Viktor Gyokeres among five Arsenal stars fighting for their futures with Arteta ‘open’ to sale | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has never been afraid to make brutal transfer calls when upgrades have become available or when it is the right time for big-name stars to leave.

As proved by the examples of Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arteta has always tried to make marginal gains with his squad when necessary, and more heads will inevitably roll this summer.

It has been widely reported for months that there will be several high-profile Arsenal exits this summer to raise funds after years of immense spending, with several underperforming stars fighting to prove their worth to the head coach during the run-in.

This includes summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, but he is not alone in needing to step up to boost Arsenal’s fading hopes of ending their prolonged trophy drought and make Arteta think differently about the summer window…

Ben White

White is another Arsenal player who has been brutally cast aside for a shiny upgrade, but Jurrien Timber’s performances have fully justified this decision.

Like with Raya replacing Ramsdale, Timber is simply at a higher level than White, and Arsenal are a far stronger outfit when he is in their starting XI.

And it is no coincidence that Arsenal’s downturn in form and performances at a crucial time has coincided with Timber being unavailable due to injury, with the situation worsened by White failing to reach the levels he attained before dropping in the pecking order.

White, undeservedly, returned to the England fold last month, but he has little hope of featuring at the World Cup after being a weak link in Arsenal’s side in recent weeks.

With Timber nearing a return to fitness, White is running out of time to save his Arsenal career, and it currently looks inevitable that he will have an Everton-esque move in the summer.

Martin Odegaard

But Arsenal have more pressing concerns in the attacking half, with their severe lack of spark in the final third currently a significant hindrance in the fight for the Premier League and Champions League.

Arsenal often fail to create more than a handful of good openings per match, and most of these come via set-pieces; they are exceptional at what they’re good at, but this has also made them incredibly one-dimensional.

Odegaard is not the creative outlet he once was, with the ponderous midfielder’s stop-start 2025/26 campaign placing him on the exit ramp after Roy Keane claims he’s not been “enough” this term.

Arsenal’s captain has been a superb asset for Arteta since joining from Real Madrid, but he has been well below his peak for quite some time and needs to rekindle his previously devastating partnership with Bukayo Saka to re-establish himself.

Otherwise, summer signing Eze, who has been tipped to have the final say in the title race, could permanently take his place in Arteta’s side while Max Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri also wait in the wings to leave him behind.

Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal’s mission for the 2025 summer transfer window was to secure the final pieces of the puzzle to get over the line for a major trophy, but it was a mistake not to replace Martinelli.

The Brazilian international has immense natural ability and is pretty unplayable on his day, but these moments have become increasingly fleeting and it is far more often the case that he flatters to deceive.

It was hoped that the added competition provided by Eze and Noni Madueke would spark Martinelli to reach another level, but this has not transpired, and it is now hard to ever see him joining the elite winger category.

Anthony Gordon is an alternative to Nico Williams and Karim Adeyemi to replace Martinelli after Arsenal missed an opportunity to cash in when Bayern Munich were keen. Thankfully for Arteta’s side, a Saudi Pro League side will surely still be willing to give them a load of money for him this summer.

Kai Havertz

The widely accepted view was that the absence of a top-tier No.9 has held Arsenal back in recent seasons, and this problem remains unresolved despite the arrival of Gyokeres last summer.

As Jamie Carragher wisely predicted a while ago, Gyokeres has been removed from Arsenal’s starting XI at the most important time of the season, but the long-held criticism of his ‘not good enough’ replacement remains.

Havertz has certainly surpassed expectations since joining Arsenal from Chelsea for £65m and has done a job as a stand-in striker when called upon, but this is not his natural position, and he comes with limitations as a No.9.

This is especially true with his poor finishing, with the 26-year-old often guilty of letting Arsenal down in vital moments, and it is no wonder that they are interested in a marquee replacement.

Viktor Gyokeres

At least one of Arsenal’s underperforming strikers will surely leave this summer, with Gyokeres at risk after dropping down the pecking order of late.

It’s just not worked, has it? You cannot argue with his current debut campaign tally of 18 goals across all competitions, but he often offers virtually nothing else, and that is why he has recently found himself on the bench.

This is also why Arteta is reportedly ‘open’ to his sale in the summer as Arsenal face accepting a massive loss on the forward.

In truth, Arsenal need a striker who is a mix of Gyokeres and Havertz, with potential summer signing Julian Alvarez a great fit.