LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal speaks with Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal as the Arsenal team take a drinks break during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on March 14, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal speaks with Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal as the Arsenal team take a drinks break during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on March 14, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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Arsenal: 15 potential player departures after Brighton

by Ross Kennerley
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Arsenal, Mikel Arteta

15 potential Arsenal player departures after Brighton clash on final day of Premier League season. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Arsenal host Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday in what may be the final Emirates Stadium outing for a number of players in the squad. Mikel Arteta is due to sanction some serious gutting and even if certain individuals don’t play, it could well be their farewell day.

The word ‘rebuild’ has been mentioned to death, so too ‘ruthless’, with there set to be undoubted mentions of either every day for the coming months.

That is the situation Arsenal find themselves in and heading into the final fixture of a season that will finally be over and put an end to the misery, the changes will begin.

Personnel-wise, the quantity of outgoings vary on individual preference as well as feasibility, as while cases can be made for all but around seven or eight of the side to be sold and replaced that is, of course, impossible.

15 potential Arsenal player departures after Brighton clash on final day of Premier League season

Arteta’s lineup for the trip to Crystal Palace was particularly telling – albeit never a safe bet to assume one can fathom the thought processes the manager goes through – with a youthful lineup for once not supported by the senior players who’ve struggled for form and consistency all season.

Looking at the bench on that day, there is scope for all bar one to be moved on in the summer.

Brighton come to town and while with 10,000 fans in attendance for the first time in months it would be a romantic setting for many of the players to bid their farewells, there is still something to play for which will be Arteta’s primary focus.

Excluding those not with the squad and away on loan spells elsewhere, of those set to join the home party on Sunday, how many are facing potential exits in some capacity? For whom could this be the last time they take to the Emirates turf as a member of the home dugout?

There are quite a few.

Arsenal, Alex Runarsson

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 02: Runar Alex Runarsson of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at Molineux. (Photo by Sam Bagnall – AMA/Getty Images)

1. Arsenal Goalkeepers Who Could Leave This Summer

Mat Ryan – Ryan will play no part on Sunday’s fixture given the rules of his loan switch, and despite having another year left on his deal on the south coast he isn’t expected to return to the Seagulls.

Talk over whether Arsenal will keep him on for another year in some capacity or seek elsewhere for backup goalkeeper reinforcements change by the week, and unless they opt to bring in a younger homegrown keeper to provide Leno with cover, they could do much worse.

Bernd Leno – Arteta has spoken in the latter weeks of the season about how every player who has ‘a contract will stay at the club’. This is, obviously, not true and just his catchphrase way of shielding himself from being brought into the world of speculation.

Leno has been listed as one of the senior players who wants to depart in the summer, rumours heightened by his own admission of perhaps seeking a new challenge elsewhere. The manager said his No. 1 ‘belongs’ at the club, yet with two years of his deal remaining he finds himself in that important contractual balance of keep or sell.

Moving Leno on is not a priority but should a club enter in with a firm offer that would secure Arsenal some return on their initial investment, there is little reason to believe they won’t accept. Furthermore, talk of strong interest in £7m-rated Andre Onana has added interesting layers to the conversation.

Alex Runarsson – Will never be good enough to play for Arsenal despite only brief outings. Rarely ever has someone joined the club and looked so desperately out of his depth. A loan or permanent sale could happen.

Next: 2. Defenders

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