Arsenal will allow more players to leave the club before the transfer window shuts for the rest of Europe’s major leagues on Sept. 2, manager Unai Emery said on Friday, reports Reuters.
Arsenal made six major signings in the close season, which included defenders David Luiz and Kieran Tierney on deadline day and record signing Nicolas Pepe who reportedly cost the London club 72 million pounds ($87 million).
But a number of regulars including captain Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi left and Emery is prepared to lose more in the coming weeks, saying he will only pick a new captain after the squad is finalised.
“We are changing players at the last moment. We had Koscielny, the old captain, and he left with five days to go,” Emery told reporters ahead of Sunday’s match at Newcastle.
“At the moment the market is open in other countries. In the next 20-25 days some players will leave.
Emery said striker Alexandre Lacazette, who was voted the club’s best player last season, is a doubt for the season opener as he continues to recover from an ankle injury while he is yet to take a call on whether Pepe will make his club debut.
“We will start with the players that I am convinced are 100%,” Emery added. “For some players it is impossible to achieve that performance because they arrived late or are now training after being injured.