Arsenal transfer news

MIKEL ARTETA travels to Aston Villa today desperately seeking to get Arsenal’s title challenge back on track.So the last thing he needs as he tries to end his team’s first mini-slump of the season is to run slap bang into the managerial rival who would love nothing more than to add to his agony.
Unai Emery will be hoping to put a dent in Arsenal’s title chargeCredit: Getty
Emery’s last line up as Arsenal manager
It is more than three years since Unai Emery was sacked by Arsenal yet the pain of that brutal dismissal is still felt to this day.
And while the Villa boss has publicly tried to play down the significance of this afternoon’s encounter,  don’t believe for one minute that he is ready to let bygones be bygones.
He has already had one taste of revenge when he was the mastermind of Villarreal’s Europa League semi-final victory over Arsenal two seasons ago.
But that two-legged affair was played out behind closed doors during the pandemic and today’s game will be his first encounter with the Gunners supporters who made his life a misery towards the end of his brief Emirates reign.
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Arteta insists he has nothing but admiration for his fellow Spaniard who was handed the thankless task of trying to replace Arsene Wenger in 2018.
He says: “Unai is a very good manager who will always give opponents a difficult test.
“I have huge respect for everywhere he has been and for all the success that he’s had.”
But that approval hasn’t stopped him from taking a chainsaw to his predecessor’s legacy and ripping up almost everything he inherited from Emery in order to start from scratch.
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Of the Arsenal team which started Emery’s final League match in charge in November 2019, only Kieran Tierney remains at the club.
And even he spends most of his time on the subs’ bench these days.
All the rest have been offloaded with almost indecent haste after Arteta received the green light to purge a toxic dressing-room.
Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, David Luiz, Alex Lacazette, Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers and Sokratis were all allowed to leave for nothing.
Kieran Tierney is the last survivor from Emery’s time in charge of the clubCredit: Getty
Some of them were even paid off just to get them out of the club, while Bernd Leno, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torrerira were sold at a huge loss.
Yet not everyone who featured at Arsenal during Emery’s time in charge has been jettisoned by the new regime.
William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli were both signed on his watch and Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe were also handed their debuts by the former Valencia, Sevilla and PSG boss.
And those young stars have emerged as the cornerstones of Arteta’s famous ‘project’ to win the club’s first Premier League title since 2004.
Likely Arsenal line up to take on Aston Villa
But those ambitions have been temporarily put on hold after failure to win any of their last three League games has opened the door for Manchester City to replace them at the top of the table.
It was only one month ago that Arsenal had an eight-point lead over their nearest rivals following the North London derby win at Spurs.
But Wednesday’s 3-1 home defeat by City knocked them off pole position for the first time since mid-August.
And Arsenal suddenly look vulnerable to opponents who don’t worry about possession and prefer to hit on the counter attack and at set-pieces.
Everton, Brentford and even City have all used those tactics to spike Arsenal’s guns in recent weeks and Arteta knows he will face more of the same from Villa today.
Yet he refutes suggestions that his team has been sussed out and points out: “We have faced 16 low blocks this season and won a lot of those games.
“We are a team that wants to have the ball and dominate games but there are always things to improve and our efficiency in the box hasn’t been as good as it was when we were winning games.
“For the last few months we have talked about the position we’re in, the way the team is playing and the things we need to do to stay there.
“We know the level we want to be at and there were a lot of positives to take from the City game on Wednesday even though the result did not go our way.
“I have seen with my own eyes that my team can match anyone and in case the players didn’t spot it I showed it to them all on the day after the game, just in case they had any doubts.
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“On Wednesday we were up against the best team this league has had in decades and we were hugely disappointed not to get a result.
“A few years ago we were looking at City and saying ‘we are so far away from them’. Now we are closer, but we’re not close enough because they’re much more efficient than us.” More

IAN WRIGHT has singled out one Arsenal star for his “naive” performance against Manchester City. The Gunners, previously unbeaten at the Emirates, fell to defeat against Man City to cede first place in the Premier League.
Ian Wright blasted one Arsenal defender’s performance as “naive”Credit: Getty
Pep Guardiola’s serial winners made the most of Arsenal errors to run out 3-1 winners as Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland all got on the scoresheet.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was the culprit for City’s first goal, with De Bruyne anticipating a back pass and lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Bukayo Saka fired the North Londoners level from the penalty spot after Eddie Nketiah was brought down in the area by Ederson.
But the game’s next goal from Grealish came courtesy of City forcing a turnover from Gabriel.
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And Arsenal legend Wright feels Gabriel was the epicentre of the Gunners second half collapse.
Speaking on Premier League productions, he said: “We were very fortunate that he didn’t give away a penalty because he was offside but for me the pass [for Grealish goal] is into nowhere.
“City are setting traps for him there and as soon as they win the ball, bang, they get the ball back and Haaland’s awareness for a striker was very good because he could have easily had a shot but he’s made sure that he passed it on so that they definitely get the goal and go in front.
“For me it came down to a bit of naivety and inexperience but they are the youngest team in the league and you’re going to get those type of mistakes.
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Gabriel was Man City’s target for pressing traps according to WrightCredit: AFP
“For me Gabriel doesn’t know where it’s going. That’s going to be a problem and it was.”
Haaland rounded out the match by scoring his 26th league goal of the season.
Arsenal are now winless in three league matches, having lost to Everton and drawing controversially to Brentford.
Up next, they face a test against Mikel Arteta’s predecessor Unai Emery when they visit Aston Villa.
However, Wednesday’s game has now tipped the balance of power back in City’s favour in terms of who are now favourites to win the title. More

ERLING HAALAND has revealed he forgot Pep Guardiola’s crucial half-time tactical tweaks before Manchester City pulled clear of Arsenal. The Citizens went top of the table last night with the Norwegian striker netting in the second-half.
Guardiola’s half-time tweaks saw City improve – and Haaland scoreCredit: Rex
Erling Haaland is enjoying a prolific season up front for Man City
It was Arsenal’s first home loss of the entire league season and leaves the Gunners facing their first major wobble of their title challenge.
It may have been a different story however with Mikel Arteta’s team edging the first-half and cancelling out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener with a controversial penalty.
Pep Guardiola made tactical changes at the break to rectify his “horrible” tactics and City took a 3-1 victory.
But despite the gaffer’s inspired tweaks, Haaland admitted he could not remember exactly what was said at half time.
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He told Amazon Prime Sport: “Small adjustments at half time from Pep, in the end we have quality and we need to get it from every single player, which is what we did today.
“I honestly don’t remember, I’m just so happy, I don’t remember now.
“I think we have to play a bit more like this sometimes and that’s exactly what we did today. I’m so proud I have to say, of every single guy.
“We can all agree that Arsenal have been the best team this season so to come to their place and play against them is not easy. But we played an amazing game and got three really important points, we’re in it again.”
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Guardiola admitted his plans were not working for the first 45 minutes with fans raising eyebrows at Bernardo Silva appearing to be stationed at left-back for parts of the half.
The Spaniard said after the game: “I decided something new and it was horrible.
“Second-half we were more like we are. We let them play in the build-up, our shape we let them play, Jorginho, Xhaka, Zinchenko, they find the runners outside.
“We adjust a bit, Ruben [Dias] was good going more aggressive to Odegaard, we play more and Erling helped us a lot, he used his power to keep the ball.
“In first-half they had one more man in midfield, we struggled to control.”
The result means City went top for the first time since November 5 – but Arsenal have a game in hand. More

MANCHESTER CITY ace Kevin de Bruyne has poked fun at Arsenal fans with a hilarious message after beer was chucked at him.The defending Premier League champions took top spot with a 3-1 win over the Gunners at the Emirates on Wednesday.
Kevin de Bruyne had beer thrown at him as he departed the pitch at the EmiratesCredit: Getty
The Belgium ace dismantled Arsenal, scoring and assisting in the 3-1 away winCredit: Getty
De Bruyne has taunted Arsenal fans on social media following the winCredit: Getty
De Bruyne played a key role in dismantling Arsenal, opening the scoring in the 24th minute.
He also assisted Man City’s third, teeing up goal machine Erling Haaland to kill the game off.
De Bruyne was withdrawn from play three minutes from time and replaced with holding midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
But as he walked around a riled-up Emirates, De Bruyne had items chucked at him, including beer.

The Belgium ace, of course, played pantomime villain, dodging beer being thrown while not breaking his smug stare.
And he took to Instagram after the game, saying: “Beer anyone?”
De Bruyne and Co will be hoping that the beating they gave Arsenal in their own back yard will unsettle the Gunners for the remainder of the season.
Arsenal are only second on goal difference and do have a game in hand.
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However, winning that game is not a guarantee.
A potential Prem title decider will take place at City’s Etihad home on April 26.
De Bruyne’s game by numbers
Arsenal dominated possession but still lost More

ARSENAL could have a new look next season with the club set to spend big once again this summer.The Gunners have splashed the cash in recent years to help Mikel Arteta build a side capable of challenging for the title.
Mikel Arteta could bolster two key positions
Declan Rice is Arsenal’s top summer transfer targetCredit: Getty
The Gunners could reignite their interest in Lautaro MartinezCredit: Alamy
And they are prepared to loosen the purse strings once more to land West Ham star Declan Rice.
The England international could be off as he is unwilling to extend his contract, which expires in 2024.
That means West Ham could choose to cash in before his value depreciates, though the Hammers are demanding £100m to let him leave.
Despite that, a host of clubs are believed to be interested in the midfielder including Manchester United and Chelsea.
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The Gunners have reportedly made Rice their top summer transfer target and are willing to spend £80m to lure him to The Emirates.
If he joins Rice could slot in nicely alongside Thomas Partey, who has impressed this season.
Arsenal may also look to strengthen their attacking options with Gabriel Jesus’ injury highlighting a lack of depth upfront.
One player the North Londoners could reignite their interest in is Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez.
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Arteta is a fan of the Argentina international and he fits Arsenal’s style of play.
The 25-year-old was valued at £51million last summer so Arsenal opted to sign Jesus instead, with Martinez also believed to have been keen on staying at Inter.
Martinez’s arrival would offer Arteta greater flexibility and could even see Jesus played out wide, a role he occasionally fulfilled at Manchester City. More