Arsenal have confirmed Sead Kolasinac will join Schalke on loan until the end of the season as their bid to trim the squad begins.
The Gunners are expected to be busy in the January transfer window, but before they can make any additions, they must shift the dead weight from their under-performing squad.
Kolasinac has become surplus to requirements at Arsenal
Kolasinac, the 27-year-old left-back, is one of a number of players who have barely featured this season, alongside Shkodran Mustafi and Mesut Ozil – the latter of whom did not even make Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squad lists.
Before Kolasinac’s move to Schalke was announced, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hinted at an upcoming cull of players next month.
“We have a large squad and we knew that. A lot of things that should have happened in the summer, we cannot accomplish for different reasons,” Arteta said ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Brom.
Sead Kolasinac has agreed to join Bundesliga side Schalke on loan for the remainder of the season
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 31, 2020
“There are some players that are going to go on loan and going to leave and that is the priority at the moment.
“We cannot sustain the numbers that we have in certain positions and we are looking to do that, and then we will see if we have the right opportunity in the positions where we need some more help.”
Arsenal recently secured back-to-back Premier League wins but they still remain 13th in the table after a dreadful start to the campaign.
They have been linked with a move for Real Madrid playmaker Isco in a bid to turn things around in the second half of the season.