On the way out - and their potential replacements: Walcott, left, and Sanchez are set to join Everton and Manchester United, with Aubameyang, third from left, and Mkhitaryan, right, wanted by the London club

Back in the relative calm of last May, Arsène Wenger joked about the idea of changes to the balance of power at Arsenal. A director of football? “I don’t know what it means,” he said.

“Is it someone who stands on the road and directs the players left and right? I’m manager of Arsenal. As long as I am manager, I will decide what happens on the technical front. That’s it.”

Spool forward eight months and Wenger’s assertion about calling the shots sounds a little flimsy. There is so much movement in and out of Arsenal’s training ground right now — Theo Walcott, Alexis Sánchez and possibly Olivier Giroud on the way out and two of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Malcom and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang expected to replace