Premier League Rumors: Former Arsenal Striker Predicts Players Leaving Emirates Stadium

Mikel Arteta of Arsenal FC has a lot of things to worry about as far as figuring out how to retain his players. The 38-year-old manager finds himself in trying to convince established stars staying, especially the ones who were able to reinvigorate their career. Though the veterans may have shown improvement, a former Arsenal player believes these players will eventually walk out the door.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Charlie Nicholas pointed out how the COVID-19 pandemic came at a decent time. He is aware that some players were improving under the watch of Arteta. But for him, the improvement was more the Spaniard applying a different kind of strategy that has done wonders for the Gunners. He pointed out three players who may improve but not that much. These are David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi.

In a previous post, it was reported how the Gunners were planning to address the situation of Luiz by activating the clause for him to play one more year. And according to the Brazilian's agent, there is a high chance that Luiz will stay on at Emirates Stadium. On whether this is true or not will be known this week, ESPN reported. Unless his recent disastrous play against Manchester City weighs in, the chances of him re-signing should be on course. If he does leave, it may be after next season and not now.

As for Papastathopoulos and Mustafi, Nicholas believes that the two will force the hand of the Gunners to sell them. So far, nothing much has been said about the two players although there is a chance they could be sold. Of the two, Mustafi has praised Arteta for his efforts with the Gunners. Aside from that, he was given a new purpose - a chance to play and show what he can do if given the chance. And this was singled out as a reason in another post as to why the German would prefer to stay at Emirates Stadium.

The insights of Nicholas are reasonable but should be taken with a grain of salt. The final say on stays and who goes falls on Arteta and management. So far, it has all been about their targets and retaining key players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka. Luiz is likely to follow but there is no word on Papastathopoulos and Mustafi.