Arsenal transfer news

EMOTIONALLY “shattered” Piers Morgan fears Arsenal have “choked” in the title race – but issued a defiant message to worried fans. The TV star was watching along with thousands of fans last night as Arsenal rescued a draw against bottom side Southampton in a dramatic night at the Emirates.
Arsenal fans like Piers Morgan are having their nerves tested as the Gunners try and claim their first league title in almost 20 yearsCredit: Getty
An extraordinary night at the Emirates left players, fans and managers from both sides with mixed emotionsCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
The Gunners were comfortable favourites going into the game but were left stunned as the Saints raced into the lead within the opening 30 seconds.
The London side managed to charge back to grab a point having then gone 2-0 and 3-1 down in a Premier League classic.
Fans were left distraught at full-time with a season-defining trip to the Etihad looming and Arsenal looking to fend off Pep Guardiola’s serial winners.
Morgan summed up the mood as he tweeted simply: “We’ve choked.”
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But the famous Arsenal fan dragged himself back to Twitter at full-time once his club managed to salvage a 3-3 draw thanks to strikes from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
He said: “Jeez. I’m emotionally, psychologically, physically shattered after that.
“And yet… we’re still 5pts clear at the top of the League and we’re going to beat City on Wednesday. COYG.”
City have two games in hands on the league leaders and both sides will know that the destiny of the title is still in their hands.
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The problem for Arsenal is that they have lost form at the wrong moment with that Southampton result now their third draw in a row.
They had previously surrendered two goal leads in back-to-back games against Liverpool and West Ham.
Meanwhile, Man City are in relentless form and have won their last six league games. More

GABRIEL JESUS has revealed two reasons why Arsenal have stuttered in their title bid.The Gunners have drawn their last three games, including most recently against Southampton at the Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel Jesus has given two reasons why Arsenal’s title bid has stutteredCredit: Sky Sports
He has suggested that the squad lacks experienceCredit: Getty
The hosts had a disastrous start as they found themselves 2-0 down after 14 minutes.
Gabriel Martinelli got Arsenal back in the clash before Duje Caleta-Car restored the Saints’ two lead.
But the Gunners managed to salvage a draw after Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka’s late goals, however, the result is still less than what was desired with Manchester City breathing down their necks.
The Citizens have two games in hand on the Gunners and will go top of the Premier League if they beat them at the Etihad next week.
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And Jesus believes the reasons behind Arsenal’s recent struggles are down to the youthfulness of the squad.
He also admitted that the squad is lacking experience from championship winners, despite himself and team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko winning titles at Man City.
He told Sky Sports: “A lot of things is going on now. We don’t want to come here and talk negative because we are very positive, what we are doing this season is amazing. The Premier League is tough.
“Now is the difficult moment. It is time now to stick together until the end. We still have a lot of things to do this season, it is not over, we are still five points clear.
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“Manchester City have two games in hand but if we want to be champions we have to go there to win the game – that is all.
“We are the youngest team in the league, not making excuses. Sometimes we do right and sometimes we do wrong, everyone can make mistakes that is why it is so important to stick together.
“Everything can happen. Obviously we are not happy with the last three games, we dropped points and we know this is true, no one has to tell us.
“We dropped a little bit of our level and focus, this is the Premier League, it is so difficult to win this competition.
“We are still there, we are still fighting and we will fight until the end.”
Arsenal will remain at least five points clear of Man City until the clash between the two next week as the current champions are in FA Cup action against Sheffield United this weekend. More

ARSENAL’s title hopes all but went up in smoke against relegation battlers Southampton.Mikel Arteta’s troops drew 3-3 with bottom-of-the-table Saints – who blew a two-goal lead late in the second half.
Southampton raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half of their clash with ArsenalCredit: Getty
Bukayo Saka rescued a point for the GunnersCredit: AP
But the draw has done little to help their title hopesCredit: GETTY
The draw with Ruben Selles’ side has seen Arsenal put defending champions Manchester City – who have two games in hand on them – in the driving seat for the remainder of the title race.
Here, SunSport’s Dan King rates and slates the performances of the floundering title hopefuls.
Arsenal player ratings
AARON RAMSDALE – 4
Made a terrible error inside 25 seconds and put Arsenal on the back foot. A decent double save midway through the first half was only partial redemption.
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Did not have a lot else to do for the rest of the night but he set the tone for the disaster.
BEN WHITE – 5
After recent goals and assists, was unable to do much in the attacking third, with some poor crosses. Did his work defensively until he allowed Bella-Kotchap to get the run on him from the corner for the Saints’ third goal.
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ROB HOLDING – 6
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Was strong in the air and did little wrong defensively, so it would be harsh to say he was any kind of weak link. Maybe he was not quite good enough on the ball, with some missed passes, but fulfilled his main role.
GABRIEL – 5
Left exposed for Southampton’s second goal but made it too easy for Walcott to score. His drop-off in form in Saliba’s absence has really undermined Arsenal’s defensive solidity. Off target with a first-half header.
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO – 4
On the ball, plenty, but failed to convince in a hybrid midfield role. Gave the ball away too much, although he was not the only Arsenal player guilty of that. Totally lost Caleta-Car for the third Saints goal that killed the game and maybe their title challenge.
Aaron Ramsdale was at fault for Southampton’s first goalCredit: GETTY
MARTIN ODEGAARD – 5
Wayward pass led to Southampton’s second goal on a rare off-day. Played a part in Arsenal’s first goal, and scored the second, but overall did not deliver a captain’s performance when his team really needed one.
THOMAS PARTEY – 5
He was there, but not quite there. With both his midfield partners in the starting line-up struggling, the Gunners needed him to step up and take the lead. But without being too poor, he went through the motions rather than setting agenda.
FABIO VIEIRA – 4
His lightweight performance, until substituted, summed up Arsenal’s night. Lacked the presence of Granit Xhaka, giving Southampton the initiative in midfield. Underlined the lack of depth that may well end up costing the Gunners.
Fabio Vieira was poorCredit: REX
BUKAYO SAKA – 8
Had the beating of Romain Perraud from start and set up Martinelli’s goal beautifully. Needed to be given more of ball to make that superiority count. Kept trying to make things happen and grabbed equaliser.
GABRIEL JESUS – 4
Chose the wrong night to give the least convincing performance since his return. His touch was off and he struggled to get into game, failing to find positions and runs that could hurt the Saints. Spooned over from six yards at key moment.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 7
Along with Saka, the only Arsenal player to live up to anything like the reputation gained over the previous 31 games of the season. A threat almost every time he had the ball, but did not have enough team-mates on form to make it tell.
Bukayo Saka was once again Arsenal’s shining lightCredit: GETTY
SUBS
LEANDRO TROSSARD (for Vieira, 57) – 6
Found it hard to reproduce previous match-changing contributions but hit the bar in stoppage-time
EEDDIE NKETIAH (for Zinchenko, 72) – 5
Struggled to make an impression and was the least effective of three Arsenal subs
REISS NELSON (for Martinelli, 85) – 6
His shot was parried to Saka for the equaliser and had late effort deflected agonisingly wide.

Subs not used
Turner, Tierney, Smith Rowe, Kiwior, Jorginho and Walters. More

EMMANUEL PETIT is expecting Arsenal to cash in on Folarin Balogun this summer.The striker has excelled on loan at French outfit Stade de Reims this season which has seen his stock rise.
Balogun has been in great form this season while out on loanCredit: AFP
Emmanuel Petit thinks Arsenal may sell Folarin Balogun this summerCredit: Getty – Contributor
Balogun, 21, has enjoyed a remarkable campaign and is among the top scorers in Ligue 1.
The young striker has netted 19 goals and provided three assists in 32 games, helping Reims to 8th place in the table.
His rise to prominence was not expected to happen so quickly as he had only scored five goals in his 30 senior appearances before this season.
But despite this scintillating form, Arsenal legend Petit thinks he will be sold this summer.

He told Legal Sportsbooks: “I don’t know if they will continue with the strikers they have.
“They’ve got Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus.
“Folarin Balogun I think will be put on the market to be sold.
“There are so many clubs in France, and not just in France, who are very interested in him.”
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Balogun is likely to have many suitors in the Premier League in the upcoming transfer window, which has seen Arsenal slap a £26.5million price tag on his head.
He has also been named as a reported target RB Leipzig and AC Milan.
Petit believes that the money brought in from his potential sale could help strengthen Mikel Arteta’s side, as the team needs “need four or five new players in the team”.
He added: “In midfield I think they need to add at least two players. Someone who can play in [Martin] Odegaard’s position. We’ve got [Emile] Smith-Rowe but he hasn’t had much playing time in the last few months.
“A central defender as well. When you look at the big teams in Europe they’ve got four strong defenders to choose from. You need to have some competition for players to earn their place.
“They’ve got two right backs but [Takehiro] Tomiyasu has been injured for such a long time. Ben White has been tremendous but you cannot expect players not to be injured during the season.
“[Gabriel] Martinelli has been tremendous and [Bukayo] Saka as well, but you can feel, especially with Saka, that he’s been tired recently. [Leandro] Trossard can play as a right winger or as a left winger but you probably need one more player that can play on the wings.” More