Mikel Arteta's £180m summer plan is the reason behind January clear out

Mikel Arteta is making room in his squad for a major summer overhaul after using the January transfer window to clear the deadwood and players that were out of favour under the Spanish manager. Arsenal waved goodbye to 13 players last month with some leaving on loan and others on a permanent basis.

The biggest departure was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the former club captain, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer. Calum Chambers and Sead Kolasinac also left the club to join Aston Villa and Marseille respectively, while the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Folarin Balogun and Pablo Mari departed on loan.

Arsenal will lose Alexander Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny when their contracts expire next summer, which will leave Arteta woefully short in terms of players in the first-team. According to The Sun's Mark Irwin, this is all in line with a £180 million spending spree in the summer, which will see the Gunners target three new players to take the team to the next level.

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is ready to back Arteta with funds to bring in Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Everton and Ruben Neves from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The trio are expected to be the Gunners' top targets, but the Arsenal boss will have to ensure his side finishes in the top four to help attract the players to the Emirates Stadium.

The north London club are in the fight for a top four place with West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. However, Arteta's failure to replace Aubameyang is seen as a potential obstacle that could hamper the club's chances of beating their rivals for a Champions League place.

Arsenal was linked with a £63 million move for Dusan Vlahovic in January, but the Serbian striker decided to snub the Gunners and joined Serie A giants Juventus instead. Isak is valued at £75 million, and it is thought the Premier League club was not ready to fork out such a hefty sum for the Real Sociedad youngster last month.

However, Arsenal are expected to have a new look frontline going into the 2022-23 campaign and will pursue a move for the Sweden international in the summer, while also forking out the £60 million Everton want for Calvert-Lewin. Wolves' Neves, who is rated at £45 million, is also expected to arrive to potentially replace Granit Xhaka, who is wanted by Jose Mourinho at AS Roma.