Arsenal’s transfer headache is actually very similar to 12 months ago.

Before we sign players, we need to sell.

This has nothing to do with money or cash flow. We have the finances to sign who we want.

Despite Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi and Mesut Ozil leaving last January, Martin Odergaard and Dani Ceballos’ loans ending and David Luiz leaving us on a free last week, we still have too many players.

As it stands on the club website, we have 27 “senior” players.

Premier League rules dictate that your registered first team squad may have no more than 25 players.

Of this 25, only 17 may be non-home grown (we all know the rules so I will not repeat).

On top of the 25, you can have as many U21 players as you wish – for this season anyone born before 1^st January 2000 will be considered U21.

As it stands, Arsenal have:

• 16 non-home grown senior players
• 7 home grown senior players
• 4 U21 players

That leaves us with just 2 free spots, of which only one can be taken up by a non-home grown player.

One of our issues last summer is we “blinked first” bringing in players before we sold.

This led clubs trying to sign the likes of Sokratis and Mustafi on the cheap as they knew Arsenal had to sell.

Arsenal are looking to move on the likes of Hector Bellerin, Granit Xhaka, Alexandre Lacezette, Sead Kolasinac and Lucas Torreira this summer; but to maximise the income we need to ensure we do not appear desperate to sell.

Those 5 departures will not only raise key funds, but also free up 4 non-home grown senior slots (increasing to 5 if you include Matteo Guendouzi’s departure) as well as another home grown slots.

If we sell all 6 players mentioned, that would leave Arsenal with 8 squad slots available – split 6 non-home grown and 2 home grown.

That would give Arsenal the flexibility required to sign who we want regardless of “status”.

With Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli as U21, I can see Arsenal going into next season with around 23 registered players, plus the 3 unregistered – that would leave us with room to spare if we need a January signing or two.

Saliba (who is U21) and Guendouzi will be the beginning. Once more follow them out the door, expect incoming players to happen quickly.

Keenos

Portugal’s Renato Sanches is the latest central midfielder to be linked with Arsenal, following Yves Bissouma, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Manuel Locatelli amongst others.

Sanches certainly splits opinion.

He burst onto the scene at Euro 2016. Aged just 18, he became him the youngest Portuguese to play in an international tournament as well as the youngest player to win a UEFA Euro final.

Sanches scored one goal during the competition and won the Young Player of the Tournament as Portugal captured the title for the first time in their history.

His performances for his country led Bayern Munich to do a deal which could have been worth up to €80 million.

It was always huge money for a player that had barely a season of senior football under his belt. And he struggled.

Four seasons at Bayern Munich saw him hardly play for the Bundesliga giants, and a less than impressive spell on loan with Swansea will stick in most fans heads.

Fast forward to the current Euro’s and he was one of Portugal’s best players prior to them being knocked out.

This led a lot of fans to make the joke that “Sanches hibernates between Euro’s”, commenting that his club form in the 5 years between the two competitions has been less than impressive in comparison to that of his Portugal form.

Others came out in his defence, pointing out that he was not a very different player to that who ended up playing 12 league games for Swansea; and that he was an integral part of the Lille side that won Ligue 1 last season.

But whilst he was part of that success, he was perhaps not as key as some are making out – just 14 league starts as he was in and out of the team with injury and form.

In fact since joining Lille 2 seasons ago, Sanches has started just 30 league games.

It is not the sparkling record to make you think he has now arrived as a player, fulfilling that potential he showed 5 years ago.

So if Arsenal signed Sanches, which version of the player would they be getting?

The Portugal star that has impressed across to European Championships? The Bayern Munich huge money signing that flopped on loan at Swansea? Or the middle of the road midfielder that has been in and out of the Lille team?

I have always kept on eye on Sanches since those early performances, and whilst I like him I am not sure he would solve Arsenal’s midfield problems.

At this stage in his career, it would be a huge risk for Arsenal to sign him as the first choice midfielder alongside Thomas Partey.

His place in the pecking order should probably be one below that – with Partey partnering someone else and Sanches being back-up.

But that is a position that Lokonga is coming in at, with Mo Elneny then providing the 4^th choice midfield option.

I am just not sure Sanches is the man to be a week in, week out regular starter as Mikel Arteta rebuilds the team.

I am happy to be proved wrong, however.

Keenos

Old Skool Bucket Hats…https://t.co/vlaHeBWIC8 pic.twitter.com/fApsQ4chIz

— 🎗 ///SHE WORE/// 🎗 (@SheWore) June 15, 2021