The January transfer window is finally upon us, with clubs across the globe taking on the unenviable task of attempting to improve their squads mid-season.
However, with players also free to negotiate with foreign clubs after entering the final six months of their deals and seeking to reignite their careers elsewhere, outgoings will be the main talking points for many outfits.
Arsenal in particular are facing uncertainties surrounding five players who are due to become free agents in the summer, but some out-of-favour players in Mikel Arteta's squad may also look to push for transfers away this month.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at three players who could leave Arsenal in the January transfer window.
Most Arsenal fans will remember Ainsley Maitland-Niles's come-and-get-me plea on social media over the summer, with the versatile Englishman falling out of favour under Arteta in the 2020-21 season.
After holding clear-the-air talks with the Spaniard, Maitland-Niles ultimately remained in North London despite reported interest from Everton, but once again, he has found minutes in the Premier League difficult to come by.
The 24-year-old produced an assured display in the middle of the park against Watford back in November, but that was only his second Premier League start of the season, and he did not play a single minute in the top flight in December, although coronavirus did not help his cause.
With his prospects of a revival under Arteta looking increasingly unlikely and Jose Mourinho reportedly keen to lure him to Roma, Maitland-Niles's stint at his boyhood club could very well come to an end this month.
Truly a forgotten man at Arsenal, Pablo Mari has fallen right down the pecking order at the Emirates this term and is often forced to watch Premier League games from home nowadays.
The former Flamengo man started both 2-0 defeats to Brentford and Chelsea back in August but has been left out of the squad for 13 of Arsenal's last 14 Premier League games, the exception being a spot on the bench in the Boxing Day thrashing of Norwich City.
Two years on from joining the Gunners on an initial loan deal, Mari's North London career is slowly coming to an end, with the 28-year-old surely one of the first names on the chopping block for the January window.
A return to Flamengo has been mooted for Mari, but while he is taking up a chunk of Arsenal's wage bill without seeing any action on the pitch, any destination will do for the out-of-favour centre-back.
To say that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has endured a rollercoaster time at Arsenal would be an understatement, but unfortunately for the 32-year-old, his services may not be required around North London for much longer.
Aubameyang's crucial goals for the Gunners must be rightly lauded by the Emirates faithful, but the striker has been a shadow of his former self since signing that lucrative new deal in 2020, and Arsenal have been coping just fine without their exiled ex-captain in the past few weeks.
With his contract expiring in 2023 and a 33rd birthday coming up in the summer, the time is surely right for Aubameyang to make way for fresh blood in the form of Gabriel Martinelli, Folarin Balogun or a new signing, and he is believed to be assessing his options while he remains on the naughty step.
Barcelona, Newcastle United and Juventus have all been credited with an interest in Aubameyang, who will be closely watched by the Gunners contingent as he prepares to represent Gabon at the Africa Cup of Nations this month. body check tags ::
