Arsenal come to agreement on fee with Watford for transfer of Kieran Gibbs

Arsenal have agreed a £5m ($6.5m) fee with Watford for the transfer of Kieran Gibbs as they look to trim their squad ahead of the end of the transfer window. Arsene Wenger has repeatedly been quoted as saying that the Gunners need to let players go before making new additions as they cannot sustain as big a squad as they currently have.

ESPN reports that despite the agreement on fees, there is still the question of agreeing personal terms with the defender which may well prove to be a stumbling block for the Hornets. The London-born defender graduated to Arsenal's senior squad in 2007 but has only started 11 Premier League matches over the last two seasons after falling behind Nacho Monreal in Arsene Wenger's plans.

Gibbs' camp has held talks with a number of Bundesliga clubs and Galatasaray but it is understood that the player would prefer to remain in the Premier League. Gibbs, who is in his final year of contract, has not played a part for Arsenal at all this season.

The Arsenal manager admitted last week that he needs to offload a few players before the end of the month, as only Wojciech Szczesny, Gabriel Paulista, Yaya Sanogo and Emiliano Martinez have left the Emirates so far this summer. The manager reiterated that there will be multiple departures before the end of the summer while new signings are currently not on the horizon.

"I expect to sell players first. That's all. I expect some players to go because we have too many players and it's not manageable. Many clubs are in this situation which is why the transfer market is quiet. We have 33 players at the moment, and that's too many players," Wenger told Arsenal's official website.

The Gunners face Liverpool on Sunday (27 August) following a harrowing 2-1 loss at the hands of Stoke City last week where they had over 70% possession.