Two Arsenal players in particular will need to be moved on by the club during the summer transfer window
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta faces a big summer (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
It’s been two weeks since Arsenal celebrated winning the Premier League with hundreds of thousands of supporters on the streets of north London. Since then, Mikel Arteta, Andrea Berta and the rest of the Gunners’ staff have switched off and gone on a well deserved holiday.
Make no mistake, however, plans are already in place for the summer transfer window ahead of the 2026/27 season. Arteta is keen to improve the squad even further as they bid to win even more silverware and that means prioritising incomings and outgoings over the next couple of months.
It’s believed Arsenal are interested in signing a right-back, midfielder and left-winger this summer, with a number of fringe players expected to depart to fund such signings. Jakub Kiwior’s permanent move to Porto has already been confirmed, as has Karl Hein’s transfer to Werder Bremen.
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Both Kiwior and Hein spent the 2025/26 season on loan away from Emirates Stadium and two other stars who have also been out on loan may be next on the chopping block.
The first is Fabio Vieira. The 26-year-old joined the Gunners from Porto in a deal worth £34million in 2022 but struggled to make an impact during his time in the capital. He scored three goals and managed 10 assists in 49 appearances in his first two seasons, but in 2024/25 he re-joined Porto on loan.
Vieira returned to Arsenal last summer and, clearly not part of Arteta’s plans, was again shipped out on loan, this time to Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga. The Portuguese contributed seven goals and six assists in 31 appearances for the German outfit, but they have made it clear they will not be not be triggering their £19.15million (€22m) option to buy the attacker.
It’s understood Hamburger do not have the financial power to trigger the transfer clause and are instead planning to re-negotiate a deal with the Gunners. In the past few weeks, director of football Claus Costa and head coach Merlin Polzin have held private talks with Vieira, valued at €18million (£15.5million) by transfermarkt, in a bid to convince him to stay, however, he is expected to attract interest from elsewhere.
LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND – MARCH 26: (L-R) Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson of Arsenal during a training session at Sobha Realty Training Centre on March 26, 2024 in London Colney, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The second player who is expected to move on is Reiss Nelson. The 26-year-old spent the season at Brentford but made just 14 appearances. In fact, the Hale Ender was on the pitch for just 339 minutes as niggling injuries again made it a season to forget for the winger.
It was hoped Nelson would get valuable game time while at Brentford after a serious hamstring injury cut short his loan spell at Fulham during the 2024/25 campaign, but that was not the case and he returns to north London with an unclear future.
“Reiss Nelson has returned to Arsenal following the conclusion of his season-long loan deal,” the Bees confirmed in a statement at the end of May. “We thank Reiss for his contribution to a good season for the club, and wish him well in everything he goes on to in the future.”
Now valued at €8million (£6.9million), Arsenal will be keen to get a fee for Nelson as he has just one year remaining on his current deal. The same goes for Vieira as his deal also runs out in June 2027.