Arsenal Prepare to Sell Star Midfielder Aaron Ramsey to Stop Player Leaving for Free Next Summer

Arsenal are reportedly preparing to sell their star central midfielder Aaron Ramsey in the next summer transfer window, as they fear that the talented Welshman could leave for nothing when his contract expires in 2019.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the Gunners fear finding themselves in a similar situation to when Alexis Sánchez left for Man Utd in the January transfer window, with Arsenal having to settle for a swap deal to bring in Henrikh Mkhitaryan rather than cash-in on the Premier League star. Ramsey could be the next to leave the club, as Arsenal continue to underperform in the league.

While Arsenal lost Sánchez, they did manage to hold onto talented Mesut Özil, who has in the same contractual situation. The German international opted to stay with the north Londoners, earning himself a staggering new deal thought to be worth around £350k-per-week. Gunners fans will undoubtably be horrified at the prospect of losing Ramsey, who has been one of the clubs most consistent players this season.

The 27-year-old has struggled with injury problems throughout his career, but appears to have overcome his problems in recent seasons. The former Cardiff City man had added real dynamism to Arsenal's midfield this season, with the highlight being his stunning hat-trick against Everton in the Premier League last month.

However, Gunners fans began to concoct conspiracy theories on Sunday afternoon when he was left out of their squad to face Brighton at the AMEX - although the club insist that he was just rested ahead of a tricky Thursday night clash with AC Milan.

Meanwhile, the Arsenal board are thought to have finally lost patience with their manager Arsène Wenger, and are reportedly looking to bring in either German national team manager Jochim Löw or Man City coach Mikel Arteta at the end of the season. Wenger has come under fire from the club's fans of late, after losing 3-0 to Man City in two consecutive games.