Arsenal ‘tell three players they can leave’ as Mikel Arteta decides he has seen enough

Arsenal have reportedly put three fringe players up for sale as Mikel Arteta looks to trim down his squad.

With the help of outgoing sporting director Edu, Arteta has spent five years building a deep squad which covers all bases. And while their transfer strategy has been successful on the whole, there are a handful of failures to take the gloss off their numerous successes.

Fabio Vieira, Nuno Tavares and Marquinhos were all shipped out of north London on loan during the summer, with Arteta deciding he already had enough talent and options to have another crack at the Premier League title.

According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal are now willing to listen to offers for all three players over the coming transfer windows. Any possible sale involving Vieira would likely have to wait until the end of the season, when his temporary stint at FC Porto concludes.

The 24-year-old was expected to rediscover his best form back at his old stomping ground, but it has been slow going thus far, with only five starts across all competitions.

Arsenal forked out £34million to sign him from Porto two-and-a-half years ago, but the attacking midfielder failed to make an impact or force his way past Martin Odegaard, managing only three goals in 49 appearances.

Tavares’ permanent exit is also set to be put on hold. The Portuguese is in the midst of a season-long loan at Lazio, where he has come racing out of the blocks with eight assists in his first nine Serie A games from left-back.

A clause in his loan move to Italy means Lazio will be obliged to make the move permanent if certain conditions are met. But even if they are not, Arsenal will reportedly look to sell him permanently to a different club after four years on the books.

Marquinhos is one player who could be offloaded next month. The Sao Paulo-born winger has come to the end of an uninspiring loan stint at Fluminense, following similarly uneventful spells with Norwich City and Nantes.

Having failed to pull up trees during any of his tests away from the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners have reportedly decided that Marquinhos is ‘free to leave’. The 21-year-old has only played six times for Arsenal and has more than two years remaining on his contract.