Arsenal should be looking to sell Mustafi and Ozil in January

Arsenal are currently going through quite a turbulent period, having sacked Unai Emery, employed Freddie Ljungberg as interim manager and now brought in a long-term replacement in Mikel Arteta.

The January window is rapidly approaching and while the new Gunners boss would likely love to strengthen his squad rather than weaken it, there’s some deadwood he really needs to shift as well – a matter of principle as much as anything else.

So with that in mind, here are two players Arteta needs to axe when the transfer market reopens in the New Year…

Shkodran Mustafi

Pundits and fans alike have been on his case for quite some time now as his performances have seemingly gone from bad to worse.

Trivia addicts will love this quiz: How much did Arsenal pay for each of these players?

Paul Scholes recently said on Premier League Productions (as quoted by The Express) after Mustafi’s single Premier League outing this season, in which Arsenal conceded twice against Norwich:

“He doesn’t tackle, he should be having a nibble at the ball but he drops off so far because he’s so frightened of getting done. He almost tries to get out of the way, instead of being a defender who’s desperate to stop the ball going in. He just lets people walk through him.”

What more is there to say? Arsenal have been pretty abysmal defensively this season with 27 goals conceded, but Mustafi only seems to make the problems worse.

Mesut Ozil

Ozil makes a sadly expected appearance on this two-man shortlist. Despite still being able to produce masterful displays on his day, the former World Cup winner remains far from his best.

As a result, he was in and out of the team throughout last season – starting only 20 Premier League games – and has missed more games than he’s featured in this time around as well.

Throw in his high wages of £350k per week, a constant array of injury problems and the audacity to sulk his way off the pitch, throwing down his gloves in protest, after being subbed while 3-0 down at home to Manchester City, and Ozil just seems to be far more trouble than he’s worth.

If Arteta truly wants to bring a new era to Arsenal, getting rid of Ozil is a must.