Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas thinks Mikel Arteta could have to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to give himself a transfer budget.

Arteta was announced as the new Gunners boss on Friday, taking over from Unai Emery who was sacked at the end of November.

The Spaniard is highly regarded at Arsenal, after successfully assisting Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, although this is his first job in management.

And Nicholas reckons star duo Aubameyang and Lacazette could have to be sold to fund moves for other players.

“Defensively, in midfield, in attack – Aubameyang’s all over the place, Lacazette doesn’t get a game and feels unloved – he [Arteta] might have to sell them to get some money in,” Nicholas told Sky Sports.

“The other issues, the big ones, are the leadership issues that he has to take on.

“Does Ozil fit? No, well he can go. Xhaka? There is interest from Hertha Berlin, you can go because what you did would not suit what I want. There are many big decisions to make.

“It’s easy to say get rid of six or seven players but they aren’t ready to replace them yet, so that’s the hard part.

“But the first thing he must do is walk in the dressing room and say ‘here’s my rules, here’s the way I’m doing things, I’m leading this football team now so get on board or move on’.”