the ball to an opponent while trying to play out from the back.

ROB HOLDING

Rob Holding is almost 25 years old and he has failed to get a consistent run of games in the team apart from last season but he however got injured and it looks like Arteta doesn’t believe in his ability as he is yet to give him a start since he got appointed as the club’s head coach. Holding is English and he also isn’t very good with the ball and so Arteta probably thinks he can easily get an upgrade.

SHKODRAN MUSTAFI

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 23: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Shkodran Mustafi is a great ball playing defender that is also great in air but he has however always been clumsy as he is always making mistakes. Mustafi has been incredible under Arteta but it looks like the new Arsenal head coach believes that he could go back to his old ways of always making mistakes as he even recently did one in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge. And so the safe option being selling him while his stock is high.