Manager Unai Emery will reportedly only have a £40m transfer budget and Nicholas believes all three should be sacrificed so he can bolster his defence
Arsenal trio Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lucas Torreira should all be shown the door at the Emirates this summer, according to Charlie Nicholas.
The club legend, 57, believes all three should be sacrificed so Gunners boss Unai Emery can prioritise on bolstering his defence.
With only a reported £40m budget at Emery’s disposal this summer to improve the squad, Nicholas stresses that Arsenal must first sell before landing their top targets.
He told Sky Sports: “We’re being slow again in the market.
“The manager has identified plenty of options. Defensively is the key area.
“I just hope we don’t delay these deals. Arsenal need to get into the market.”
While Nicholas acknowledges Arsenal can’t pay out sums like the reported £55m Manchester United have agreed to pay for Crystal Palace starlet Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he stresses they still ‘need a whole new defence’ to compete in 2019/20.
He added: “We need three defenders to come in which will cost £60-£70m.
“We can’t afford someone like Aaron Wan-Bissaka but we need a whole new defence really.
“Who can they get out of the door? If you can get the right offer for Mesut Ozil you’d sell.
“Mkhitaryan can go and you want to keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
“Torreira seems to be interested in going back to Italy. If you can get the right money: take it.”
