Vela is the first to leave

La Liga side Real Sociedad have confirmed that Carlos Vela signs on a permanent deal from Arsenal. The Mexican striker spent last season on loan in Spain, and built quite the rapport with club and fans. His move is the first of several expected from the Arsenal first-team squad, seemingly under re-building.

Much as us Gooners love a signing coming in, the club now need squad players and deadwood being signed by others. Vela is the first sale this Silly Season that can expect to have some financial impact. His wages are off the payroll and the fee is likely to be a few million pounds. (Or undisclosed, as arsenal.com likes to put it.)

The next sale may very well be Robin van Persie. Different media report that the wantaway captain will have talks with the club this week, without a date having been set. My hunch is that any remaining hope of him staying would lead to this date having been set today. It's more likely that Arsenal are collecting bids (they're numerous if Sky Sports are to be believed) and will present van Persie which they will accept, and he will have to choose from.

The memories of last summer should encourage the club to close a sale as soon as possible.

It will be a lot harder to shift the other strikers on the flip side of the team sheet. Chu-Young Park has openly admitted that no offer has come in for him. Marouane Chamakh goes through the motions of pre-season, with Fiorentina and any French interested clubs scared off by his wage demands. Much the same has happened with the French teams wanting to take Sebastién Squillaci on board.

Like Vela last year, the best Arsenal can hope for is to hope they can interest teams at a lower level enough - and loan them out before the transfer window shuts.

There are others with futures in the balance. While Kyle Bartley has been promoted to the first team squad, players like Henri Lansbury, Craig Eastmond and Conor Henderson must fight to make the same leap. One or two of them may well leave Arsenal permanently before the season starts.

As for the goalkeepers, their collective knack of getting injured at the worst possible time has struck again. Lukasz Fabianski missed the Euros on home soil, and now misses out on any interest. The chance of him leaving permanently or on loan seems to be gone for the summer. Which is bad news for Vito Mannone, who at least has suitors and a fan base in the form of Hull City. But his exit is likely to be dependant on Fabianski's injury situation. Arsenal won't gladly sell their third choice goalie when the second choice is crocked.