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Arsenal are expected to appoint Edu as their new sporting director ahead of a summer in which they are looking to carry out a significant overhaul of Unai Emery's first team squad.

Edu's role in that overhaul will be limited by his current job; he will remain in place as national team co-ordinator until Brazil's participation in the Copa America ends, which could be as late as July 7.

The Arsenal hierarchy have already advanced plans for the summer transfer window, in which they are expected to have less than £50million to spend unless they qualify for the Champions League. Getting back in Europe's top-club competition would provide a further £20m to improve a squad that is, barring a highly unlikely set of results on the final day, set to miss out on a top four finish for the third season in a row.

Arsenal made an ambitious gamble on experienced players in January 2018, handing a major new contract to Mesut Ozil and bringing in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. For the most part that has not paid off, though winning the Europa League would undoubtedly ease the pressure on the club and its finances.

However there is an acceptance that work is needed on an ageing squad where those players who are theoretically entering their prime years have yet to prove themselves on a consistent basis in an Arsenal shirt.

On the way out

Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey and Petr Cech will all leave at the end of the season on free transfers, trimming an estimated £300,000-a-week from the wage budget.

Whilst Cech had decided to retire Arsenal had shown a reluctance to match what their representatives viewed as a fair price for the other two and withdrew from talks with Ramsey when a deal worth nearly £200,000-a-week seemed close to being agreed.

Stephan Lichtsteiner will also depart on a free, Arsenal having opted against activating the one-year extension clause in his contract.

Other big earners are set to be made available, most notably Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who football.london revealed last month was among the players Arsenal would consider offers for. The Armenian international earns nearly £200,000-a-week but has failed to live up to his salary with a return of six goals and six assists this season.

After three inconsistent seasons in the Premier League it appears unlikely that the 30-year-old will be able to show the talent he displayed in a Borussia Dortmund shirt and Arsenal are set to entertain bids for him this summer. Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg have publicly declared an interest in Mkhitaryan.

David Ospina, on loan at Napoli, is available and his representatives have held preliminary talks with multiple clubs including the Partenopei. The Colombian international does not want to return to Arsenal for the final year of his contract.

Napoli are expected to try and keep Ospina but are avoiding playing him for a 25th time this season so that they do not have to pay the mandatory £4m purchase clause in their deal with Arsenal. Though the 30-year-old's first choice would be to stay in Naples football.london understands he will explore other options.

Fringe players such as Mohamed Elneny and Carl Jenkinson are up for sale, though the latter has been available for some time without Arsenal finding a buyer.

The same is true of Shkodran Mustafi, who has two years left on the contract he signed following his £35m signing from Valencia in 2016. Arsenal have not offered him an extension and will look to sell him this summer, as they did last to no avail.

Loanees Calum Chambers and Emiliano Martinez will return hoping to earn a regular place in Unai Emery's side but the former is likely to be disappointed and Arsenal are expected to entertain offers for one of the few players who could earn them a significant return from Premier League suitors.

Staying put

Arsenal indicated in January that they would consider any offers for Mesut Ozil but the response from his representatives was sufficiently emphatic to make plain that he is happy in London and there is little that can be done to change that.

(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Emery's own view of Ozil seems to be more nuanced than at the turn of the year, where Arsenal's best-paid player could not even make the squad for some away games.

Arsenal have activated a one year extension clause in Nacho Monreal's contract but his diminishing pace means he is likely to play a supporting role. The Gunners had previously been considering selling Sead Kolasinac in the summer but he is now expected to remain as back-up to whichever left-back arrives this summer.

The likes of Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno and Granit Xhaka are all tied to long-term contracts and viewed as the building blocks of Emery's team, as are youngsters Rob Holding and Matteo Guendouzi.

Alexandre Lacazette is said to be a target for Barcelona but Arsenal will not consider selling their player of the season. Their focus instead will be on building a squad around players such as him that is capable of challenging at a higher level next term.

Coming in

Arsenal's top priorities entering the window are signing a winger, left-back and midfielder to replace Aaron Ramsey. The leading contender for the first of those positions is Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser.

The Scotland international trails only Eden Hazard in the Premier League assist charts this season and has caught the eye of Chelsea as well as Arsenal, who are the front-runners for his signature. Fraser has said he could remain at Bournemouth in the final year of his contract but football.london understands he does not intend to sign an extension, which will almost certainly force the Cherries to cash in.

David Neres of Ajax is another name the Gunners have been linked with though his side's exploits in the Champions League are certain to mean the Brazilian draws other admirers.

Wilfried Zaha and Nicolas Pepe have their admirers at the Emirates but signing either would almost certainly leave Arsenal with little or no money to invest elsewhere. Ituano winger Gabriel Martinelli is expected to arrive but the 17-year-old is viewed simply as one for the future.

In central midfield Arsenal are expected to revive their interest in Christopher Nkunku, who they attempted to sign from Paris Saint-Germain in January. Like Fraser his contract expires in 2020 and the 21-year-old, who played regularly when Emery was PSG manager, has a reported price tag of just £17m.

Joe Aribo is another option being considered by the Arsenal hierarchy. The 22-year-old's contract at Charlton Athletic expires at the end of the season and if the Addicks are not promoted he is expected to leave.

As for left-back, Arsenal had been monitoring the progress of Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico but he has signed a new contract in Amsterdam and publicly committed to staying "for one more year". The Gunners have also been linked with Leicester's Ben Chillwell, Kieran Tierney of Celtic and Benfica's Alex Grimaldo.

A centre-back signing is an option but as Arsenal currently have seven options in that position on their books it would be contingent on selling at least one and likely both of Mustafi and Chambers. Emery is an admirer of Getafe's Djene Dakonam whilst there has also been interest in Manchester United's Eric Bailly.

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