Unai Emery is struggling to find buyers for Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi as he tries to boost his summer transfer kitty.
The Arsenal boss wants to offload the pair to make room for potential new arrivals at the Emirates.
Emery has a limited budget of £45m with which to sign players, and sees Ozil and Mustafi as surplus to his plans.
He hoped to sell them both for significant fees but the Sun report he is yet to find any interested parties.
The Spaniard is particularly keen to get Mesut Ozil off the Gunners’ wage bill, and is willing to pay a portion of the German’s £350k per week salary to tempt other clubs into signing him.
Ozil had a disappointing season for Arsenal in the last campaign, and was criticised for his performance in the Europa League final.
There was some interest in the 30-year-old playmaker from Turkish side Fenerbahce, but they’ve since gone cold after admitting they were put off by his huge wage demands.
Mustafi is another player who struggled for form last season, with Emery now prioritising defensive reinforcements to replace the centre-back.
The Gunners will want to recoup at least some of the £35 million they paid Valencia for his services back in 2016, but there is yet to be an approach from interested clubs.
Arsenal are keeping tabs on RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamercano as they eye a replacement for Mustafi, but are thought to have been priced out of a move unless they can raise some extra cash.
Emery meanwhile has put his frustrations in the transfer market to one side to make changes in his backroom staff.
Loyal club servant Steve Bould has been removed from his post as assistant first-team coach, with Gunners legend Freddie Ljungberg stepping up to replace him.
Bould will now serve as under-23’s boss – the role Ljungberg was filling previously.
