Arsenal Transfer News: Olivier Giroud Named in 9-Man Fire Sale Rumours

It could be all change at the Emirates Stadium this summer as nine players will reportedly move on from Arsenal if they fail to lift the Premier League title, including striker Olivier Giroud.

That's according to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, who adds Mathieu Flamini, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky to the list of players set to depart the Gunners as part of a major reshuffle if they end the season without winning the league.

The Premier League is Arsenal's only hope of silverware for the remainder of the season after they were dumped out of the FA Cup on Sunday by Watford and failed to overturn a 2-0 deficit away at Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

While beating Barcelona—who look more than capable of becoming the first team in the Champions League era to defend their title—was always going to be a difficult ask, Arsenal's loss means they have now exited Europe's elite competition at the same stage six years running, per Bleacher Report UK:

That fact would be frustrating enough if it were the quarter- or the semi-finals, but the round of 16 is far from good enough for a club of Arsenal's calibre and resources.

Given their years of failure in Europe and in the league, a revamp of the squad would do them good even if they win the title—which now looks unlikely as they sit 11 points behind Leicester City.

They especially need one if they aren't able to reel in the leaders, as that would represent a catastrophic failure with Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all struggling—a remarkable set of circumstances unlikely to repeat themselves again.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

To that end, they'd be wise to call time on the Arsenal careers of a number of these players—specifically Flamini, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Arteta and Rosicky.

Flamini has repeatedly proved to be an ill-disciplined liability in midfield, while Arteta and Rosicky—34 and 35 by the end of this season, respectively—are well past their primes and have spent most of the campaign out injured.

Injuries have also deeply affected Debuchy's time at Arsenal—a solid purchase who unfortunately hasn't been able to work out. As for Mertesacker, he turns 32 this year and the German lacks the pace needed to cut it at the top level.

Some Arsenal fans may also be calling for the sale of Olivier Giroud, who recently endured a lengthy goal drought, as Squawka Football revealed:

However, the divisive Frenchman has scored 20 goals this season, including this smart finish against Hull City—the second in a brace that ended his drought, per the Sun Football:

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker believes the striker does not always get the plaudits he deserves:

Indeed, it's difficult to justify getting rid of a forward who reaches that benchmark, and his height also gives Arsenal another dimension in attack. However, the number of occasions on which Giroud has missed good chances does indicate he probably shouldn't be relied upon as Arsenal's main goal-getter.

The same goes for the others—Ospina, Gibbs and Oxlade-Chamberlain are all fine players to have in the squad as back-ups to the first team. Arsenal could certainly use a shake-up, and there are plenty of players they'd benefit from moving on from, but there are plenty worth keeping to give them strength in depth.