Arsenal are still finding their feet under Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard took over from Unai Emery as the club’s head coach midway through the previous season and is still shaping the squad in his image. Incomings and outgoings will further decide how Arteta’s Arsenal look next season. Two players, however, won’t be a part of it.
In a double blow, Arsenal are set to lose both Lucas Torreira and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the upcoming summer transfer window. Both players are currently out on loan – Torreira at Atletico Madrid and Maitland-Niles at West Bromwich Albion – and will likely leave their parent club this summer.
Torreira left Arsenal in the 2020 summer transfer window to join Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid after falling out of favour under Arteta. However, he has failed to break into the first team and has fallen behind Thomas Lemar, Koke, and Marcos Llorente in the pecking order.
The Uruguayan central midfielder recently suffered from a heartbreaking personal loss, as his mother passed away after a battle with coronavirus. In a recent interview with ESPN Argentina, the player revealed he wishes to fulfill his father’s dream and play for Boca Juniors in Argentina.
It’s not a violent emotion, a crazy decision because of my mother. I have always said that I want to play for Boca. I’m dying to play for Boca and I will always say it,
Torreira said in his interview.
The night my mother died, one of the first to hear the news was my agent. I don’t want to play in Europe anymore, I want to play for Boca. I want to be close to my home, my family. I have a contract at Arsenal and I am on loan at Atletico but I want to go to Boca. I hope the clubs can agree. It’s been two years since I was enjoying myself personally, I haven’t had continuity. Arsenal hurt me and at Atletico, I don’t play like I want.
Torreira’s departure won’t be the only one Arsenal have to contend with. The Telegraph reports that the Gunners are also set to bid farewell to academy product Ainsley Maitland-Niles, with the youngster set to end his stay at the club this summer.
Maitland-Niles played the first half of the season at Arsenal before leaving for West Bromwich Albion on loan in January. Not getting to play in his favoured central midfield position has always been a contentious issue for the youngster, with his Arsenal coaches usually deploying him as a right-back or a right wing-back.
The Englishman has been played in the position of his choice by Sam Allardyce at the Hawthorns. He has often accompanied fellow loanees, Conor Gallagher and Okay Yokuslu, as part of a midfield three. The Baggies are struggling to survive in the Premier League and remain second from the bottom. Maitland-Niles, however, has put in some decent performances for the side since joining them temporarily.
Arsenal’s rebuild will continue whether the two players leave the club or not. The Gunners used the January 2021 window as a means to cut their wage bill. They sanctioned the departure of club great Mesut Ozil – one of the highest earners in the Premier League. Central defenders, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, also left the club by terminating their contracts, while Sead Kolasinac left to join Schalke on loan.
The London outfit, meanwhile, brought Matt Ryan and Martin Odegaard to the club in January to fix their issues. Both players were signed temporarily, with their respective deals running out in June 2021. Odegaard has impressed during his limited time at the club, but Ryan has barely played.
