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Bad Contracts Target Positions of Change Yesterday's agonizing 2-1 loss to Tottenham, coming immediately after a deflating 1-1 draw against Leicester City, again made Arsenal's roster limitations plain. Mikel Arteta inherited a weak and unbalanced lineup from Unai Emery, and while he's led it to two modest win streaks, there's only so much magic it can yield. Real improvement will only come with real roster turnover. As European football drifts into the distance, the question is now not where the rebuild begins, but how massive a rebuild is necessary? A review of the squad's payroll shows several bad contracts, and points to likely outgoings and positions of need. Below is the chart of the top ten salaries from the 2019-2020 season. It shows that perhaps three of Arsenal's top ten earners, striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, keeper Bendt Leno and wing Nicolas Pepe offered a solid return on investment. Two of the remaining seven have already been handled. Forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan had his contract terminated by the club after an agreement on a move to Roma could not be concluded. Defender David Luiz received a one year extension, almost certainly his last with the club, with a "significant reduction" in his wage. So what of the remaining five? I'll review their current on-roster competition, their likely return on the transfer market, and their likelihood of staying or going next month. Here are Arsenal's ten highest earners for the current season. 1. Sead Kolasinac - The Bosnian has lost his starting position to Kieran Tierney, who is several years Kolasinac's junior. He's given the club some time as the left defender in a three-man line, but that's by default. Were Pablo Mari healthy, Kolasinac would be backing him up as well. Consider that he makes more than twice what Tierney does and that he has a market in Germany, and he seems the most likely of this group to be sold. 2. Shkodran Mustafi - Mustafi had been one of the most improved players under Arteta. The new skipper and his assistants had ironed out his rash tackles and impulsive charges high up the pitch, which led to unnecessary cards and chances by opposing forwards. That was until yesterday when the old Mustafi returned. The lunges and bad angles re-emerged in the second half, gifting Harry Kane a couple of chances to ice the match. Arteta has lobbied for Mustafi to receive an extension, but he's already one of the club's top earners. Would the board approve a raise of six figures, on the chance that the better Mustafi will return for good? I'm skeptical. 3. Hector Bellerin - Hector was a rocket, who dazzled with long recovery sprints after overlap runs up the pitch. Two major injuries have tempered his aggression and speed. He first suffered a severe concussion after colliding with Chelsea's Marcus Alonso. He then tore an ACL. He's been slow to recover. Yesterday, he showed the old speed on a couple of first-half charges up the right flank but reverted to his habit of cutting inside with the ball in the second half. This frustrates his winger Pepe, who can go long stretches without service. The club just gave fellow right back Cedric Soares a healthy raise. Will Arsenal be content to keep paying Bellerin six figures per week, when he may not be the starter in short order? And when he might have one of the highest return values of the five players on this short list? 4. Alexandre Lacazette - He can still score the jaw-dropping goal, as he did yesterday against Spurs. But his overall production is down, and he has a curious habit of dropping deep into the midfield looking for passes. He seems as much a midfielder with a scoring touch as he does a pure striker these days, and as the third-highest earner on the club, might his best value for Arsenal be as a swap partner for a true midfielder like Thomas Partey, a deal that's been rumored for months? 5. Mesut Ozil - It's been the annus horribilis for Ozil. An attempted carjacking drove him into seclusion early in the year. The recent birth of his first child has taken him from the club and this week rumors of a back injury surfaced. Arteta maintains he has a good relationship with Ozil, but he's been the invisible man at the very time his club needs him. The constant run outs without rest for Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos is making them fade too. Ozil continues to say he wants to see out his contract in London, but Arsenal already terminated Henrikh Mhkitaryan's deal. Might they do the same for Ozil, when it's clear he won't be around when Arteta's restoration project really takes off? The longer he does without playing, the higher the likelihood, in my opinion. Arsenal's roster needs younger, cheaper, and better blood. Paring the bloated deals will no doubt make Josh Kroenke happy. If the team brass can find better fits, they'll make the manager - and us - happier as well. Get more Arsenal news here on Sports Talk Line. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?listPLi_Spbg-mn3PRDW62YKHQQAkyOty_SRFU

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