ARSENAL are reportedly one of three clubs tracking teenage sensation Jobe Bellingham.Jude’s younger brother Jobe, 18, has impressed at Sunderland this season and Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all sent scouts to watch him over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are also said to be considering a move for £51million-rated Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke – if a deal for Ivan Toney can’t be done.
And Mikel Arteta has revealed that Thomas Partey is making ‘good’ progress on his injury as he edges closer to a return.
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Khayon Edwards nets brace in Arsenal U21 win
Khayon Edwards, 20, netted a brace as Arsenal came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 in last night’s PL2 Division 1 clash.
Two goals after the break handed the young Gunners the win to leave them in fourth going into the Christmas break.
They are currently seven points behind league leaders Tottenham, who have won all nine of their games this season but are yet to play Arsenal.
Sagna reveals condition for Arsenal to win the Premier League
Former Arsenal and Man City right-back Bacary Sagna has revealed the one condition for the Gunners to win their first Premier League title in 20 years; staying injury-free.
Speaking to Paddy Power ahead of Arsenal’s table-topping clash with Liverpool, he said: “Arsenal have another chance this season to fight for the title.
“They have a good chance with Manchester City and Liverpool dropping points so if they manage to be consistent, and stay injury-free, they can win the league.
“They’ve showed some consistency and quality offensively and they have great control of every game they play. They are smart and when they have to win ugly, they can do that too.
“They have the quality, the players, the coach and the structure to allow them to perform, and they are performing at the moment.
“But it’s the consistency, the most consistent team will win the league because other teams will drop points. But at some point in the season, there are so many games in lots of competitions and that can be tiring.
“We also saw Arsenal tire towards the end of the last season, and when it mattered most last year, they struggled to meet their potential and they let Manchester City back into it.
“I can’t rule City out yet, they had an amazing season last year and surely, they’re going to get back to their best at some point.”
Arsenal boost in Toney transfer race after Brentford chief admission
Brentford have hinted that may be resigned to losing Ivan Toney after technical director Lee Dykes admitted it could soon be time to move him on from the Bees.
Speaking to Brentford club media in a deep-dive interview about the club’s recruitment process, he said: “Yes, there will be lots of interest in Ivan in January. Naturally, there should be.
“He was the third-highest Premier League goalscorer last season – one of them [Harry Kane] has gone to Germany now, so he’s up there as one of the best strikers in the division. He is in the top five in the world, in my opinion.
“So there should be interest, and maybe the time comes very shortly that Ivan moves on to another club.
“But they will have to pay a decent transfer fee to acquire his services because he is some talent.”
Credit: Getty
‘Only Arteta wanted me to stay at Arsenal’- Xhaka
Granit Xhaka has opened on how he felt Arsenal gave him “little respect” after he was stripped of the club captaincy under Unai Emery before Mikel Arteta stepped in to save his Gunners career.
Speaking to The Athletic, he said: “The club showed me little respect even though I was the captain. It was clear they wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible, apart from one person: Mikel Arteta.
“When I met him for the first time, my bags were already packed and I was about to hop on a plane. With my heart and soul, I had already left the club. I said to him, ‘The solution is for me to go’.
“Mikel told me he wanted me to stay. But I wasn’t sure. I remember speaking to my dad at the time. He told me, ‘Let’s go’. For the first time ever, he told me to run away. He said there was no future for me at Arsenal.’”
Xhaka of course stayed at the club until summer 2023, repairing his reputation and helping the club return to the Champions League.
He added: “I could not imagine myself playing for Arsenal again. I said to him, ‘I just want to be somewhere where the fans don’t boo me’. But he was so convincing.
“For the first time in my life, I took a decision without talking to my family first. I got up and said, ‘OK, I’ll stay’.
“We embraced and, from that day on, I returned to training and it was like nothing ever happened.”
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Wright reveals why he quit MOTD
Ian Wright has revealed the heartwarming reason why he is quitting Match of the Day at the end of the season.
Speaking on his Wrighty’s House podcast, he said: “I’m going to actually watch more football. I’m going to watch my grand-daughter.
“I’m going to watch a lot more women’s games. I’m going to watch a lot more Arsenal games, just to be there with fans.
“Go with my son and his missus, be amongst it, just to celebrate when we win or when we lose.
“It’s been a bit of a realisation that I want to give quality time to them. So that’s what I want. To watch games, spend time with people.”
Credit: PA
Arsenal one of three clubs targeting Jobe Bellingham
Reports claim Arsenal are one of three English clubs tracking Jude Bellingham’s brother Jobe.
The 18-year-old has impressed with Sunderland this season and has consequently attracted interest from some high-profile suitors.
And Ekrem Konur reported the Gunners, Liverpool and Chelsea all sent scouts to watch him play against Bristol City over the weekend, though he was only introduced in the 63rd minute.
Arsenal told not to sign £100m target
Emmanuel Petit has told Arsenal in no uncertain terms to not sign Douglas Luiz after reports suggested he could cost as much as £100m.
Speaking about a potential transfer to compare.bet, he said: “£100m is a lot of money, I really like Douglas Luiz but is he worth £100m?
“It’s crazy money. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Arsenal to go straight on the market and buy Luiz for that much. I think he’s injured too much and the way that Aston Villa are playing, he probably doesn’t want to leave.
“If I was Douglas Luiz I’d be very excited to have an offer from Arsenal, but I’d think straight away, I’d look at my current teammates and say, ‘We are second place in the table and only one point off Arsenal. What happens if we do something very special.’
“We can imagine Aston Villa playing in the Champions League now. When you leave in the middle of a season, you have to be very careful.
“When you’re playing at the best level with your current club, it’s a very big risk to change and go to another club.
“I can understand it’s very exciting to join Arsenal, but the timing, I don’t think it’s good for him.”
Classy Saka makes charitable donation to earthquake victims
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has helped to build a container village for earthquake victims in Morocco.
The England winger, 22, has funded 50 containers for a village in the Taroudant region where 255 will be able to have somewhere to live.
Almost 3000 people died when the earthquake struck in early September.
In the village Saka is helping 42 people were killed, but the winger is stepping in to help those who survived, working alongside charity BigShoe.
He said: “I was shocked when I heard about the terrible earthquake in Morocco.
“But in the moment I knew that I really want to help and we started to look at what we can do to help the displaced families.
“We found a way to help relatively quickly and we were able to put a roof over their head and give them some comfort and hope to those who have lost everything through no fault of their own.
“I hope that the 84 families and, above all, the 89 children in the containers can regain a piece of their everyday lives.”
Arsenal sign Real Madrid scout
Arsenal have signed former Real Madrid scout Paulo Xavier.
The Athletic report Xavier left his post in Spain – which he had held since 2017 – in order to join the Gunners.
In his role with the North London outfit, he will operate in South America with two others.
Rice is making £100m look like a bargain, says Shearer
Alan Shearer has said heaped praise on Declan Rice while speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast.
He said: “By the way, I know we keep mentioning him, but oh my god, Declan Rice again yesterday (against Brighton).
“Honestly, he was just…in everything he did, whether he was protecting the back-four, whether he was bursting forward with the ball, having efforts at goal, he was fantastic.
“Wright said it last night, he’s making a £100m look like a bargain.”
Gary Lineker replied: “That’s quite a statement.”
Shearer added: “He was that good honestly.”
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Ramsdale to Chelsea could be good to both parties – Gallas
William Gallas believes an Aaron Ramsdale transfer to Chelsea might be the best move for all parties after the England goalkeeper lost his No1 place between the sticks to David Raya.
Speaking to Lord Ping, Gallas said: “I don’t know but there’s definitely a good connection between Arsenal and Chelsea. The door between the clubs has been open for almost ten to 15 years.
“I did it and it was not an easy move and I wanted to stay in London, but the fans can get mad and I understand that.
“I don’t know if Ramsdale to Chelsea will happen but he’s not playing for Arsenal and he will certainly be very frustrated, especially after the season he had last season, so I’m not sure if his agent is in contact, but it could be a great move for Chelsea and him.
“He has to play but I don’t know if Arsenal will let him go there.
“Being a goalkeeper is not an easy position and if Ramdale moved to Chelsea, you’d have to question who’d be number one when Sanchez returned.
“That’s the problem and when you are a player you have to pray not to get injured as you know someone could take your position and you may have to wait.”
Pennant names Rice as key difference-maker in Arsenal title bid
Jermaine Pennant believes the addition of Declan Rice in midfield has been instrumental in Arsenal’s strong start to the season.
Speaking to Genting Casino, he said: “The signing of Declan Rice has made a big difference.
“We’ve already seen what he gives Arsenal – every game he is a 7 or an 8 out of 10 minimum – he offers Arsenal so much protection in front of that back four and he has also chipped in with some late winners.
“The win against Luton (where Rice scored the winner with the last kick of the game) could be absolutely massive at the end of the season.”
Arsenal have learned from mistakes of last season, says Pennant
Arsenal’s 2024 title bid has been better informed from the crushing defeat they felt last season when losing the title late on, ex-Gunners star Jermaine Pennant has claimed.
Speaking to Genting Casino, he said: “Arsenal look better equipped to mount a title challenge this season.
“They would have learned a lot after what happened to them last season and I think that experience will help them this time around.
“They know from their own experience last season that they can’t slip-up. They know that Manchester City are capable of winning the last ten games of a season on the bounce.
“That knowledge and experience would have paid dividends to everyone connected to the club.
“If Arsenal find themselves in that situation again, leading the table on the home stretch, they will be able to handle the pressure much better.”
Raya insists he has ‘made Ramsdale better’
David Raya says his battle with Aaron Ramsdale has made them both better goalkeepers.
The Spanish shot-stopper, 28, believes Arsenal’s goalkeeper conundrum has turned into iron sharpening iron at the club’s Colney training base.
Raya has made several mistakes since joining the North London club, with three of them leading to goals. But Arteta has stuck with him in goal, including the 2- 0 win over Brighton last time out.
When asked if the battle with Ramsdale has made him better, Raya replied: “Of course, and I think I have made him a better goalkeeper, just pushing each other in training, trying to help each other.
“If we see when we are training that we can help each other, that’s how we are and that’s how we do.
“That’s the goalkeeper union from the outside that you see.”
Arteta on Champions League progress
Mikel Arteta has hailed Arsenal’s “positive” Champions League campaign after the club drew Porto in the round of 16.
The manager said: “Overall, I think, very positive.
“Having not been in the competition for six or seven years and having a team that hasn’t got that much experience, I think we’ve competed really well.
“I really liked the approach of the team in every single game, the way we’ve tried to play. We had some big results and big experiences, like the one we had in Seville or Lens, or even today looking at how the team can act and how fair it is to give certain players that exposure when you make so many changes.
“Overall finishing first with a game to play we have to be really happy. Now we have to now close that chapter until February and make sure that when that chapter opens up again that we’re in the best place to compete against another top side.”
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Edu reacts to Champions League draw
Arsenal sporting director Edu has reacted to Arsenal’s Champions League draw, which saw the Gunners draw Porto.
He said: “We are going to play against a club that is very used to playing in the competition because they play in it every single year and they have a lot of players as well with big experience.
“We have to understand how are we going to play and respect them as much as we can. We will play our game and see if we can go through this stage.
“We can see how they are playing, how organised they are, and the players that they have. Porto is a club that you have to be really prepared to play against or we’ll have problems, so what we have to concentrate on is maintaining our levels and the way we are playing.”
Arsenal to sign centre-back in January
Arsenal are set to trigger Goncalo Inacio’s release clause in January, according to the Mirror.
The Sporting centre-back is available for £51million.
He is known for his ability to pass the ball out from the back and has previously attracted interest from Tottenham.
Credit: Getty
Arsenal snag Real scout
Arsenal have added Real Madrid’s South American scout to their coaching staff.
Paulo Xavier has left his role as Real Madrid’s Latin America scout to join Arsenal.
In his new role at Arsenal, which has already begun, he will work in South America with two other scouts.
He is the man responsible for bringing Rodrygo to Real Madrid.
Ian Wright teases career change
Ian Wright has teased a career change after he stepped down from his punditry work on Match of the Day.
The Arsenal legend will act in a new Netflix film called The Kitchen which is directed by Daniel Kaluuya.
It also stars Top Boy actor Kano.
Edu reacts to Champions League draw
Arsenal sporting director Edu has reacted to Arsenal’s Champions League draw, which saw the Gunners draw Porto.
He said: “We are going to play against a club that is very used to playing in the competition because they play in it every single year and they have a lot of players as well with big experience.
“We have to understand how are we going to play and respect them as much as we can. We will play our game and see if we can go through this stage.
“We can see how they are playing, how organised they are, and the players that they have. Porto is a club that you have to be really prepared to play against or we’ll have problems, so what we have to concentrate on is maintaining our levels and the way we are playing.”
Wrighty’s tattoo ordeal
Ian Wright has revealed that his wife “takes the p***” out of his tattoo but it has a sweet meaning.
The tat is a tribute to his friendship with Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker and how the three did Match of The Day together.
Wrighty announced today that he will be stepping away from the show at the end of the seasin.
Former Gunners in attendance
Former Gunners Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs were in attendance for Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Brighton.
The win put them top of the Premier League table by one point. More
