MALCOM, AUBAMEYANG LIKELY TO REPLACE SANCHEZ AT ARSENAL

It is no longer news that Alexis Sanchez is likely going to leave Arsenal FC as Arsene Wenger has even admitted it himself.

Lots of names have been mentioned, players like Nabil Fekir, Riyad Mahrez and Thomas Lemar for example but for now Bordeaux winger Malcom looks like the most likely option. Whoever it is who does come in, Arsenal must act swiftly and get the deal done early to allow them to bed in before the start of next season.

The Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal speculation shows no sign of slowing – and Gunners defender Hector Bellerin may just have added further fuel to the fire with his latest social media activity. It is believed that talks with the Borussia Dortmund player have reached advanced stage.

Replacing Sanchez will probably be a job for the summer and Arsenal has to make a serious statement in the transfer market to offset the loss of Alexis Sanchez. Losing Sanchez will be a massive blow – even this season he leads the way in terms of direct involvement in Arsenal goals, despite being far from his best. So it’s going to be a real challenge to replace him especially as it looks like they might not be receiving any money for the Chilean.

But there is still a chance Arsenal could keep Mesut Ozil and they must do all they can to get the German to sign. Losing both Sanchez and Ozil for free in the summer would be huge and Arsenal must ensure that does not happen. They must get round the table with Ozil and his advisors and strike a deal pretty quickly, especially with the German now free to talk to foreign clubs.

And getting Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Reiss Nelson deals sorted are also of utmost importance. With Ramsey out of contract in 2018 and Nelson in 2019, both need to have their futures secured as soon as possible. There will be plenty of interest in Ramsey and Arsenal can’t afford to go into next season with Ramsey having under 12 months left of his current deal.

Another thing Arsenal can’t afford to let happen is allow the same mistakes to happen again in terms of Arsene Wenger’s future. The ‘will he, won’t he’ soap opera of the 2016/17 campaign can’t be repeated in 2018/19 – so a decision has to be made and announced in the summer at the latest in terms of whether the Arsenal boss will be signing a new deal.

One of the highlights of this season has been the emergence of some of the club’s talented youth players. We’ve seen Reiss Nelson make his mark in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, the same goes from Joe Willock – who has been given several opportunities. Ainsley Maitland-Niles meanwhile has forced his way into the Premier League side.