Charlie Nicholas has told Sky Sports he is not optimistic about Arsenal’s chances tonight against Manchester City.
Nicholas expects a 3-1 victory for City against the Gunners, backing the home side’s refreshed attack to be too strong.
The former Arsenal star pointed to his concerns over the team’s defence, and the possibility that several of the players will not be at the club next season.
Nicholas said he believes that while Sokratis, Luiz and Mustafi may try and put themselves in the shop window, they are not likely to get much better.
He said: “You can work with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz, and Shkodran Mustafi and get them to improve, but they will not improve by much.
“Luiz will move on next season and Arteta will know that Sokratis and Mustafi are all seemingly pitching to be sold.”
To be fair to Mustafi, he really did improve under Arteta in 2020, but it does appear he is considering his options away from the club.
He told BILD just this week that he is willing to return ‘home’ to the Bundesliga if the right offer presents itself.
Sokratis and Luiz were both seen as short term fixes by Unai Emery, and Arsenal will have to recruit smartly this summer to find replacements.
William Saliba is back at the club after his loan at St Etienne, but is ineligible to play during the remainder of this season.
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