Arsenal are said to be internally worried that an interview with technical director Edu could have complicated their summer transfer plans.
The Brazilian recently spoke candidly about the Gunners' inability to offload fringe players, admitting that he thought it was an "investment" to pay off high-earning veterans at the club to leave, with the club cancelling the contracts of the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Shkodran Mustafi over the last couple of years.
"If you imagine, 'Oh, no problem: this season we’re going to expose the player a little bit more and then we sell them' - no, be realistic," he said last month. "You don’t want to sell the player. Try to avoid one more year with the problem inside, in the dressing room, expensive, not performing.
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"Clean, take it out. Even, I’m sorry, if you have to pay. To leave is better. Because that guy is sometimes also blocking someone. Take it out. I know it hurts, I know it’s strange when I go to the board and say: "Sometimes it’s better to pay a player to leave, than maintain them."
"But I consider it an investment. Sometimes people say: 'It’s expensive'. I say: 'No, it’s investment.' But someone will pay if you sell? No, guys - if the player is above 26, 27 and not performing, big salary, no chance."
According to the Sun, Arsenal had hoped to raise at least £50million this summer from player sales, although Edu's aforementioned comments could make this a lot harder, with clubs interested in the north Londoners' players now more likely to try and get them for free instead of paying a fee. The likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Lucas Torreira and Hector Bellerin are all likely to leave the Emirates Stadium in the coming weeks as Mikel Arteta looks to trim his bloated squad before the window shuts on September 1.
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