Arsenal transfer news

ARSENAL analyst Miguel Molina was SLAPPED by his Aston Villa counterpart after the Gunners’ last-gasp victory at Villa Park.Molina was embroiled in a post-match squabble with rival analyst Victora Manas that continued into the tunnel.
Arsenal secured a last-gasp victory over Aston Villa on SaturdayCredit: ALAMY
Manager Mikel Arteta celebrated wildly with his backroom staffCredit: ALAMY
SunSport understands Gunners analyst Miguel Molina was slapped by his Villa counterpart following his wild celebrationCredit: Alamy
He left the Arsenal dressing room with a large red mark on his face after being slapped on the cheek by fellow Spaniard Manas, who previously worked for the Gunners during Unai Emery’s time in charge.
They clashed in the stands in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s stoppage-time winner, with Manas taking exception to Molina’s celebrations as they exchanged furious insults in Spanish.
Molina eventually removed himself from his seat but not before inflaming the situation by blowing kisses at his rival, who continued to rant loudly.
And Sunsport understands they clashed again in the players’ tunnel immediately after the final whistle before being pulled apart and begrudgingly agreeing to shake hands.
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Arsenal kept their title hopes alive with a stunning comeback victory over a dogged and determined Villa, who they beat 4-2.
Mikel Arteta’s troops looked on course to drop points before a stoppage-time own goal from former Gunner Emi Martinez handed them the lead.
The north Londoners completed the turnaround five minutes later through Gabriel Martinelli, who tapped the ball home unchallenged after Martinez left the goal unattended in a bid to help bag an equaliser.
After the match, an elated Arteta said: “It’s been a rollercoaster and very emotional at the end.
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“I think we showed a lot of resilience, character and quality.
“The context of the game was difficult, with the performance that we had against City and getting nothing out of it.
“Then having to come here less than 72 hours later and finding ourselves 1-0 down after five minutes.
“We had to play the next 90 minutes and we had some difficulties in certain periods during the first half. Individually we brought the level right down and stopped doing the simple things right.
“At half-time, we said we had to raise the individual level, we had to look each other in the face and we had to do much more if we wanted to come out and win this game.
“We altered one or two things and then we produced a very strong performance and probably should have won it earlier than we did.
“At some stage, you’re going to have to win games in the 94th minute or the 96th minute.
“You’re going to have to score from set-plays, you’re going to have to score when you’re down to 10 men.
“It’s about winning in any context. We always talk about that and today we had a really difficult context, especially with what happened after five minutes.
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“The team showed a lot of emotional qualities which are needed to be up there. I’m really happy with that.”
Arsenal will be back in action next Saturday, travelling to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester. More

GABRIEL MARTINELLI has left Arsenal fans in hysterics after celebrating his goal against Aston Villa BEFORE kicking the ball into the back of the net.The Gunners came from behind TWICE at Villa Park on Saturday to run out 4-2 winners, steering their Premier League title challenge back on course.
Gabriel Martinelli celebrated before scoring Arsenal’s fourth against Aston VillaCredit: PA
The Brazilian came off the bench to help Arsenal secure their first win in FebruaryCredit: Getty
Bukayo Saka cancelled out Ollie Watkins’ opener, as did Oleksandr Zinchenko in the second half for Philippe Coutinho’s.
Jorginho’s strike hit off Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to hand Arsenal a late added-time lead.
But Martinelli’s goal was the cherry on top of an expert comeback for Arsenal.
The Brazilian joined Fabio Vieira on a counter attack from a corner and passed the ball into an empty net with Martinez left retreating back.
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But before kicking the ball into the back of the net, Martinelli threw his arms out in celebration.
And his antics have left Arsenal fans in hysterics with some comparing it to Christ the Redeemer – the famous statue in Martinelli’s native Brazil.
One said on Twitter with a picture of the statue and Martinelli: “spot the difference.”
Another tweeted: “That is a legendary moment right there.”
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A third added: “Martinelli the Redeemer.”
The win lifts Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League.
Title rivals Manchester City play Nottingham Forest on Saturday with a chance to snatch back top spot. More

ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed the return date for injured star man Thomas Partey after the midfielder missed the Gunners’ trip to Aston Villa.Arteta’s team ended their Premier League woes in February with a 4-2 win over Villa, managed by former manager Unai Emery.
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that star man Thomas Partey will be back soonCredit: Getty
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring before Bukayo Saka equalised.
Philippe Coutinho restored Villa’s lead before half-time, but the Midlands club were unable to hold on in the second 45.
Oleksandr Zinchenko grabbed Arsenal’s second before an Emiliano Martinez own-goal and a Gabriel Martinelli strike in added-time saw Arsenal snatch all three points.
Despite the win, Arsenal have struggled without star man Partey.
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The Ghanaian midfielder missed the crunch midweek 3-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium after picking up a muscular injury and was absent again for Saturday’s trip to Villa Park.
And boss Arteta has confirmed when fans can expect to see Partey back in contention to play.
Speaking to BT sport pre-game, Arteta said on Partey: “He’s not fit.
“He didn’t even train with us yesterday.
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“He wasn’t feeling good enough to do that so he probably need another week.”
The turnaround at Villa has fired Arsenal back to the top of the Premier league with title rivals Manchester City playing Nottingham Forest later in the day.
Arsenal’s next fixture is away to Leicester, before they take on Everton at home. More

PIERS MORGAN slammed Arsenal’s “diabolical” defending in an X-rated Twitter rant after seeing his side concede after five minutes against Aston Villa. The Gunners were going through a rough February, failing to win in the three games played before Saturday’s comeback 4-2 win at Villa Park.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring for Villa in the 5th minuteCredit: Getty
Philippe Coutinho restored Villa’s lead after Bukayo Saka’s equaliserCredit: Getty
Piers Morgan has slammed his team, Arsenal, in an X-rated rantCredit: Getty
Arsenal fell to a 1-0 defeat to Everton at the start of the month, followed by a 1-1 home draw to Brentford.
And a home defeat to Premier League title rivals Manchester City cost Arsenal top spot in midweek.
Against Villa, Mikel Arteta’s men struggled to shake off their poor form and conceded after five minutes at Villa.
Ollie Watkins got the goal – but Arsenal’s defenders didn’t cover themselves in glory.
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And Arsenal fan Piers told his team to “get a grip” in an X-rated Twitter rant.
The SunSport columnist, and TalkTV main man, said: “For f***’s sake Arsenal, this defending is diabolical. Get a grip.”
Piers later added: “Teams have worked out that if they bully us, we’re easily bullied.
“Arsenal’s players need to remember there’s only one way to deal with bullies – punch them (metaphorically) in the face.
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“We need to get tougher, and nastier – fast.”
Bukayo Saka drew Arsenal level at Villa Park just over ten minutes after the opener.
The England star volleyed home after a poor headed clearance by Three Lions team-mate, Tyrone Mings.
However, Villa responded and restored their lead through Philippe Coutinho just after the half-hour mark to head into half-time with an unlikely 2-1 lead.
What followed in the second 45 would’ve been exactly what Piers wanted to see, though.
Arsenal scored three goals through Oleksandr Zinchenko, an Emiliano Martinez own-goal and Gabriel Martinelli to win the game 4-2.
Piers tweeted at full-time: “FT: 4-2. THAT’S how you win the League.
“THAT’S called heart, desire, character and will-to-win. We needed the fire and we got it.
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“Brilliant, Arsenal.. absolutely bloody brilliant.” More

GABRIEL MARTINELLI has been dropped from Arsenal’s starting line-up ahead of today’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.The Brazilian, 21, has started every Premier League game so far this season.
Martinelli has been dropped from Arsenal’s starting line-upCredit: Getty
Jorginho keeps has spot in midfieldCredit: Getty
However, Arteta has dropped him to the bench this afternoon with January signing Leandro Trossard taking his spot on the left wing.
The Arsenal boss has also made a change to his back four with Ben White returning to the line-up to replace Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Follow the action as it happens with SunSport’s live blog
New boy Jorginho has kept his spot in midfield due to the absence of Thomas Partey.

Partey was ruled out of Wednesday’s huge clash with Manchester City at the last minute due to a muscle injury.
And Arteta has decided to leave him out of today’s squad completely as a precaution.
Emile Smith-Rowe has returned to the fold following a long spell out of action with a recurring groin injury.
He could make an appearance off the bench late in the game to replace one of Arsenal’s three midfielders.
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The Gunners go into this game level on points with Man City following Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat.
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However, they have dropped down to second in the table, for the first time since November, on goal difference.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa sit 11th in the table following two successive defeats. More

A YOUNG football fan got the shock of his life when the entire Arsenal first-team walked past him as he played in the street.The young lad was just minding his business and filming himself practising keepie-uppies on the Liverpool Road pavement.

A young lad was just minding his business doing keepie-uppies in the streetCredit: TIKTOK@PIRLO_2.0
But moments later he was left starstruck as the Arsenal first-team walked past himCredit: TIKTOK@PIRLO_2.0
He was challenged to a one-on-one by Oleksandr Zinchenko and ended up nutmegging the defenderCredit: TIKTOK@PIRLO_2.0
But just seconds later, he was left star-struck when the Gunners squad walked past him dressed in full club gear.
Captain Martin Odegaard noticed the kid practising his skills as his team-mates continued to walk on.
But the lad’s day was well and truly made by defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, who challenged him to a nutmeg competition.
The young boy didn’t let the moment get to him, taking on and nutmegging the Ukraine international.
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Zinchenko was left gobsmacked, putting his hands on his head as one of his team-mates laughed in the background.
The kid then told the full-back: “I’ve got that on camera.”
An embarrassed Zinchenko took the nutmeg on the chin and gave the lad a hug before getting on his way.
The proud-as-punch kid shared the video on social media, writing: “This was the greatest moment of my life so far, I only hope it gets better from here.”
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Footage of the heartwarming moment went viral, with one fan tweeting: “The beautiful game man.”
Another said: “I bloody love this.”
And another said: “Love that. Zinny is just such a Nice guy man.”
One remarked: “Fair play to the Gooners, memory for life for the kid.”
And another chimed in: “Looks like one of those movie scenes.”
Title-chasing Arsenal will look to return to the summit of the Premier League table this afternoon when they travel to the Midlands to play Aston Villa. More

ARSENAL have been predicted to suffer another setback in the title race against Aston Villa.The Gunners are desperate to bounce back from their midweek defeat against Man City, which made it four games without a win.
Joleon Lescott is expecting Arsenal to drop points against Aston VillaCredit: PA
Mikel Arteta’s side were knocked off top spot by Man City in the weekCredit: Getty
Wednesday’s blockbuster loss to City saw Pep Guardiola’s side leapfrog the Gunners to the top of the Premier League on goal difference, though Arsenal do have a game in hand.
Arsenal can reclaim top spot when they face 11th-placed Villa, and former boss Unai Emery, at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime.
But former City defender Joleon Lescott believes that Mikel Arteta’s side will have to wait to return to winning ways.
He wrote on Livescore: “I fully believe Manchester City’s midweek win at Arsenal will be looked back on as the pivotal moment in this season’s title race.
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“Arsenal go to Aston Villa in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off and that contest is going to be a huge test of the Gunners’ character.
“I’m sure there’ll be a nervous energy in the away dressing room, while playing early also adds pressure — you know everybody is watching on hoping that you slip-up.
“This is a tricky game for them to try and bounce back in.
“Of course, they could go and win here given Aston Villa’s inconsistency but I reckon Villa will be motivated to derail Arsenal’s title tilt and show what they can do.
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“No outcome would surprise me but I’ll go for a draw.”
City travel to Nottingham Forest later the same day and Lescott can see nothing but an away win – and a charge to another title.
He added: “It may sound cliche, but it’s true. So many of the players in that dressing room have been there and done it before and I think it showed at full-time on Wednesday.
“When you’re used to winning titles, you keep your emotions in check. 
“You are angry when you lose, but you don’t get flustered. On the other hand, you enjoy victories without getting carried away.
“The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva have seen this all before and know how quickly a season can turn around.” More