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Arsenal have been heavily linked with Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez in recent weeks. Though Arsenal have spent big in the summer transfer window with the signing of Ben White for a reported £50 million, they are seemingly not done yet.
The club are looking for a new striker this summer and have reportedly set their sights on Lautaro Martinez, who is also on the radar of Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.
Martinez has quickly developed into one of Europe's top strikers and due to Inter's current financial difficulties, the player could end up leaving the Serie A giants for the right price.
Reports have stated that Inter will demand around £75 million to part with Lautaro Martinez this summer and in order to afford a fee that size, Arsenal will most likely have to sell a number of fringe players. Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, he has got a lot of players that could be cut from the team without really losing any key members of the squad.
So here we take a look at 5 such players who Arsenal can sell to fund Lautaro Martinez's transfer.
#5 Joseph Willock
Coming through the ranks at Arsenal, Joseph Willock made 94 appearances for the Gunners since making his debut in 2017, with most of his appearances coming from the bench. To get more game time, Arsenal sent Willock on a short-loan to Newcastle United in January 2021.
Willock had a tremendous loan spell at the Magpies during the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, scoring 8 goals in 14 appearances. Willock also matched Alan Shearer's record by scoring in seven straight Premier League appearances for Newcastle United.
The 21-year-old is currently back at Arsenal, but with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Emile Smith-Rowe already at the club, Arsenal could look to cash-in on the youngster to fund Lautaro Martinez's transfer.
He has been linked with a return to Newcastle and recent reports have stated that Arsenal have agreed a £25 million fee for the youngster.
#4 Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Another academy graduate, Maitland-Niles, made his debut for Arsenal in a Champions League game in 2014 when he was just 17 years of age. The midfielder has since gone on to make 121 appearances for the club, with loan spells in between to Ipswich Town and West Bromwich Albion.
The 23-year-old did well in right-back and wing-back positions under Mikel Arteta, but the player wanted to play in a midfield role, an area Arsenal were well stocked in and hence was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion in January last season.
Maitland-Niles is back at Arsenal now. However, with no guarantee of regular first-team football, the player might look to leave and Arsenal could do with offloading him in a bid to fund Lautaro Martinez's transfer.
According to reports, Leicester City, Southampton and Burnley are the most interested clubs in the English international right now.
#3 Lucas Torreira
Another player who may be sold to fund the Lautaro Martinez deal will be Arsenal's combative midfielder Lucas Torreira.
Torreira made a brilliant start to his Arsenal career, putting in a number of man-of-the-match displays early on in his first season at the club that had excited many of the fans who even dubbed him the 'new Kante'. Sadly, injuries and a reported failure to settle in London quickly saw the Uruguayan fall out of favor.
The midfielder was subsequently sent on loan to Atletico Madrid during the 2020-21 campaign but the 25-year-old could only make 26 appearances for the club as he failed to force his way into a title-winning side with any sort of consistency.
It looks like Arsenal will hope to offload him permanently this summer to generate funds for Lautaro Martinez. Plenty of Italian clubs have reportedly shown interest in the Uruguayan midfielder in recent weeks.
#2 Hector Bellerin
Hector Bellerin has been an integral part of Arsenal for the last decade or so. The right-back has made more than 250 appearances for the Gunners since making his debut in 2014.
But injuries have hampered his progress in recent years. The Spaniard gradually fell out of favor under Arteta last season, making three appearances in the final 13 games of the Premier League campaign.
Instead, the likes of Bukayo Saka, Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares moved ahead of the 26-year-old in the pecking order as his playing time waned.
With just two years left on his contract, Bellerin is expected to leave the club this summer. Inter Milan have been heavily linked with the defender since the departure of Achraf Hakimi and Arsenal could definitely use Bellerin in a bid to sweeten the deal for Lautaro Martinez from Inter.
#1 Alexandre Lacazette
Alexandre Lacazette is probably the prime candidate to make way for Lautaro Martinez at the Emirates.
Lacazette is currently facing an uncertain future at Arsenal and has less than 12 months remaining on his contract. Many have also expressed doubts over his ability to lead the line for the Gunners.
The Frenchman managed to register an underwhelming tally of 13 Premier League goals last season and has scored just 72 goals in 189 appearances for Arsenal. Recent reports have stated that Mikel Arteta is ready to move on from the 30-year-old.
Lautaro Martinez, 23, presents Arsenal with a youthful replacement for Lacazette, and the Argentine impressed with his 17 goals last season as Inter won the Serie A title.
Arsenal have had a bid of cash plus Alexandre Lacazette rejected for Lautaro Martinez and the Gunners will be hoping to find other suitors for the Frenchman in order to raise some funds.
