Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Would Be Wise to Free Up Cash with Mass Exodus

There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Arsenal squad as transfer rumors continue to heat up. Nobody is sure about forward Robin Van Persie's status with the team, and that figures to hamper what the Gunners are able to do on the transfer market.

However, according to John Cross of Mirror Football, Arsenal is considering transferring as many as seven players in order to free up cash so it can make a run at some outside talent. Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Lukasz Fabianski and Carlos Vela are the main players likely to be on the move, while Manuel Almunia, Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci are possibilities as well.

Cross is also reporting that Blackburn stars Junior Hoilett, Steven N'Zonzi as well as Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila and free agent Salomon Kalou are possible targets. Additionally, the Gunners may have interest in 18-year-old midfielder Nick Powell.

That is obviously a lot to digest, but those particular moves would seem to be a step in the right direction for Arsenal.

None of the players rumored to be on the move are key contributors for the Gunners, so there is no sense in keeping them on the payroll when there are opportunities to bring in new stars and ultimately get better.

Arsenal bounced back from a tough start this past season to nab a respectable third-place finish in the EPL, but the Gunners were still a distant 19 points behind Manchester City and Manchester United. It won't be easy to close that gap between this year and next, but Arsenal certainly won't do it while standing pat, so transferring out a glut of bench players is a sensible move.

Perhaps the biggest reason why making such sweeping changes would be beneficial is that they might convince Van Persie to stay.

Obviously, RVP wants a chance to win and possibly making such a big splash in the transfer market will allow Arsenal to convince Van Persie that the squad is committed to winning the Premier League, the Champions League and everything else as well.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is surely fully aware that the loss of Van Persie would be absolutely devastating. Even if he won't come out and say that these potential moves are meant as a way to keep RVP in the fold, it's quite clear to outsiders that they are.

The Gunners need to get better, and without Van Persie, that simply won't happen.

The Gunners are unlikely to nab all of Hoilett, N'Zonzi, M'Vila and Kalou, but all of them could become instant contributors. If Wenger is somehow able to find a way to bring in a couple of those players while exiling unneeded pieces, Arsenal will be in business. There is no doubt that the Gunners have the skeleton needed to be a great team, and adding strong supplemental players will help that process along.

It remains to be seen how much Arsenal will be able to get done with the Van Persie saga raging on, but life must go on for Wenger in terms of improving the rest of the team. He and the Arsenal faithful can only hope that it will be enough for RVP to buy in.

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