One of Mikel Arteta’s first tasks at Arsenal will be to either convince big players to stay or overhaul his squad, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads a number who are considering their futures.

The striker’s brother Willy Aubameyang caused controversy this week by criticising the choice of Arteta on social media, but The Independent has been told that the captain actively wants to leave, reflecting a growing mood in the squad.

Arsenal could be facing a similar situation to Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in the last few seasons, as the contract of their best-paid player runs out within a year and a half and he shows no willingness to sign a new one. Aubameyang wants to join a club he feels can better challenge for the top trophies quickly, and has little desire to commit to a medium-term project.

Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka are among others considering their future, but several sources say it is a feeling spreading among “half the squad”. That is not specifically related to the appointment of Arteta, but more about the general lack of direction at the club.

On the other side, however, the Arsenal hierarchy have realised that a significant clear-out may be needed. The events of the last month have been seen as a tipping point, particularly with how the poor performance of many players greatly influenced institutional decisions.

Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Show all 11 1 /11 Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Mikel Arteta agrees to become Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is poised to return to Arsenal to replace Unai Emery as manager, but who are the winners and losers of his appointment? PA Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Winners: Mesut Ozil The German has outlasted Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and the short interim reign on Freddie Ljungberg, despite being one of the prime targets for the fans’ ire over is apparently lethargic displays this season. Ozil has long been one of the enigmas of the Premier League, having a talent that few across the division can rival yet displaying it on so few occasions that the prospect of his selection at all sometimes beggars belief. But the arrival of a former teammate in Arteta could well see Ozil receive the arm around the shoulder that he desperately craves, and at a time when he has put himself in the headlines for reasons beyond football, it may be the perfect cure to get him focussed on playing his best again. After all, who else do Arsenal have to select in his position who is performing well? Arsenal FC via Getty Images Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Mikel Arteta Of course, this is the obvious one. Arteta receives his first permanent manager’s job at a club where he can’t really do much worse than what is already happening, yet has the potential and talent to shoot right up the table with just a couple of wins. It’ll be a tough ask for Arteta, but he knows the club inside out and – just like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – will be afforded more time than most due to his previous relationship there. REUTERS Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang As long as Arteta sticks with him as captain, the arrival of the new manager could see Aubameyang benefit from what Pep Guardiola has taught his young understudy. Guardiola has always favoured playing one lone striker and for too long Aubameyang has been wasted out wide to accommodate both he and Alexandre Lacazette. Arteta’s arrival could well see Aubameyang return to being the main man in the middle. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Arsenal fans It has not been a kind campaign for Arsenal fans to endure so far this season but the arrival of Arteta will bring a renewed optimism at the Emirates and – the club will desperately hope – a new manager bounce that they failed to get with Ljungberg. Whether or not Arteta is the answer to Arsenal’s issues remains to be seen, but he should help to heal a fractured fanbase and bring calm to a club that has been in freefall in just about every area. PA Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Nicolas Pepe The £72m club-record signing clearly has something about him, and Arteta could be the man who finally brings out his best side at Arsenal. With just four goals to his name since arriving from Lille in the summer, it would be fair of Arteta to demand more from his high-cost winger, but in return Pepe may now finally have a manager who truly believes in his talents. Getty Images Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Losers: Pep Guardiola Although the Manchester City manager wanted Arteta to remain in his backroom staff, he admitted that he could not see a reason for the former Arsenal midfielder remaining at the Etihad when offered a head coaching role. City have let their title-winning intensity slip this season; they have had their worst start to a Premier League under Guardiola ever, with three defeats in their opening 13 games, to leave them in third place, floundering nine points behind leaders Liverpool. Guardiola’s loss of his assistant manager can only increase the pressure on the manager’s shoulders, and it could put the Spaniard’s long-term future at the club under more doubt. Action Images via Reuters Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal David Luiz David Luiz, who won both the Premier League and Champions League with Chelsea, has struggled to make an impression for the Gunners this season. Although he has started 14 of the side’s 16 Premier League games, fans have argued that this is not because of the defensive skill of the 32-year-old but because Arsenal do not have anything better at their disposal. Luiz has been a catastrophe alongside Sokratis, and both players are likely to be sold in the not too distant future if Arteta is in favour of a revamp. REUTERS Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Sokratis Papastathopoulos Which brings us to Sokratis. Arsenal’s current squad is lacking depth in multiple areas, but nowhere as greatly as in its defence which has been labelled “embarrassing” by critics this season. Arteta will have to look to fix this problem area across the next two transfer windows through both buying and selling players. Sokratis has fallen out of favour with fans after multiple shaky performances throughout the season, with many questioning why the defender continues to be fielded. EPA Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Alexandre Lacazette If Arteta sticks by Aubameyang, Lacazette could find himself reduced once again to the role of impact substitute – something that we have already seen frustrates him. The problem for Arsenal is that Lacazette is two years younger than Aubameyang, but by being placed repeatedly in this role he could easily have his head turned by other interested clubs. Choosing how to handle his two superstar strikers could be one of Arteta’s biggest challenges. PA Winners and losers as Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal Joe Willock Emery had given young midfielder Willock plenty of game time this season, before Ljungberg trusted him to start his first game in charge in the form of the recent defeat by Brighton. It backfired, with Willock hauled off at half-time, and the introduction of Pepe appears to have given Arsenal a little bit of life, if nothing else. If Ljungberg and Per Mertesacker, his former academy coach, weren’t going to stick by him, it’s highly unlikely that Arteta will, at least in the immediate future. Belga/AFP via Getty Images

Arsenal had hoped to buy time after the sacking of Unai Emery through the interim appointment of Freddie Ljungberg, and put due consideration into the appointment of the next full-time manager, which they hoped would not be required until the end of the season. That plan was scuppered when it became evident that the players were not responding, endangering the club’s entire campaign and even putting in what amounted to relegation form with a return of just 22 points from 17 games.

Ljungberg told the hierarchy that too many of the players didn’t care, and that was unlikely to change until a permanent appointment was made. Both the interim manager and key officials are said to have been taken aback by just how much the players have dropped off, and how slack some attitudes were. It has fired the mood for a clear-out.

A further problem for Arteta is that Arsenal do not currently have that great a transfer fund, with finances likely to be further affected by another season out of the Champions League, and maybe even without European football altogether if they cannot drastically improve this season’s form.