Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares are among 19 players who will be released by Arsenal at the end of June.
The long-serving Egyptian midfielder and Portuguese full-back will depart the Gunners on June 30 and will be able to join a new team as a free agent. Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu are keen to reshape the squad after missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City once again and are taking action.
Elneny joined Arsenal in 2016 from Basel and is one of the longest-serving players in the squad, having made 161 appearances in all competitions for the club. But the 31-year-old played just six times in all competitions this season, with Thomas Partey and Declan Rice preferred in holding midfield.
Soares arrived in north London from Southampton in 2020 and has played 64 times for the club. He has also struggled massively for game time, featuring six times this season, and will leave in search of more opportunities elsewhere.
Arthur Okonkwo is another notable player who has not been offered a new contract. The 22-year-old goalkeeper impressed on loan at Wrexham this season and spoke to Mirror Football about his next steps last month.
“It’s been an incredible journey, from joining at the age of eight, I’m now 22 and I’ve been there for 15 years which has been brilliant because I’ve worked with amazing people, from the academy to the first-team,” he said of Arsenal.
“It’s a bittersweet moment because I have to start a new chapter as I’ve had so many great years at Arsenal but, in the last two years, I need to keep playing and carry on my journey. I’m still really ambitious to play at international level. I can still play for England or Nigeria and I’ve not made a choice yet.
“I think, at 22, you are still young as a ‘keeper and to have played this much, had so much experience can only help because my position is probably a lot tougher than people think.”
Cedric Soares is leaving Arsenal
Arsenal remain in talks with attacking midfielder Amario Cozier-Duberry, goalkeeper Karl Hein and defender Reuell Walters about potential contract extensions. Mirror Football reported last month that Walters was poised to leave the Gunners after rejecting the offer of a new deal. The 19-year-old centre-back believes he is ready for regular first team football, which cannot be guaranteed by Arsenal.
The list of released players
Mauro Bandeira
Omari Benjamin
Luis Brown
Catalin Cirjan
Noah Cooper
Henry Davies
Ovie Ejeheri
Mohamed Elneny
Taylor Foran
Hubert Graczyk
James Hillson
Henry Jeffcott
Tyreece John-Jules
Alex Kirk
James Lannin-Sweet
Arthur Okonkwo
Kamarni Ryan
Cedric Soares
Kido Taylor-Hart
The new shirt has returned the Gunners to their roots placing a stripped-down, elegant-looking canon right over the heart of the new shirt. Shirt manufacturers Adidas have produced a “clean and minimal” and the design “embraces modernity, while honouring Arsenal’s rich heritage.
