(AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The Galaxy’s longest offseason since the first season of the Bruce Arena era certainly hasn’t been boring. Two weeks after sending two team stalwarts to Liga MX in Omar Gonzalez and Juninho, Arena told ExtraTime Radio that the moves, while personally difficult, were part of a necessary rebuilding process after a disappointing 2015.

“None of it’s easy,” Arena said. “Every year unfortunately we lose players, there’s nothing we can do about it, but it’s all part of the business.”

• Listen to everything Arena said, including his thoughts on Steven Gerrard’s possible retirement and the future of the MLS SuperDraft. His segment starts at the 11-minute mark

Arena said he was “not pleased with the performance the Galaxy had in 2015,” which motivated the moves for the offseason. He said the club needed to transfer one to three players to negotiate the salary cap and that Gonzalez and Juninho were the two who were most sought-after. Combined, the pair netted a reported $2.25 million in transfer fees for the Galaxy, according to Goal.com.

Courtesy LA Galaxy

There was also some interest in Gyasi Zardes, Arena said, but ultimately the team decided that it wanted to keep its most successful homegrown product in L.A. Zardes still has two years on his contract. The Hawthorne native had a breakout year in 2014, scoring 16 goals, but scored only six times for the Galaxy last year when he was splitting time at forward and midfield. Arena said the club plans to use Zardes as a striker this year.

The coach also hinted at the Galaxy’s ongoing offseason strategy, which he said will “likely” include re-signing forward Alan Gordon and signing two MLS free agents and some players currently in Europe. Gordon is currently out of contract with the club.

When asked of the rumors linking Ashley Cole to the Galaxy, Arena said simply that he doesn’t discuss players currently with other clubs. There have been reports from ESPN and the LA Times suggesting that the 35-year-old Cole’s signing is close, but the Daily Mail wrote soon after that Cole is still undecided about the possible transfer.

Reports from Goal.com also linked the Galaxy with veteran midfielder/defender Jeff Larentowicz, who is currently a free agent.