Arsenal's summer clear-out being held up due to wage demands, in turn delaying further additions

Arsenal are eager to offload a number of players this summer but the clear-out has been delayed owing to interested clubs unable to match the wage demands of the players deemed surplus by Arsene Wenger.

Wojciech Szczesny became the second first-team player to leave the club after Yaya Sanogo was released earlier in the summer. The Poland international joined Juventus in a deal said to be worth around £10m ($13.2m), but there are a number of other players who have been asked to find new clubs.

Mathieu Debuchy, Carl Jenkinson, Lucas Perez, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Calum Chambers and David Ospina, according to the Daily Mail, are surplus to requirements and will be allowed to leave this summer.

Gibbs has attracted interest from West Bromwich Albion and most recently Watford but will have to take a wage cut to have any chance of the move going through. Chambers was also subject to interest from Crystal Palace, but their initial £16m offer was said to have been rejected by Arsenal with the club holding out for at least £20m.

Perez has also made it clear that he wants to leave the club with his former employers Deportivo La Coruna said to be interested in re-signing him. Their initial offer of £9m however is nowhere close to the club's asking price, which is said to be around €15m (£13.4m).

Wilshere, however, remains in the manager's plans, but Antalyaspor confirmed that they held talks with Arsenal over a move for the midfielder but the club's demands were too high for the Turkish club.

The report claims that Wenger is trying to slash £19m of the wage bill by offloading unwanted players and make room for further additions. The Gunners have thus far signed Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer from Schalke and Alexandre Lacazette for a club-record fee from Lyon.

Wenger confirmed that Arsenal remain active in the transfer market while also revealing that they are in negotiations with AS Monaco for Thomas Lemar, who is said to be the French coach's priority target. The Principality club have turned down three offers, but the north London outfit are said to be readying a fourth offer, but will have to bolster their transfer kitty by offloading the players deemed surplus.

Apart from Lemar, Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri is also said to be on Wenger's radar. The Ivory Coast international has been linked to Arsenal since the start of the window, but the report claims that signing him is not a priority at the moment. Arsenal are said to be focused on offloading fringe players and getting the Lemar deal over the line.