Mikel Arteta desperate to offload Arsenal duo to fund surprise January double deal

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Arsenal are keen to offload Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny in the current January transfer window. 

Arsenal may well have to sell in order to buy this winter. Whilst the north London club have been linked with a host of potential acquisitions, they only have a very limited transfer budget to work with as things stand. 

Mikel Arteta is thought to want to bolster his midfield contingent. There will certainly be a major overhaul of players in that of the pitch for Arsenal in the near future, with some ambitious targets already being suggested.

On top of that, as reported by transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners are also aiming to sign a striker and a left-back this month.

Two players who could make way in order to make room for new arrivals at the Emirates Stadium are Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares. Both players are on the fringes of Arteta’s squad, and whilst neither would attract a huge fee, clearing their wages off the books at the very least would be helpful.

In the case of Elneny, despite him being the longest-serving first-team player still at the club, plenty of Arsenal fans are keen to see him go. The Egyptian earns £55,000-per-week, and is not of the standard required to play a meaningful role for a title-chasing side. 

Similar can be said of Cedric. Arteta clearly has no faith in the Portuguese defender, who is currently taking home £75,000-a-week. The full-back is deadweight in the squad and must be moved on.

Arsenal keen to ship Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny out so they can bring two players in

According to HITC, Arsenal are desperate to see both Elneny and Cedric leave this club this January, and both players have already “attracted interest” from sides in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. 

One problem Arsenal face, though, is that Elneny and Cedric are due to become free agents when their current contracts expire at the end of this season. That situation hinders the Gunners’ bargaining power.

If the duo can be moved on now, though, then the north London club will seek to replace the pair. As per journalist Graeme Bailey, as quoted in the aforementioned report, Arteta wants to bring in a midfielder and a defender. Therefore, it would be something close to like-for-like replacements, position-wise, that are brought in for Cedric and Elneny. A new striker, it seems, is not so high on the agenda, which may well come as a surprise and perhaps even a disappointment to some.