Arsenal have had an outstanding start to the season, thanks in no small part to their new recruits - but the sale of plenty in the summer was the reason they got the springboard to do so.

Declan Rice has been a revelation at the Emirates Stadium, David Raya has made the starting goalkeeper's spot his own, whilst the jury is still out on Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.

It's been a strong start to the season, and Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League just goals scored behind rivals Tottenham.

But whilst their new signings have shone, it's important to note that they would not have been able to bring certain players in without the sales of some of their stalwarts in the summer.

football.

london takes a look at what happened to their eight major departures.

Granit Xhaka Undoubtedly the highest profile exit of the summer for the Gunners.

The former captain was on the books at the Emirates Stadium for seven seasons, featuring in just under 300 games and scoring 23 goals from midfield - with almost half of those coming in his final season in north London.

His career was clouded in minor controversies, including disciplinary issues and of course his substitution against Crystal Palace back in 2019 where he lost the captaincy after just five weeks.

But there's no doubting Xhaka is an Arsenal icon.

He moved to Bayer Leverkusen for a fee in the region of PS15million, and they currently sit top of the Bundesliga with six wins and a draw from seven games.

Folarin Balogun The age old debate in the summer of whether Balogun should have received game time continues to burn on.

Having been on the periphery of the Arsenal first-team for a couple of years, a loan spell at Stade de Reims last season saw the US international endure his breakthrough season.

Balogun scored 21 goals in just 37 Ligue 1 appearances, and having made just 10 outings for Arsenal, he was considered for the first-team back in pre-season.

But with French giants Monaco offering a fee that could rise to PS35million, the star departed for the French Riviera where he currently sits on three goals in five league games.

Pablo Mari Mari was always a decent squad option under Mikel Arteta, but he was never a first-team starter unless injuries permitted.

The Spanish-born defender joined Arsenal on loan in January 2020, and the club made his switch permanent the following summer.

Monza were the club to snap him up permanently after activating his release clause following a loan spell at the Lombardy club last season.

Auston Trusty Trusty, along with Matt Turner, was one of two American imports from the MLS in the 2021/22 season.

The defender was sent on loan to Birmingham City last season where he impressed in the Midlands, but with Arsenal's incomings such as Jurrien Timber and Oleksandr Zinchenko in that time, he was never going to get a look in at the Emirates.

He was sold to Sheffield United in the summer for a fee of around PS6million, ensuring Arsenal recouped their fee.

Matt Turner Turner, on the other hand, did feature for the Gunners in his short spell at the club.

None of those were in the league, but there were European appearances involved - though Aaron Ramsdale's excellence and the purchase of David Raya in the summer saw him fail to break the mould.

He was sold to Nottingham Forest in the summer where he is currently first-choice goalkeeper.

Rob Holding Holding was a stalwart for the gunners who somewhat surprisingly may have outlasted his spell at the club.

Joining from Bolton Wanderers in 2016 as a relatively unproven defender, the Mancunian featured in 162 games for Arsenal, including a run of 30 games at the back in 2020-21.

He's a name that Arsenal fans will appreciate - but he moved to Crystal Palace in the summer for a fee of around PS4million to end a solid run in the London Colony ranks.

He is yet to feature for Palace given Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen's form.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles Academy graduate Maitland-Niles began his Arsenal career with a bang, though injuries and a loss of form saw him embark on various loan spells.

Time at Ipswich early in his career saw Arsenal use him as a utility player, but he fell out of the first-team picture around the Covid-19 era.

West Brom, Roma and Southampton followed, and making just eight appearances in the league in his final season in north London, he left on a free in the summer to join Lyon, where he has made four appearances - though the French giants sit perilously outside the relegation zone having failed to win a game all season.

Nicolas Pepe A transfer that will be hard to shake off for many Arsenal fans.

Pepe smashed the club's transfer record back in 2019/20 as he joined from Lille, costing around PS72million - almost PS20million more than the deal which took Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Dortmund to Arsenal.

But it was a shambolic spell for Pepe.

Just 15 goals spread across his first two seasons at the club, he was given a third bite at the cherry in the 2020/21 season - though with one goal in just 20 games, it was clear his time was up.

He was released in the summer with one year left on his contract, joining Turkish outfit Trabzonspor, who currently sit seventh in the table.

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