Paul Merson has told Sky Sports that he believes that Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles will leave Arsenal in the summer, after Mikel Arteta sent them out on loan.
Arsenal opted to allow Maitland-Niles to join West Bromwich Albion, while Willock moved to Newcastle United.
Arteta said that he wanted the youngsters to both get more regular game time than he could offer them at the Emirates Stadium.
But Merson believes that the loan moves are a sign that the Arsenal boss is actually planning on selling the pair.
“It’s massive three months for Arteta to see who’s going to be there for him and who’s not,” Merson said. “He’s allowed a couple of players to go out on loan and I personally think in doing that, he doesn’t see them at Arsenal next season.”
If Arteta did sell Maitland-Niles it would not be too much of a shock, as he almost left Arsenal last year.
But Willock’s departure may be a disappointment to many, given the impact he has made previously.
Willock has really shone in the Europa League and at the age of 21, he still has time to develop into a key player.
Willock has started life very impressively at Newcastle on his loan spell too, after scoring on debut, and if Arsenal are open to selling him then they surely wouldn’t struggle to find a buyer.
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