Arsenal Announces Departure of Three Players

Three Arsenal players are officially confirmed to be leaving the club at the end of their contracts this summer and a fourth could be on his way out should the team fail to secure a top-caliber squad.

Arsenal announced on their official website on Wednesday that Andrei Arshavin, Denilson, and Sebastien Squillaci will not longer with the team once their contract expires this summer.

This announcement should come as little surprise as each player had their own set of problems. Denilson has actually been on loan with Sao Paulo the last two seasons after making public his intention to return to Brazil back in May 2011.
Squillaci had a lot of potential but an error filled 2010-11 season left manager Arsene Wenger looking for another option at centre-back. When the club signed Per Mertesacker in 2011, that spelled the effective end for Squillaci. He only made seven appearances with the club after that point.

Arshavin said and did all the right things when he came to the club in 2009. After two strong campaigns with the club, his form has been fading over the last couple of season. That coupled with questions regarding his work rate led many to believe he would be leaving the squad this summer.

Another player that may be looking for the exit door at Arsenal is Laurent Koscielny. The centre-back was quoted by Eurosport on Tuesday saying that he wants "to have some titles. I hope the club will give itself the means. If that is not the case, I'll go take a look elsewhere."

Further explaining his reasoning, he said that he feels good playing at Arsenal and that if the squad is competitive, he wants "to continue the adventure." However, if the team continues to struggle just to make the top four, he is ready to move elsewhere in order to compete for trophies.

The Gunner's board has authorized Wenger to tap into funds acquired through various EPLsponsorship deals and spend £70 Million to improve the club. That amount would have been less had the team not made a return to the Champions League. Now the question remains whether the squad will show enough improvement to compete for trophies or will they continue to struggle as they have this past year.