Former Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas has urged the Gunners to offload Shkodran Mustafi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan if they are to keep hold of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Aubameyang is out of contract at the Emirates next summer, and has been persistently linked with a move away from North London in order to secure Champions League football.

Mustafi and Mkhitaryan, the latter currently on loan at Roma, have both fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal recently, and Nicholas believes that both should be sold to raise funds for a new deal for Aubameyang.

Writing in his column for Sporting Life, Nicholas said: "There are differing ways of doing this, but more than anything, I would want Arsenal to renew Aubameyang's contract for three or four years.

"Even if Arsenal are average as of next year, they cannot decline much more, it has reached its bottom.

"Mikel Arteta wants five or six out and he wants that money to rebuild. If nothing more is in the pot, sell to rebuild. If you are doing that as a financial package, you are not buying to replace Aubameyang.

"You can get rid of Shkodran Mustafi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has been out on loan.

"This will all help to filter through, so there are easy things to do. Give him what he wants, get rid of dead wood, you have the kids, and it would not cost £200m to challenge for the top four once more."

Mustafi and Mkhitaryan have made a combined total of 191 appearances for the Gunners.