Rumored Mikel Arteta “overhaul” hardly an overhaul

Mikel Arteta is rumored to want to sell five Arsenal players, but it’s being tipped as an “overhaul.” That is not the appropriate word here.

There’s a lot of talk these days about what’s going to happen this summer (or fall… or winter…) when Arsenal enter their first full transfer window with Mikel Arteta in charge. Of course, the magic word right now is “overhaul” and there are headlines out there exploiting this concept.

Yes, the Gunners probably do need an overhaul, and that may very well mean selling their three highest-profile attackers—Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, and Mesut Ozil. But that’s not the overhaul that’s currently being talked about.

The overhaul that’s currently being talked about is one to sell off a bunch of guys that probably should have been sold already… and Sead Kolasinac.

Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Mohammed Elneny, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sead Kolasinac. That’s the reported “overhaul” that Arteta is eyeing, and as you can see, that’s not really an overhaul at all.

That’s called clearing out the dead weight… and Sead Kolasinac… to make room for more useful incoming transfers.

Hell, two of those guys have been on loan all year and will probably get us like, £20m combined, if we’re lucky.

Shkodran Mustafi has seen a resurgence this year, but counting on him to keep that going is dicey because we’ve been here before. We’ve seen this before. And if we’re already keeping David Luiz as well as following the need to improve the defense with additional signings, then someone has to go, and I’d rather keep Luiz and Mustafi, especially since we can get some money for selling Mustafi.

Sokratis overstayed his usefulness a while ago, so no surprises there.

Sead Kolasinac is the only guy I would argue shouldn’t be sold among those five. Anyone who wants to make an argument for the other four… needs some help. Sorry, it had to be said. But that’s exactly what makes it far from an overhaul. It’s a necessity.

That said, it is only a headline. Arteta likely has much more comprehensive moves on his mind that involve far more valuable players. All in the name of raising money for an actual overhaul, the likes of which are long overdue at this club.

Of course, we also have no idea when this will actually happen, given the current state of the Premier League and the world. But it will.