Eboue, Bendtner and Almunia all set to leave the Emirates for pastures new

Arsene Wenger is preparing a player clear-out as he looks to trim his squad ahead of the new season.

Utility man Emmanuel Eboue, forward Nicklas Bendtner and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia are all set to depart in the next fortnight, while Wenger will also allow a number of young players to leave the Emirates.

That already includes Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who had spent the end of last season on loan at Cardiff and has now joined another Championship side, Ipswich Town, for close to �1m. However the most high-profile departure looks set to be that of skipper Cesc Fabregas, with Barcelona this week expected to meet Arsenal’s asking price of �35m.

The Spanish club’s representatives have made renewed contact with the Gunners this week over the purchase of Fabregas.

“The negotiations continue,” said Barcelona’s sporting vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu on Monday.

“They [the talks] are going in the right direction, and we will try and do what we can with the money we have. We have until August 30 to do things and I’m sure we will.”

Denilson has also joined his former club, the Brazilian confirming a season-long loan to Sao Paolo with a view to a permanent move.

With Gael Clichy having also left for Manchester City, Wenger has now created the space in his squad for a number of new additions, the most pressing of which is a central defender.

“Yes, certainly, we will have to find one more defender,” admitted Wenger, who refused to confirm that the Gunners have had a �10m bid for the Everton defender Phil Jagielka turned down.

“I don’t want to comment individually because I do not want to destabilise clubs. I do not want to do to other clubs what some clubs do to us.

“We work on it, that’s all I can promise, we work very hard on it but in fairness, everybody looks for players, everybody looks for the same area and you see that nobody turns up with magic.

“It’s all about being steady, work very hard on it and keep calm.”