Mikel Arteta reveals his stance on selling Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri this summer

Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal will be ruthless over the futures of their prized academy youngsters with the club open to offers for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.

The Gunners are prepared to sell members of their first-team squad this summer to help fund another big transfer window.

Sales of youth team players will represent pure profit on the balance sheet at the Emirates with Arsenal looking for a combined fee of £100m for their two 19-year-old stars.

Lewis-Skelly enjoyed a superb breakout campaign for the club last season but has been limited to just one starting appearance in the Premier League this term, third choice behind Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie.

Nwaneri also failed to get a look-in, managing just 165 minutes of Premier League football before getting the green light to join Marseille on loan during the January transfer window.

Manchester United are interested in Lewis-Skelly as they consider long-term options at left-back to replace Luke Shaw while Nwaneri will have no shortage of suitors with Chelsea exploring an audacious move for him last year.

Arsenal have a rich history of promoting their Hale End academy stars but have also shown they can be ruthless, collecting big fees after deciding to sell Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah in recent years.

And while insisting young players from the club are part of Arsenal’s identity, Arteta has warned they will not receive any special treatment.

‘It’s part of us,’ Arteta said when asked about the club’s academy.

‘At the end what has to define this football club is to seek for excellence and seek for the best, regardless if you’re coming from the academy or abroad.

‘If we can have players from Hale End, much better because the identity is there. We grow with them and they know exactly what we’re looking for.

‘But at the end they have to earn it. Not for a week, not for a month, for years. Like anybody else, it doesn’t matter what department or role you have in the club.

‘You have to sustain performance and that has to be at the very highest level if we want to win and be where we want to be.’