Arsenal need to leave two non-homegrown out of their Premier League squad this season - with Mesut Ozil being a potential casualty.
The Gunners need to trim their squad down to 25 players before October 20 and it must contain a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players.
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But the club failed to sell a number of players before the transfer deadline and the addition of Thomas Partey takes their non-homegrown number to 19.
It means one of the prime candidates to miss out could be World Cup winner Ozil, who is on a monstrous £350,000-a-week contract.
Goal have stated it is likely Mikel Arteta leaves out a defender given the club are stacked in that department, but the second omission could be Ozil.
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The German international hasn't featured at all since football's return in June and his biggest contributions have been sitting in the stands with an umbrella.
Arteta has stressed the 31-year-old still has a future at the Emirates Stadium but it looks unlikely at the moment.
When asked about having to trim his squad down, the Spaniard replied: "I'm really happy with all the boys and the way they're training.
"But selection is getting more complicated and with this new rule of just having only 18 players in the squad makes it very difficult."
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What Arteta will be pleased about is the capture of Partey, who cost £45 million from Atletico Madrid.
Arsenal reportedly had several bids for the midfielder rejected throughou the summer, with Atleti standing firm on his release clause.
On Monday the Premier League club finally agreed to pay the fee and the Ghanaian international officially signed.
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Arteta commented on the signing and told Arsenal's official website: "We have been watching Thomas for a while, so we're now delighted to add such a high quality player to our squad.
"He is a dynamic midfielder with great energy. He brings a lot of experience from a top club that has competed at the highest level in La Liga and the Champions League for several years.
"We're very impressed with his attitude and his approach to the game.
"He's an intelligent footballer and we're looking forward to him integrating into our system and contributing to the progress we're building at the moment at the club."
Partey became Arsenal's fourth signing of the window following the captures of Willian and Gabriel, as well as the return of Dani Ceballos on loan.
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