Arsenal transfer news

ARSENAL are considering a shock swoop for former player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.The Liverpool midfield star, 28, spent six years at the Emirates before a £35million move to Anfield in the summer of 2017.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain spent six years at Arsenal before joining Liverpool in 2017
Now he is weighing up the prospect of a reunion with his former Gunners team-mate Mikel Arteta in the January transfer window.
The Ox has become frustrated with his lack of opportunities since helping Jurgen Klopp’s team win their first Premier League title two years ago.
A knee injury ruled him out of the first four months of last season and he has only started four games for Liverpool since.
He is starting to feel he needs a fresh challenge, despite his £125,000-a-week contract running until 2023.
Liverpool are unlikely to stand in the way of a player who has slipped behind youngsters Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott in Klopp’s midfield pecking order.
But they would still want a reasonable fee for a man who has 35 England caps, even though it is now two years since he last played for his country.
Arsenal are interested in an initial six-month loan with the possibility of a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has a good relationship with Arteta, who also joined Arsenal in the summer of 2011, with both playing a part in the FA Cup successes in 2014 and 2015.

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The Gunners paid £15million when they bought the 17-year-old Ox from Southampton and he quickly established himself as a fans favourite.
Now Arteta is considering whether his experience could prove an asset to help develop young Arsenal stars such as Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.
And with Granit Xhaka ruled out for three months by a knee injury and Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny at the African Cup of Nations in January, Arsenal are going to need all the midfield help they can get.
A return to London could also benefit Oxlade-Chamberlain’s family life after his partner Perrie Edwards gave birth to their first child in August. More

ARSENAL are facing a New Year’s midfield dilemma with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Mohammed Elneny both considering their futures.Maitland-Niles was all set to sign for Everton on loan on transfer deadline day but the move was blocked at the last minute by boss Mikel Arteta.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles wants to start more Premier League gamesCredit: Getty
Mohammed Elneny’s Arsenal contract expires in JuneCredit: Getty
And when the England international took to social media to express his frustration, he was initially banned from training by the club.
Yet while the dispute was quickly settled following clear-the-air talks with Arteta, the regular first team football which Maitland-Niles craves has still not been forthcoming.
The versatile 24-year-old has only started one Premier League game so far this season, filling in for the suspended Granit Xhaka during the 1-0 win against Norwich last month.
And though he has had brief cameo appearances off the bench in their subsequent games against Burnley, Spurs and Brighton, it has not been the kind of minutes he had been hoping for.
Elneny, 29, appears to be even further down the pecking order following the summer signing of £17million Albert Sambi Lokonga.
The Egyptian is out of contract at the end of the season and though Arteta is keen for him to sign a new deal, no agreement has so far been reached.

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Arsenal are reluctant to risk losing him for nothing and could look to sell him for a nominal fee in January.
But the situation has become complicated by Xhaka’s knee ligament injury which will sideline him until February at the earliest.
And with both Elneny and the injury-prone Thomas Partey both due to spend January at the African Cup of Nations, that leaves Arteta with precious little midfield cover.
The most likely scenario is that Maitland-Niles, who is under contract to 2023, will be ordered to stay to fill in alongside Lokonga in the absence of Xhaka and Partey.
But the club could be willing to listen to offers for Elneny as long as Xhaka does not suffer any setbacks on the road to recovery from the injury sustained during the recent North London derby.
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Arsenal star Gabriel shows off new fixed tooth after losing it at Brighton game More

YOU could call it the ‘Arsene Wenger derby’. Arsenal have won their battle against Fifa at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.This column revealed in March that the North London club appealed against a ruling by the world governing body, which has ex-Arsenal boss Wenger as their chief of global development.
Arsenal have won their battle against Fifa over sell-on clauses in previous transfersCredit: Getty
Arsene Wenger is Fifa’s chief of global developmentCredit: Getty
The situation relates to variable sell-on clauses the Gunners have inserted when selling some of their players.
In 2018, they sold Chuba Akpom to PAOK in Greece and Joel Campbell to Frosinone in Italy.
Sell-on clauses were included in both deals. For Akpom, it stated that PAOK would give Arsenal 30 per cent of any fee for the player — but 40 per cent if he was sold to a British club.
With Campbell, it was 25 per cent to another side but 30 per cent if he went to a British club.
Akpom was sold to Middlesbrough in 2020 for £2.25million, while Campbell is playing in Mexico for Monterrey on loan from Leon.
CAS ruled variable sell-on clauses are part of football and Arsenal — who now do not have to pay a £33,000 fine — could have no influence over which clubs former players are sold to.

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PAIN IN THE GRASS
ENGLAND will play on an artificial pitch in Andorra on Saturday evening, which is why Gareth Southgate will stage a Friday lunchtime training session on the surface.
Normally, the Three Lions train the day before an away game at St George’s Park. Some Premier League chiefs will be worried about potential injuries, particularly players with ankle issues.
After Wales scraped a 2-1 win there in 2014, Gareth Bale said of the 3G surface: “It was the worst pitch I’ve ever played on. I can’t describe how bad, bobbly and hard the pitch was.”
ELECTRIC FEEL
TEN Men Went To Mow is a favourite song among the Chelsea fans.
But now the club’s groundsmen are able to use their lawnmowers  in complete silence.
In an eco-friendly move, the Blues have ditched their noisy machines for electric ones at both Stamford Bridge and their Cobham training ground.
After games in English football, mowers are used not to cut the grass — but to remove debris from the pitch.
The noise has made it particularly difficult for TV presenters to conduct pitchside interviews and for written journalists to speak to managers via Zoom during post-match press conferences.
WEMBLEY WAY
FA chiefs have asked Uefa for an in-person hearing over problems at the Euro 2020 final.
It is set to be held later this month.
England’s penalty shootout loss to Italy was marred by ticketless fans storming Wembley on July 11. 
Fifa are still probing allegations Kyle Walker  was racially abused by Poland’s  Kamil Glik  in England’s World Cup qualifier on September 8 —  but it is unlikely to come to anything.

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JERSEY BOYS
TOTTENHAM and Manchester City both have the most expensive shirts in the Premier League, costing £70.
Chelsea and Liverpool are not far behind — just 5p to be precise.
Burnley are the cheapest, at £45.
But for once, it is not English football fans who continue to be ripped off.
Porto shirts in their official club shop ahead of last week’s clash with Liverpool were priced at £95.
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Gabriel Martinelli shows off his skills in training with Arsenal More

GABRIEL MARTINELLI could reportedly force through an Arsenal transfer exit due to his lack of playing time.The Mirror claims Martinelli, 20, is becoming ‘anxious’ over his Gunners future after featuring just twice in the league this season.
Gabriel Martinelli is reportedly considering his Arsenal futureCredit: Getty
The Brazilian has been an unused sub in Arsenal’s last five games.
And with stars including Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emile Smith Rowe in good form, Martinelli may have to wait a while until he gets another shot.
That could prompt the youngster to seek a solution in January.
Since joining from Ituano in July 2019, Martinelli has only played 30 times in the Premier League.
And with a one-promising career now grinding to a halt, he may push for a change of scenery in order to gain vital minutes.
But the final decision lies with boss Mikel Arteta, who warned Martinelli last season he needs to be giving more on the field.

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The Arsenal boss said: “He needs time. He is so willing and so anxious that it can block his development sometimes as well.
“Sometimes he won’t understand my decisions but the only reason I make those is to help him.

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“There are a few things that have to be better and one of those is to manage when he doesn’t play. 
“You have to know how to suffer when you are on the bench. 
“You have to be able to swallow that, all your ego and anger, all your willingness to play the game.”
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Arsenal star Gabriel shows off new fixed tooth after losing it at Brighton game More