 Alan Smith has named six players who should leave Arsenal this summer, including Gunners record signing Nicolas Pepe. Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis Sign up Privacy Policy While Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his squad this summer – bringing in the likes of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber – he is also keen to offload some unwanted players. Arsenal are looking to build on a promising season in which they challenged for the Premier League title, finishing just five points behind a Manchester City team that won the treble. Former Gunners striker Smith insists it would be beneficial for Arsenal to get a few players 'off the wage bill', starting with Folarin Balogun, who is attracting interest from several foreign clubs. 'It is hard because he's a few notches down the pecking order now, especially with Havertz coming into the squad,' Smith told Gambling Zone. 'I think the management probably see Nketiah being further ahead of him at the moment, they are similar types of players, and the club must think that Nketiah is a little bit better than Balogun. 'From Balogun's point of view, he will be thinking more about how much game time he's going to get. Given that he doesn't want to go back out on loan, he may have to leave the football club. Nicolas Pepe spend last season on loan at Nice (Picture: Getty) 'It's always a shame when somebody has come through the ranks like that and does leave. There is every chance that he could go on and have a fantastic career elsewhere and score lots of goals. 'If he does move on, it will give Arsenal a chance to recoup quite a lot of money. He's a valuable player who can probably fetch £30m plus after the season he had in France. With financial fair play and all the rest of it, that that could help Arsenal a fair bit.' Smith believes Arsenal should try to recoup some of the £72m they spent on Pepe, while he has urged Rob Holding, Nuno Tavares){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Alan Smith has named six players who should leave Arsenal this summer, including Gunners record signing Nicolas Pepe.
Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis
While Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his squad this summer – bringing in the likes of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber – he is also keen to offload some unwanted players.
Arsenal are looking to build on a promising season in which they challenged for the Premier League title, finishing just five points behind a Manchester City team that won the treble.