4 stars who left Arsenal after Arteta's board disagreement - where they are now
As has become increasingly clear during his Arsenal reign, Mikel Arteta's word is often final - but that hasn't always been the case over at the Emirates.
Back in 2020, those at the top of the Gunners hierarchy made clear to the Spaniard that four players needed to be sold to raise funds for new recruits. The four in question were Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Sokratis - with all being deemed surplus to requirements in the eyes of those above Arteta.
However, the Gunners boss wasn't convinced that Maitland-Niles' Arsenal career was over just yet and disagreed with the board that the England international should be sold. He put up less of a fight for the other three, though they didn't all leave that summer.
In Guendouzi's instance, a rumoured fall-out with Arteta at the beginning of 'Project Restart' sparked the end of his stay at the Emirates. The summer in question saw him join Hertha Berlin on loan, before his second loan away from Arsenal at Marseille became a permanent deal in 2022.
Guendouzi showed promise during his Arsenal days, but it would seem that off-field issues and training ground temperament were problems too big to ignore in the eyes of Arteta. The French midfielder has already been sent out on loan from Marseille to join Lazio this season.
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Torreira's Arsenal career got off to a flying start and many sections of the Emirates faithful heralded him as the kind of presence the north Londoners had required in the middle of the park since Patrick Vieira's departure. His stock soon fell however, amid rumours of home sickness and the Uruguay international subsequently joined Atletico Madrid that same summer.
He failed to catch the eye of Diego Simeone enough to tempt the Atletico boss into a permanent switch and another loan stint elsewhere soon followed. Torreira spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan with Fiorentina, before joining Turkish giants Galatasaray permanently two years ago for a rumoured fee of just under £5million.
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Mikel Arteta initially wanted to keep Ainsley Maitland-Niles at ArsenalSokratis spent two-and-a-half years with the Gunners, but had his contract terminated "by mutual consent" so that he could join Greek titans Olympiacos for free in 2021. Following the expiration of his contract back in his home country, Sokratis joined Real Betis on a one-year contract.
Maitland-Niles has since also departed the Gunners, with Arteta eventually conceding defeat and recognising the versatile defender also had to move on. With that being said, three loan spells did follow - the first coming with West Brom, before a more successful one with Roma followed where he won the inaugural Europa Conference League.
Another with Southampton kept Maitland-Niles occupied for the 2022/23 campaign and in June 2023, Arsenal confirmed that their academy graduate would be leaving the club at the end of his contract. He has since joined Lyon, where he is starting to find his feet in Ligue 1 after a shaky start.
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