Arsenal have provided clarity over the futures of a number of players following the conclusion of the 2023/24 season.
On Wednesday the Gunners were among the Premier League sides to officially submit the list of players they will be keeping in their squad, as well as those they will be releasing, ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. As expected, the first team players who will leave the north Londoners upon the expiry of their contracts at the end of this month include Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny.
In total, 16 players from the senior men’s team and academy will leave the club on free transfers, while four players will be released. Catalin Cirjan, Arthur Okonkwo and Kido Taylor-Hart are perhaps the most high profile youngsters leaving the Emirates Stadium this summer.
The player whose exit will perhaps be felt the most is Elneny, due to him being the current longest-serving player at the club having joined eight years ago. “Gooners, I’m here today to send you a message and to say goodbye and thank you for everything you have done for me; the love, the support and the kindness,” the Egyptian said in an emotional video last month.
“I am really going to miss you so much and you will be in my heart forever. I wanted to say how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I will never forget the way you supported me. I am going to see you on Sunday at Emirates Stadium to say goodbye face-to-face. See you, Gunners.”
One notable absence from Arsenal’s retained list is David Raya, who had been on loan from Brentford for the 2023/24 season. However, it’s understood the Spaniard will join the Gunners in a deal worth £27million over the summer.
Young goalkeeper Karl Hein is currently considering a contract offer by the club and with Aaron Ramsdale’s future up in the air the goalkeeping department could look much different in a few months. Reuell Walters is another who has been offered a new contract, although the defender appeared to have already said goodbye to the team in a message posted to social media. “Thank you to everyone that’s made this part of my career special,” Walters wrote on X. “It’s been a pleasure playing for this club and I wish you all the best for the future.”
Amario Cozier-Duberry, who has been compared to Bukayo Saka in the past, has also been offered another contract but is drawing interest from England and abroad. The fourth player to be included in the retained list because they have been offered a new contract is Elian Quesada-Thorn, a 19-year-old defender who featured 17 times for Arsenal U18s last season.
Interestingly, Kieran Tierney, Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga have been included in the retained list but all three players could depart Emirates Stadium this summer. Tierney (worth £10.2million according to Transfermarkt), Tavares (£12.7million) and Lokonga (£12.7million) could all fetch decent fees for Edu and Mikel Arteta.
Other players included on the retained list who have been linked with exits are Thomas Partey (£15.3million), Emile Smith Rowe (£18.7million), Eddie Nketiah (£25.5million) and Reiss Nelson (£12.7million). That means, should Edu sell all seven aforementioned players this summer, Arsenal could be looking at a transfer windfall of around £108million.
Of course, it’s unlikely all seven players leave this summer and other exits could be sanctioned with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira having been linked with moves away. Arsenal are also likely to bring in some players of their own, with Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak, Martin Zubimendi and Jorrel Hato among the players linked.
Arsenal first-team players retained for 2024/25
Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale, Karl Hein (offer)
Defenders: Kieran Tierney, Benjamin White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Nuno Tavares, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jurrien Timber, Reuell Walters (offer)
Midfielders: Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Jorginho, Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Declan Rice,
Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz, Reiss Nelson
