MIKEL Arteta is eyeing up a potential reunion with a former star he coached at Manchester City. Sun Online can reveal Arsenal are weighing up a move for Bayern Munich player Leroy Sane and could land the player for FREE.Arsenal are ready to make a shock move for Leroy SaneCredit: ReutersMikel Arteta coached the Bayern Munich star when he was assistant manager at Man CityCredit: GettyThat’s because the ex-Manchester City winger, who Arteta worked with at the Etihad, is out of contract at the end of the current campaign.And the lack of any talks between Sane and Bayern chiefs has put Arsenal on red-alert.The North-London giants decided against bringing in an attacker in the January transfer window despite key injuries to the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.Shortly after the window closed, Gabriel Martinelli was hit with a hamstring injury and Kai Havertz was ruled out for the remainder of the season, with Mikel Merino having to step in as a makeshift number nine.Arsenal fans expressed their frustration with club owner Stan Kroenke, blaming the decision to not secure attacking reinforcements. Many believe this has severely hindered the club’s push for the Premier League title.So, as the summer transfer window approaches, the Gunners are expected to focus on strengthening their attacking options – and that’s brought the focus onto Sane. The respected German outlet BILD Sport’s Christian Falk recently revealed there are currently “no negotiations” between the player and Bayern regarding a new contract.The 29-year-old will be a free agent come the summer, and Arteta is no stranger to working with the forward, having previously coached him at Manchester City. It’s not the first time the forward has been linked with a move back to England, as Football Insider revealed back in October that Arsenal were still interested in Sane after failing to land him in the summer transfer window.Newcastle were also linked with a sensational move for Sane, but with Anthony Gordon having signed a new contract, those rumours have since quietened.I’m Arsenal’s biggest fan but people want me banned because I turn up to stadium in nothing but body paintBIRTHDAY BOYARSENAL’S Hale End star Ethan Nwaneri is celebrating his 18th birthday.Among many things, that means he is finally allowed to get changed in the senior dressing room at the Emirates and London Colney.Safeguarding restrictions had prevented him from doing so until now.But he will not be spending his big day like any other teenager. No parties or booze – instead preparing for a friendly against France with Lee Carsley’s England U21s.The group are staying at the four star Domaine du Liziec hotel in Vannes before playing at the FC Lorient stadium later tonight.SunSport understands that Nwaneri woke up with balloons on his door to celebrate the occasion, but there is unlikely to be a cake – due to it being a match day…Ethan Nwaneri is now able to join the rest of Arsenal’s players in the dressing roomCredit: GettyARTETA’S SMALL FISH PROBLEMARSENAL’S 1-0 win over Chelsea before the international break means that the Gunners under Mikel Arteta have not lost to their London rivals in all competitions since August 2021.In fact, since Arteta took the Emirates job in December 2019, Arsenal have lost just TWICE in 13 meetings.Arteta has prided himself on improving Arsenal’s record against the ‘Big Six’ as a whole on their journey to challenging for the Prem title and other major honours.Arsenal’s last competitive defeat against Manchester City was in April 2023, against Manchester United was September 2022, against Tottenham was May 2022 and against Liverpool was March 2022.But it has been results against the ‘others’ that have ultimately cost Arteta and Arsenal in recent seasons.Arsenal have failed to beat West Ham home and away in a Prem season since 2021/22.They have also failed to do the double over Aston Villa since 2022/23, while the likes of Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Brighton continue to take points off them on a regular basis.If Arsenal are to finally get over the line, they will need to improve in matches away from the ‘Big Six’ clashes.Arsenal have struggled against the likes of West Ham for a long time under Mikel ArtetaCredit: EPAMERINO’S HOMEWORKMIKEL Merino’s incredible goal-scoring form continued this week – netting a late leveller for Spain in their 2-2 Nations League quarter final draw against the Netherlands.It is now five goals in his last eight games for club and country – even if on this occasion he came off the bench in a midfield capacity for La Roja, having deputised as a striker for the Gunners in recent weeks.Merino has recently revealed that his Arsenal pals are asking him all about their Champions League quarter final opponents Real Madrid, who they face next month, including what it is like to play at the Bernabeu.More importantly, Merino has the inside scoop on several of his compatriots who play for Los Blancos.Yet ironically, in Spain’s most recent 26-man squad, there was just ONE Madrid call-up in uncapped defender Raul Asencio, 22 – and he was left out of the 23-man group to face the Dutch.Merino – and fellow Spaniard David Raya – may have to do some more undercover reconnaissance work to get the edge over Madrid in a few weeks…Mikel Merino scored for a Spain team that had more players from Arsenal than Real Madrid in its squadCredit: GettyTREATMENT TABLETHE recent numbers around hamstring injuries in the Premier League make for interesting reading – but should they be taken at face value?As of the beginning of March, Prem data reported that of the 418 injuries suffered this season, 100 relate to hamstrings.At the same stage last year, a reported 120 hamstring issues made up the 457 injuries.The data also suggested players are being kept out for slightly longer this term. Of those 100 hamstring-sufferers this term, 51 have been out for more than 30 days.Last season’s 120 hamstring injuries led to 49 absences of more than 30 days.In short, there’s not a lot in it. Nevertheless, hamstring strains and tears continue to be troublesome and frustrating for top flight medical rooms across the country.Tottenham have been forced to manage Micky van de Ven’s return, with talk of the Dutch defender needing to adapt his game to meet the demands of both the Prem and boss Ange Postecoglou’s intense, high-press style.Bukayo Saka has been one of many players to suffer hamstring injuries this seasonCredit: ReutersChelsea and Arsenal have been left without recognised strikers because of damaged hamstrings. Nicolas Jackson is out until next month, while Kai Havertz will not be back until next season after undergoing surgery.And of course, there is Bukayo Saka – another Gunners star to go under the knife to solve the problem, hoping to return in the next few weeks having been out since late December.There was a time when people feared the worst for those with torn hamstrings, worried their heroes would never be the same explosive, electric player they once were.Michael Owen is the most notable example, tearing his hamstring off the bone aged 19 at the peak of his powers at Liverpool in April 1999.Owen would later admit to being “terrified of running at top speed” for the rest of his career, even suggesting: “I wish I had broken my leg instead.”Back then, hamstring operations were not the norm, instead allowing it to heal and reattach naturally.But times have changed, and for the better, which is good news for the likes of Saka and Havertz.Speaking to SunSport, Colin Lewin – Arsenal’s Head of Medical Services from 2008 to 2018 – said: “The reason for doing surgery now is the confidence that you’re going to get them back to where they were before.“It’s also potentially reducing the chances of a recurrence from having that big gap in the hamstring that gets filled up with scar tissue when you get that nasty tear.“Surgical intervention, when it’s indicated, is often a better option for making sure they get back to where they were rather than not.“It’s individual, but certainly in some cases, they can come back even stronger. “I think we see that with a lot of different injuries, even ACLs, back quicker and stronger than they were in pre-season.”Lewin currently shares his time between a consultancy role in the Ipswich Town medical department and his Essex-based ‘Lewin Clinic’ alongside his cousin Gary – another former Arsenal and England physio – looking after a wide range of customers.As with Saka, he admits there is always more concern when it is a player who relies on their pace, often taking inspiration from the rehab of 100m athletes and “sprint mechanics”.Lewin said: “You have to keep an eye on all the secondary issues that you’ve got, as well as your primary injury.“Being away from a pitch for three months might do a great deal of good for your hamstring recovery after surgery. It may not be particularly great for other niggling problems.“Sometimes it’s easy to take your eye off the ball and just focus on the primary injury.“That’s why you bring them back gradually, looking at the whole body, looking at the whole system, rather than just being primed in on the hamstring, hamstring, hamstring.”Colin Lewin spent ten years as Arsenal’s Head of Medical ServicesCredit: Louis Wood – The Sun More
