Mikel Arteta has given three Arsenal players permission to leave Emirates Stadium this summer.
Mikel Arteta will lead team shakeup this summer (Image: Getty Images)
Three Arsenal players have already been sacked as manager Mikel Arteta continues to overhaul his main squad this summer. The Gunners manager went into this transfer window knowing he needed to improve the quality of his squad in order to retain the Premier League title next season.
The first step to achieving this is to sack players who are deemed not to be up to the required standard, and the second step is to introduce contracts to address gaps in the squad.
Jakub Kiviol was the first player to be shown the door by Arteta this summer. The Polish player completed a permanent move to Porto for £14.6 million plus additional bonuses earlier this month after spending last season on loan with the Portuguese club.
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This follows the arrival of Clown Hincapie as a direct upgrade at the start of the 2025/26 season. Hincapie quickly became a crowd favorite at the Emirates Stadium last season thanks to his reliability at the back and passionate play, which proved crucial in winning the title, earning him a permanent £34.5m contract at N5 last month.
He was Kivior’s direct successor, a physically gifted defender who was comfortable playing both center back and left-back. Kivior was well aware that his chances in north London would be limited even before Hincapie’s arrival last summer, and Arteta has given him the chance to seek a new challenge elsewhere.
Former reserve shot-stopper Karl Hein also converted his loan move to Werder Bremen into a permanent one this month. The 24-year-old made his first-team debut in November 2022 in the EFL Cup third round match against Brighton.
Jakub Kivioglu was one of the first players to leave Arsenal this summer (Image: Diogo Cardoso, Getty Images)
However, he failed to establish himself in the first team and this was his only appearance for the Gunners. Estonia’s number one at international level since 2020, Hein spent last season in Germany, having been loaned out to Reading, Real Valladolid and Werder Bremen.
A permanent move to Bremen was confirmed in May, with Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta giving him the green light to confirm that he was deemed fit. In his place, Arsenal have several substitutes for David Raya, including 20-year-old Tommy Thetford, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ilan Meslier, who only joined on a free transfer from Leeds United earlier this month after signing a two-year deal.
Perhaps the most notable departure this summer was Leandro Trossard’s £17m move to Besiktas, announced last week. The Belgian was key to Arsenal winning the title at the end of last season, but his departure was not necessarily unexpected.
The 31-year-old has 12 months left on his contract at Arsenal, and in Arteta’s view it was the ideal time to sign Trossard, creating the chance to strengthen the left-wing role with fresh talent. Christos Tzoris was brought in to replace Trossard for a total of £34m, taking Arsenal’s summer spend to £68.5m.
The 24-year-old Greek winger was brought on to provide important cover on the left flank. Tzoris, who spent three seasons at Norwich City between 2021 and 2024, had a fantastic spell with Club Brugge last season, scoring 51 goals in 52 games.
Leandro Trossard signs with Besiktas (Image: Anadolu, Anadolu, via Getty Images)
With deals like this, things started to move forward at N5. They may not attract as much attention as their rivals, who spend more than £100m on top players, but both Arteta and Berta have shown shrewd businessmanship.
However, there is still much work to be done and further departures are expected as part of Arsenal’s summer review. Other players who could be given the green light to find pastures new include Christian Norgaard, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and potentially Ethan Nwaneri.
Around £180m of the £250m budget allocated to Arteta this summer has yet to be spent, so there could be more signings. The world-class forward, central midfielder and defender are expected to arrive before the window closes on September 1st.
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