Arsenal's starting XI of players axed by Mikel Arteta this season after January exodus

Mikel Arteta has axed so many players this season, it is genuinely possible to build a team with them.

Arsenal have undergone something of an overhaul over the past six months or so, splashing a club record £142milllion on six players last summer.

But the biggest focus has been on departures, with plenty of fringe players either getting loaned out or axed for good.

Arteta's desire to trim his squad seems to have been taken to the max, with an alarming lack of depth to his side, that may well come back to bite him.

So just how would all these players line up in a starting XI? takes a closer look.

In goal, Alex Runarsson's time with the Gunners was short lived, as his shaky performances last season earned him a loan spell in Belgium at OH Leuven.

There was talk that Bernd Leno would be going out on loan in January after falling behind Aaron Ramsdale in the pecking order, but no such move transpired.

At right-back, long-standing Arsenal player Hector Bellerin clinched a loan move to Real Betis, but he could return for Arteta next season.

While on the left, Sead Kolasinac finally ended his time at the Emirates by agreeing a permanent switch to Marseille.

In the middle, William Saliba was loaned out to Marseille after clearly failing to impress Arteta, but Gunners fans will be hoping he will finally be given a chance next term.

The same will probably not be said of his centre-back partner Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is now into his second season on loan at Stuttgart, with a view to a permanent move.

Moving into midfield, Lucas Torreira was once again loaned out last summer, with Fiorentina picking him up, while the frozen out Matteo Guendouzi is another currently plying his trade in Marseille.

Rounding off a midfield