Manuel Alumina’s middle name must be “Inconsistency”. The 34 year old shot stopper has failed to make a single appearance this season and his departure will free up money from his considerable salary. The Spaniard, who joined from Spanish second division side Celta Vigo in 2004, was earlier loaned to West Ham (a one-month emergency loan) and is reportedly set to leave the Gunners in the summer. Wenger could then promote a promising reserve team keeper - James Shea or Sean McDermott - to the first team.Reuters
Manuel Alumina’s middle name must be “Inconsistency”. The 34 year old shot stopper has failed to make a single appearance this season and his departure will free up money from his considerable salary. The Spaniard, who joined from Spanish second division side Celta Vigo in 2004, was earlier loaned to West Ham (a one-month emergency loan) and is reportedly set to leave the Gunners in the summer. Wenger could then promote a promising reserve team keeper - James Shea or Sean McDermott - to the first team.ReutersGoalkeeper Vito Mannone started brightly at Arsenal, after he joined from Italian club Atalanta in 2005. His best performance was in September 2009, when he single-handedly kept the Gunners alive in a game against Fulham. However, his confidence took a dip soon after and he has since looked less and less able to deliver, whenever called upon. With the two Poles, Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski, fighting to be Arsenal’s first choice, it is time for the Italian to leave. The 24 year old is currently on loan at Hull City and if reports are to be believed he will make it a permanent move, if both clubs can agree on a fee.ReutersSebastian Squillaci joined Arsenal from La Liga side Sevilla, in the summer of 2010. He was given the number 18 jersey previously worn by Frenchmen Pascal Cygan and Mikael Silvestre. He has, unfortunately, failed miserably since then and has made only one league appearance this season. He is a player the fans would happily bid farewell to and one can understand why. With Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Johan Djourou and Kyle Bartley in the team now, Wenger can also happily let the 31 year old go.ReutersBrazilian midfielder Denilson is famously able to pass the ball two ways – back and to his side. The player arrived from Sao Paulo in 2005 and is now back at the club, on a season-long loan. Nothing has changed in that period and the 24 year old has reportedly expressed a desire to remain in Brazil – not because he is setting the pitch on fire there. In fact, he has three red cards in the few games he has played so far, making him someone the fans will certainly not miss.ReutersAbou Diaby joined Arsenal in 2006, from Ligue 1 side Auxerre. However, his Gunners’ career has since been marred by injuries and inconsistent from. As a matter of fact, he has spent more time injured than fit and since injured players continue receiving salaries, it might be a wise choice to let the youngster go.ReutersThe most high profile player on our list is the Russian national team captain. After an impressive Euro 2008, Andrei Arshavin came to London as a highly regarded attacker. His four goals in the 4-4 draw at Anfield in April 2009 and the winner against Barcelona at the Emirates last season, remain the highest points of his Arsenal career. The Gooners booing Wenger for bringing him on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the home game against Manchester United in January is, of course, the lowest point. Unfortunately for the Russian he has warmed the bench for most of the season and cuts a lonely figure whenever he was called upon. The 30 year old is out on loan at former club Zenit St Petersburg in Russia and will have to pull some spectacular performances out of the hat at the Euros once more to be part of Arsenal or any other major club next year.ReutersMexican youngster Carlos Vela joined Arsenal in 2005, after winning the Golden Boot in the Under-17 World Cup; Mexico beat Brazil to claim the crown. However, he failed to repeat those performances for Arsenal. Vela is clearly talented but has made only three league starts in six years… why keep him? The 23 year old has talent but has spent most of his career on loan in Spain; he is presently with Real Sociedad. It is probably best for all parties if Vela is sold, maybe to a La Liga club, so as to not hamper his career any more.ReutersChamakh playing for ArsenalReutersThis one is a sad case. The South Korea captain joined Arsenal from AS Monaco last summer with only two more years of European football ahead of him - he has to go back to his homeland for compulsory military service after that. Park said he wants to make maximum use of this period, playing as much as he could. Well, he has only made one substitute appearance in the Premier League so far. The good news is in the meantime he has permission to delay his military duty for 10 years. The bad news is he is still not going to break into the Arsenal team. Sell him, Arsene. He deserves a place in the starting line-up somewhere.ReutersBendtner is looking for a new clubReuters
It has been a long wait for the club - too long, in fact, for a side that prides itself on being one of the continent's elite footballing institutions - and it is time to shuffle the pack.
Indeed, calls for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to do just that - to spend big money on recruiting proven world-class talent to complement the amazingly talented line-up of young stars on show at the Emirates have been long-standing. While there is no doubt the French boss has an unrivalled eye for talent and more important ability to groom that skill, a championship-winning side needs a mix of skills and abilities. They need to field both youth and experience for, in the final analysis, it is not just the one or the other which wins titles. It is both.
Wenger has made some strides towards that end, with a deal, reportedly, in place for hugely experienced German forward Lukas Podolski. There are also rumours linking the club to Ligue 1 club Montpellier's French forward Olivier Giroud; Rennes' French midfielder Yann M'Vila and a host of other players.
However, the manager will be aware of the fact that he needs to trim his first team squad before bringing more players in, not only because he is unlikely to be handed a transfer kitty large enough to sign all the players he wants/needs but also because those players are unlikely to want to come to a club without the assurance of regular first-team football.
Arsenal's first team squad now consists of a number of players who have played, at best, only bit-part roles till now and do not seem likely to improve on that score.
We at IBTimes UK believe it is now time for Arsene Wenger to clean house and present 10 players we think should leave the club
