Mikel Arteta sanctions exits for five Arsenal players in major clearout with one deal close

Arsenal will listen to offers for at least five players to leave the club this summer, according to reports, with manager Mikel Arteta turning his attentions towards outgoings.

The Gunners have signed four players this summer, including the completion of a £75 million deal to sign Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes.

Former Norwich winger Christos Tzolis has joined from Club Brugge for a fee in the region of £35 million, while Illan Meslier has been signed as goalkeeping cover after his Leeds contract expired.

And Piero Hincapie has joined on a permanent basis from Bayer Leverkusen after a successful loan spell last season, for a fee of £34.5 million plus add-ons.

Arsenal have been working hard on sealing deals in the opposite direction, and have recouped just under £40 million from the departures of Jakub Kiwior, Christian Norgaard and Leandro Trossard to FC Porto, Everton and Besiktas respectively.

READ MORE: Everton gain advantage over Liverpool in race to sign wonderkid who wants Premier League move

But, with Arteta still hopeful of adding at least another forward to his squad after the ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, and potentially a centre-back, more needs to be done.

According to BBC Sport, Arsenal are willing to allow left winger Gabriel Martinelli to leave the club should an acceptable bid come in after his return from World Cup duty with Brazil.

His compatriot Gabriel Jesus, who missed out on the World Cup, is understood to be free to leave, alongside Portugal midfielder Fabio Vieira. Vieira hasn't played for Arsenal since 2024 and has been loaned out to FC Porto and then German side Hamburg, where he spent the 2025/26 season.

Ethan Nwaneri, 19, is said to be in the same position as Martinelli after returning from a loan spell at Marseille.

And forgotten winger Reiss Nelson could sign for newly-relegated Championship side West Ham in the coming days.

According to The Athletic's James McNicholas, Arsenal have held talks with the Hammers over a potential deal, with their manager Nuno Espirito Santo keen to add more attacking options to his squad.

Nelson is out of contract next summer and spent last season on loan at Brentford, who declined to take up an option contained within his loan deal to sign him permanently.

Sky Sports News, meanwhile, report that Serie A giants Napoli are interested in signing Gabriel Jesus, with Arsenal holding out for a fee of between £18-20 million.

Napoli could raise part of the funds required through the sale of Romelu Lukaku, with the Belgium striker joining Fenerbahce on Wednesday in what is the Turkish Super Lig's latest high-profile acquisition after Mohamed Salah's free transfer move to Trabzonspor was confirmed earlier this month.

Nwaneri and Martinelli could also be welcomed to Turkish football, with reports from Turkey on Wednesday indicating that Galatasaray had launched a 'package deal' to sign both players from Arsenal.

READ MORE: Arsenal receive 'package deal' transfer offer for two players that could spark domino effect

All five moves would free up what would be further room in the transfer budget and wage bill for the Gunners as they approach the final days of the summer window.