Mikel Arteta Planning Arsenal Squad Rebuild Before Start of Euro 2020

​Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta is eager to get his summer transfer business done early as he wants to kick off his squad rebuild before Euro 2020 gets underway.

The Gunners were relatively quiet during the January window, striking loan deals for defenders Pablo Marí and Cédric Soares in the hope of saving money for a spending spree in the summer.

With so much business to do, the ​Daily Mail note that ​Arsenal want to move early to avoid having to pay inflated prices for players who impress at Euro 2020 this summer.

A box-to-box midfielder, a centre-back and a creative midfielder are thought to be Arteta's main priorities, and the Gunners are said to have already started negotiations to try and ensure they get their targets as soon as possible.

19-year-old Feyenoord midfielder Orkun Kökçü is named as one of their preferred signings, but there are plenty of other names under consideration.

To make space for these new players, it is thought that a number of members of the current squad could be sold. According to ​The Sun, Arteta is ready to offload plenty of players after growing frustrated with their lack of progress since his arrival.

One likely casualty could be striker ​Alexandre Lacazette, who is yet to impress Arteta. The Frenchman has not scored since a 2-2 draw with Standard Liège back in early December when Freddie Ljungberg was still in charge, despite starting every game since the new boss' arrival.

Decisions will also be made on a number of players who are approaching the ends of their contracts. Head of Football Raul Sanllehi is adamant that nobody will be allowed to walk away for free, so those currently in the last 18 months of their deals could be shipped out.

Those in danger are high earners ​Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and ​Mesut Özil, while the defensive trio of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, ​David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi could all be pushed towards the exit door.

Such sales would raise plenty of money and would cover the £50m loss which the Gunners are expecting if they fail to qualify for the ​Champions League, but the fear is that a lack of European football altogether could restrict the kind of signings which they would like to make.

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