Arsenal transfer news

BUKAYO SAKA has been warned not to let himself get distracted by the Premier League’s hatchet men.Arsenal’s marathon man has currently played more consecutive Premier League matches than any other top flight player.
Mikel Arteta wants Bukayo Saka to protect himself in gamesCredit: PA
He picked up a yellow card for his reaction to being fouled against Aston VillaCredit: Reuters
And the exciting young winger has had to endure plenty of kicks along the way from rival defenders struggling to cope with his pace and trickery.
But Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was not thrilled to see Saka, 21, reacting angrily to a foul by Philippe Coutinho by shoving his rival in the chest and receiving a yellow card during last week’s 4-2 win at Aston Villa.
He said: “Bukayo needs to learn and improve how he protects himself on the pitch within the rules.
“There was a very thin line with the way he reacted last week and he cannot allow that to take him out of the game and lose his focus.
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“He has been getting kicked since he was 10 years old. Wingers and talented players get fouled a lot and that’s his role in the team.
“Obviously he attracts a lot of attention. It’s totally normal for the opposition to try to stop creative players and restrict the ball getting to them. That’s a challenge he has to face every week.
“There are a lot of things we can do in training to help him learn when to take certain balls and what to do with them, how to use his body and how to jump.
“But it’s very difficult to predict what the opponent is going to do.”
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Yet in spite of all the rough stuff directed Saka’s way, the England star keeps coming back for more.
He has featured in all of Arsenal’s last 65 Premier League games stretching back to May 2021 and started all but three of them.
Arteta added: “I’m not surprised by that because I can really see his determination and where he wants to get to in this game.
“We have discussed that a lot in talks because he has the resilience and the capacity to always be available and play at a certain level.
“Bukayo has a great physical element to be able to play every three days and hopefully he can continue to do that.”
Negotiations over a lucrative new five-year contract are continuing with Saka’s representatives and the club expect to confirm a deal within the next few weeks.
Arteta, whose table-toppers travel to Leicester this afternoon, said: “It’s our responsibility to keep our best players and stick them together for a long while so  we keep evolving and become a better team.”
Victory at the King Power Stadium will see Arsenal open up a five-point lead at the top of the table ahead of Manchester City’s 5.30pm kick-off at Bournemouth.
But Arteta knows that things are about to get even more hectic as the club prepares to return to Europa League duty after being handed a last-16 draw against Sporting Lisbon.
He added: “From now on we’ll be playing two games a week and that changes everything. We’re going to have much less time to train and to recover.
“We’re going to have to share many more minutes around the squad.
“That means there will be more opportunities for everyone, which is great.
“But for every game we will always pick the team we believe is best to win on the day.
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“If I do something different then people will ask, ‘Why did you pick this team and we didn’t win in the Europa League?’ You’re never going to win that battle.
ARSENAL (likely): Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Jorginho, Xhaka, Saka,  Nketiah, Martinelli. More

ALLY MCCOIST has defended Mikel Arteta’s troublesome touchline antics.The Arsenal manager is in hot water with his behaviour from the sidelines, with pundits Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton criticising him.
Mikel Arteta has been getting into trouble for his touchline behaviourCredit: Rex
Ally McCoist believes Arteta is doing it on purposeCredit: Getty

During the win over Aston Villa, Arteta was spotted mocking referee Simon Hooper’s signal for ordering a free-kick retake.
The incident caught the attention of former referee Dermot Gallagher, who thought that it was a bad advert for the Premier League.
He told Sky Sports: “I think if the fourth official had felt it was untoward he’d have drawn it to the referee’s attention and probably a yellow card.
“But it’s not a good advert, is it? We don’t want to see that.”
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However, Arteta has been defended by McCoist, who believes that his actions will help the fans and players.
The ex-Rangers striker even suggested that the manager gets into trouble “deliberately”.
He told talkSPORT: “I don’t have a problem with it.
“A lot of people have a problem with it, I don’t at all. I think he probably does it deliberately.
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“He gets into a little bit of trouble, to show the supporters [his desire to win].
“That is a completely different stadium nowadays. Totally different.
“If you’re on that pitch [as a player] and you look across and see that [it will help].”
Arteta has led the club to the summit of the Premier League table as they look to win the compeititon for the first time in 20 years. More

ARSENAL are set to battle Newcastle and two other European rivals in the race to sign Ivan Fresneda, reports say. The right-back has emerged as one of the top talents in LaLiga this season, with 12 appearances for Real Valladolid.
Arsenal and Newcastle are linked with Ivan FresnedaCredit: Getty
According to the Evening Standard, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus have joined Premier League pair Arsenal and Newcastle in the transfer race.
It is claimed the Gunners have been scouting Fresneda for some time and will continue to monitor him for the remainder of the season.
The 18-year-old was the subject to heavy interest in January from clubs around Europe but eventually he decided to stay at Valladolid.
Fresneda is now expected to sit down with his representatives at the end of the campaign and assess his options.
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He has a release clause of £26.5million in his contract and Valladolid hope to spark a bidding war to get close to that amount.
Arsenal are looking to recruit young talent, with Fresneda fitting the mould.
That is despite signing Leandro Trossard, 28, and Jorginho, 31, in the winter window to boost their squad depth.
Mikel Arteta has Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu as his right-back options currently.
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But Fresneda is touted as one of the most promising players in Europe, having also played for Spain at youth level.
Manchester United have also been linked with the teen defender in the past.
But Erik ten Hag looks to have settled with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 25, and Diogo Dalot, 23, in that position.
Erik ten Hag looks to have settled with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo DalotCredit: AFP More

ARSENAL star Jorginho has revealed that Granit Xhaka gave him a surprise welcome when he joined the club from Chelsea.The Italian had clashed with the Swiss on a number of occasions during heated battles between the Gunners and the Blues.
Jorginho received a kind welcome to Arsenal from Granit XhakaCredit: Alamy
Granit Xhaka surprised JorginhoCredit: Getty
Xhaka and Jorginho had plenty of bust-ups in Arsenal versus Chelsea gamesCredit: Reuters
Now joining forces at Arsenal, Jorginho has explained how Xhaka put past differences aside and helped him settle in at his new club.
On becoming team-mates, he told beIN Sports: “We had a few fights on the pitch before, but outside the pitch he’s a really nice guy and we have a lot of laughs now.
“I asked him where I could go for dinner, he booked and didn’t let me pay so I was like ‘thank you very much’.”
Jorginho decided to join Arsenal in January after falling out favour at Stamford Bridge after their £300million spending spree.
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He had featured for the club 213 times across five seasons, helping them win the Champions League in the 2020/21 season.
The 31-year-old has opened up about wanting to leave Chelsea, telling DAZN how he made his decision.
He also confirmed that Mikel Arteta played a big part in the deal, saying: “He called me and it was all very quick, we made the deal in less than 48 hours.
“I had spoken to Chelsea and I knew I was no longer part of their plans.
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“Sometimes you must accept when you are out of a project, things come to an end.
“I wanted to progress in my career and the Arsenal project suits me, I loved their ideas.”
Jorginho has featured three times for the Gunners so far and will be hoping to get his hands on the Premier League trophy in May. More

RYAN FRASER has reportedly been dropped to the Newcastle under-21s by manager Eddie Howe.The Scottish winger, 28, is believed to be out of the boss’s plans and will be sold in the summer.
Ryan Fraser is reportedly on his way out of NewcastleCredit: Getty
The former Bournemouth star has not featured for the Magpies since October.
Now he has been “relocated” to the academy, according to the Daily Mail.
The report says that the club believes that the player’s future would be best suited with a move away from Newcastle this summer.
While it is also said that Fraser is hoping to get more game time.
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The winger joined the club in 2020 on a free transfer from the Cherries.
His contract at the Vitality Stadium expired after he refused to sign a new contract to play for the club after the break for Covid-19.
He said that the decision was made as he could not risk getting injured ahead of a summer move.
After this Bournemouth were relegated and he and Eddie Howe left the club.
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Despite impressing at first, fitness issues hampered his progress at St James’ Park.
He and Howe were able to put their differences aside when the Englishman was appointed manager.
However this season he has slowly fallen down the pecking order behind Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Joe Willock. More