Mikel Arteta has effectively acknowledged the problem Arsenal now face as Andrea Berta attempts to create room in a squad that has already undergone significant summer investment.
Gabriel Martinelli has new interest from Al-Hilal. Gabriel Jesus has attracted contact from Everton and Ipswich Town. Ethan Nwaneri is attracting clubs willing to offer him regular football.
Finding interested teams does not appear to be Arsenal’s biggest problem.
Convincing players that leaving is the right decision could prove considerably harder.
Asked on Thursday about difficult conversations with players whose roles may be changing, Arteta admitted Arsenal have reached a point where football decisions need to be made.
“We all know everything has a start and an end,” the Arsenal manager said during his pre-Coventry press conference.
Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus show Arsenal problem
Arsenal already have evidence of how complicated those decisions can become.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Thursday that Al-Hilal have added Martinelli to their winger shortlist, but the Brazilian would prefer his next move to remain within European football.
Galatasaray have already seen a potential route to Martinelli stall despite submitting a €45million offer.
There is a similar situation developing around Jesus.
Everton and Ipswich have now contacted Arsenal about the 29-year-old, with the striker reportedly preferring to remain in the Premier League after negotiations with Napoli failed.
Those preferences matter when Arsenal cannot simply decide where contracted players go.
Arteta acknowledged that difficulty during his press conference, explaining that a player can be happy at Arsenal even when the club reaches a different sporting conclusion.
There is also a financial element.
Martinelli and Jesus are established senior players whose departures could produce useful transfer income while removing wages from Arsenal’s books.
Selling them below the club’s valuation simply to create space would undermine much of that benefit.
Ethan Nwaneri requires a different Arsenal solution
Nwaneri’s situation demonstrates why every exit cannot be handled in the same way.
Arsenal are prioritising a loan rather than a permanent transfer for the 19-year-old after interest emerged from clubs in England and elsewhere in Europe.
Arteta was emphatic on Thursday that Myles Lewis-Skelly will remain, describing himself as “100 per cent” confident the academy graduate will still be at Arsenal once the window closes.
That distinction is revealing.
Arsenal want to protect their highest-value young assets while making harder decisions around established players whose pathway has narrowed.
Berta has already done much of the difficult work strengthening Arteta’s squad.
The final phase of the window may require a different skill.
Arsenal need to generate sales without accepting poor deals, while finding destinations their players are actually prepared to join.
Martinelli and Jesus are already showing how difficult that balance can become.
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