Arsenal to ‘exercise’ clause for £45m first summer signing as eight stars face exits after PL title win

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·20 May 2026

Arsenal to ‘exercise’ clause for £45m first summer signing as eight stars face exits after PL title win

According to reports, as many as eight Arsenal players will leave the Premier League giants after winning the title this season.

Arsenal are coming off an incredibly joyous night, with the Premier League giants ending their 22-year wait for the league title on Tuesday evening.

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The Gunners were crowned champions after second-placed Man City drew to Bournemouth in their penultimate game. They needed to win their final two matches and for Mikel Arteta‘s side to drop points to Crystal Palace this weekend to reclaim the title.

The north London side are deserving champions as they have gradually built the best squad in the Premier League in recent years, with a further £250m spent on signings last summer.

This left Arsenal second only to Manchester United in our Premier League net spend table, and it has been widely reported for months that they will have to offload unwanted talents to balance the books this summer.

And a new report from CBS Sports has shed light on Arsenal’s transfer plans ahead of the summer, with current loanee Piero Hincapie set to be their first summer signing.

Last summer, the versatile defender joined Arsenal on loan with an option to buy from Bayer Leverkusen, and he has been a vital player for the Premier League champions during the run-in.

Earlier this year, Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Hincapie will be Arsenal’s “first signing” ahead of next season.

“Yes, Piero Hincapie will be the first signing for Arsenal in summer 2026. It was always planned like this. If you remember with David Raya and Brentford, Arsenal did something similar a few years ago,” Romano said.

“So, signed a player on loan with a buy-out option clause, but was always going to be a permanent transfer in the following summer, that’s what’s going to happen also with Piero Hincapie.

“There is already everything signed between Hincapie and Arsenal in terms of contract, a five-year deal. So, it’s already signed and completed. Piero Hincapie already feels like an Arsenal player on a permanent transfer.”

Arsenal to ‘exercise’ Hincapie signing as eight exits mooted

Now, CBS Sports claims ‘the option to sign Hincapie’ is to be exercised at a cost of around $60 million (£45m)’, while they could recoup funds by sanctioning up to eight exits.

The report claims:

‘Ben White, Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard are among those who could depart, according to CBS Sports sources. The futures of Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard have also been a matter of speculation, given that both are entering the final two years of their contract. ‘Cristhian Mosquera is a target for Atletico Madrid, and having signed for just $17 million he is a player on whom Arsenal could make a tidy profit. It is not yet clear if that is something they would be minded to do.’