Arsenal’s most sensible target, Ivan Toney, has given a big hint about his long career at Brentford.
The England striker will be able to play again in just 8 days after serving an 8-month ban for breaching FA rules.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are reported to have at least £30m for striker Eddie Nketiah.
Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta and his team will travel to Dubai for a mid-season break, having won just one of their last seven games.
Follow the SunSport live blog for all the latest happenings at the Emirates…
Arsenal would be forced to cash in on Eddie Nketiah or Emile Smith Rowe if they made a “big” signing in January.
The Mirror claims that Arsenal are looking at potential loan deals to bolster their defensive line.
But they have ‘no room for manoeuvre’ when it comes to spending big this month unless they make a sizeable sale.
That’s down to the fact that Arsenal have spent their allowance on transfers and simply cannot risk breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
William Saliba is grateful to have had a winter amid Arsenal’s struggles on the pitch.
The Gunners’ defeat to Liverpool was their third in a row and Saliba spoke after the game.
He told the BBC: “We have to stand together. We know we’re not at our most productive, but we probably won’t give up and we’re going to come back even stronger. “
“We’re going to work hard during this break and we’re going to take a breather. We will remain united and come back stronger and better.
It’s been an exciting start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, with battles at both ends of the table starting to heat up.
And as we move into the second half of the season, enthusiasts are wondering which part of the elite are betting on this weekend – SunSport has the explanation why.
A host of England’s star-studded Golden Generation have stepped into the dug-out as managers – but none of them are yet to win a domestic trophy in this country.
However, everything could change this season if Michael Carrick leads Middlesbrough to glory at Wembley.
The 42-year-old Manchester United legend, who has earned 34 caps for the Three Lions, and his Boro face Chelsea in the first leg of tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final at River.
Guiding the Championship side to the final would be another impressive accolade on the relatively still new to management Carrick.
He took over Boro just over a year ago with the club sitting 21st in the second tier and looking at relegation.
His only experience in the dugout was a three-game spell in 2021 at Manchester United, which led them to two wins over Villarreal and Arsenal and a draw with Chelsea.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for Ivan Toney this month but the striker is focused on helping Brentford.
He told Sky Sports: “Everyone knows Brentford is a family club, they have been nothing but amazing for me. I can’t thank them enough, especially the fans. They were behind me from the first minute as well. So it’s kind of like I have a lot to repay.
“With Brentford, they’re struggling at the moment, but I’m sure when I come back I’ll play an important role in getting them out of the debilitating situation they’re in. I can’t wait to go back and help. ” My teammates.
“Everybody at Brentford knows I will do my best to try and get the club out of the sticky patch we’re in.
“But there’s no pressure and even if there was, I wouldn’t feel it and that’s what drives me forward. Brentford, we’ve been here before and we know how to get out of it.”
Arsenal have set a asking price for Eddie Nketiah, according to reports.
The Gunners will ask for £30m for the striker, according to the Daily Star.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke are reportedly targets for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Any sale can simply be geared towards a bid for one of those futures contracts.
Mikel Arteta needs Aaron Ramsdale to stay at Arsenal, despite squandering his number one status.
But speculation continues to grow over his future and Newcastle have been seen as the clear favorites to sign the goalkeeper in the January window.
The Gunners have been on a dreadful run of form since then and it would appear the chances of Ramsdale being allowed to leave the club are pretty low, particularly having recently signed a new deal to keep him until 2026.
But if he is allowed to leave, Newcastle are the clear favorites and Sky Bet will sign him.
The Magpies are 3/1 having lost Nick Pope for four months to injury last month.
Wolves (10/1) and Nottingham Forest (12/1) are next, with the reports in December suggesting a bottom-half team had enquired about his services.
It may have also meant Chelsea back then and they have 14/1 to make a move.
Dortmund are second ahead of West Ham and former club Sheffield United with a 20-1 record.
Mikel Arteta admitted that signing a new striker in the January transfer window was unlikely, many Arsenal fans blamed three things – F, F, P.
FFP – or Financial Fair Play – is a concept originally introduced by Uefa in 2009, officially to prevent clubs from spending money they could not afford.
Yet many critics have rounded on the system, accusing it of being a protective instrument, drafted by the so-called “legacy clubs” to prevent insurgent and wealthier clubs from buying their way onto the top table.
The Premier League introduced its own FFP regulations which came into force for the 2013–14 season and which, although less stringent than UEFA regulations, have an impact on club spending.
Here’s how Havertz and Nketiah compare in the Gunners’ most sensible line.
The January transfer window is in full swing, with many Premier League clubs looking to arrive before the end of the season.
But some clubs may want to be more cautious than others due to FFP restrictions, and SunSport has all the details.
Arsenal are interested in signing Wolfsburg’s teenage centre-back David Odogu, according to the Daily Mail.
The 17-year-old will turn 18 in June and Wolfsburg are keen to keep him with the offer of a professional contract, but his mature performances are attracting a lot of attention.
Brentford, Chelsea and Leicester City would be interested in the youngster.
Chris Sutton believes playing Kai Havertz up top is only knocking the confidence of both the German and Eddie Nketiah.
He explained: “Kai Havertz is a footballer, but I think Mikel Arteta interprets him as the number nine, surely that kills him, destroys him psychologically.
“They gave him to play as a figure-eight. And this season he realized that when he plays as a figure-eight, he plays more freely, it turns out that he enjoys it more.
“So I think it was a big mistake by Mikel Arteta and anything I want to think about.
“What message does this send to Eddie Nketiah? If he’s desperate and plays Havertz as a number nine, what is Eddie Nketiah thinking?”
Mikel Arteta is “psychologically destroying” Kai Havertz, according to Chris Sutton.
Havertz, who arrived at the Emirates for £65m this summer, has been used both as a midfielder and a centre-forward by the Gunners boss this season.
And Sutton reckons that playing Havertz up top is only knocking his confidence and making him perform below the level he can.
Speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, he said: “I don’t think Mikel Arteta opting for Kai Havertz as a centre-forward or false nine will do the Arsenal team any good, and I don’t think it will do him as much good for the senior. Kai Havertz.
“I think psychologically, when he knows he’s playing as a centre-forward, it feels like he’s shackled. It seems that his shirt is too heavy for him.
“It looks like he’s procrastinating and delaying things, like he did a few times in the first half. “
Jude Bellingham hilariously trolled Jamie Carragher and Kate Abdo over their Team of the Year picks.
Bellingham was stopped through Richards and Scott after being controlled by Carragher.
The Liverpool legend joked when picking his midfield: “This is the easiest choice I have to make, I’m going to pick a young superstar from England, who has lit up the Champions League, it has to be only one man… Declan Rice.”
Bellingham kicked off and Richards sank into hysteria.
He continued with Carragher and Abdo for the first 3 formed by Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi.
Rivals Richards and Scott opted for Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland and Mo Salah.
With Bellingham in the squad and promised a “free role” in midfield through his fellow coaches, the Real Madrid star said the best of this team.
The 20-year-old then received Carragher’s biggest lead as he laughed at the fact that his first three lacked pace.
Bellingham joked, “I don’t think there’s enough strength there. . . You have to walk a lot. “
Carragher replied: “I’m telling you Jude, do a race with Mbappe and see what happens. “
Former Arsenal star Jermaine Pennant, Emile Smith Rowe on Kai Havertz
He told OLBG: “I don’t see any evidence that Havertz can change the situation. I wasn’t entirely inspired by his time at Chelsea.
“I know they struggled last season, but I don’t know how much time you have to give a player to impress you.
“Havertz is a smart player, that’s for sure, but I don’t see him as a better option than what Arsenal already have.
“I would say Smith-Rowe, when he’s fit, he’s a better player who contributes more. Are you a smart team player? Yes.
“However, I wouldn’t say Havertz is No. 10 or No. 9. “
Arsenal have started talks with Everton regarding the transfer of midfielder Amadou Onana to journalist Sacha Tavolieri.
Manchester United have a long-term interest in the Belgian, but Mikel Arteta will strengthen his midfield amid his team’s poor run of form.
Everton signed Onana for £33m last year and may ask for around £50m to let him go.
Emmanuel Adebayor ‘prays’ for Victor Osimhen to sign for Chelsea.
The former Arsenal striker told BBC Sport Africa: “He has the right attitude, mentality and determination to excel there [in England].
“I pray he joins the Premier League and shows what he is capable of.
“The Premier League is the toughest league in the world.
“Osimhen has already shown that and he did it in Italy. I think it’s the right time for him to move to England and update his idol Drogba and do wonderful things.
“He has everything he needs to make a decision and declare bankruptcy in England like Drogba. “
Gary Lineker left BBC pundits Danny Murphy and Martin Keown scratching their heads after making a “pretty awful” joke about live TV politics of the FA Cup third round.
Match of the Day host Lineker was presenting the broadcasters coverage of Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
He was joined by experts Martin Keown and Danny Murphy.
As expected for a cup tie between two English heavyweights, there were some famous faces in attendance in North London.
A panning camera of the Emirates crowd revealed that Take That frontman Gary Barlow was among the enthusiasts watching the match.
After seeing the pop singer, Lineker asked former Reds star Murphy if Barlow, 52, was a Liverpool fan, to which Murphy replied: “I think he is, yes. “
Lineker, 63, then took this opportunity to get a dad joke in, quipping: “But don’t take that as a given, how about that one?”
The joke of course, referenced Barlow’s career with boy band Take That, though it did not seem to impress his peers despite Lineker sitting back seemingly expecting a reaction of some kind.
Alan Shearer has expressed his astonishment at Mikel Arteta’s resolve on Leandro Trossard when Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool on Sunday.
He said: “They had Nketiah and Trossard on the bench and then they didn’t use them until very late, which surprised me.
“Whether you think they’re smart enough or not to get them where they need to go, they had the two of them on the bench and didn’t use them until very late. “
You can follow the FA Cup fourth round draw HERE.
Fans have suggested Mikel Arteta sign Dusan Vlahovic ahead of fellow strikers Ivan Toney and Dominic Solanke after the Serbian’s latest dramatic goal for Juventus.
Fans have now transferred their desires for major moves to Serie A star Vlahovic after his seventh Italian goal in the brightest flight of this season.
One of them posted: “We desperately want a striker like him. Neither (Gabriel) Jesus nor (Eddie) Nketiah will be that guy. “
Gabriel Jesus missed Arsenal’s match against Liverpool this weekend due to injury, and Mikel Arteta offered a post-match update.
In the build-up to the match, Arsenal showed that Jesus had missed the matchday squad due to a “small knee problem”.
After the match he said: “He had some pain in his knee, so we did a scan and it showed something.
“Hopefully it’s nothing serious, it’s the same knee I had [previously injured] so we can’t take any risks. I hope it doesn’t happen [a great blessing].
Bayer Leverkusen are keen to keep hold of Frimpong, though, the report adds.
What they do know, however, is that the buyout clause, which included the new deal he signed in October, has taken away their initial potential.
Frimpong has spent the majority of his career as a right-back but has largely been used further forward by Alonso this season.
In 22 appearances in all competitions, the Dutchman has scored seven goals and provided 22 assists.
Leverkusen, however, will stay in Frimpong, the report adds.
They know, however, that the release clause, which was included in the new deal he signed in October, has taken his potential exit out of their hands.
Frimpong has spent most of his career at right-back, but Alonso has used him extensively this season.
In 22 appearances in all competitions, the Dutchman has scored seven goals and provided 22 assists.
Arsenal have agreed to pay Jeremie Frimpong’s £34 million release clause, according to reports.
The Dutch foreigner has had both the Gunners and Manchester United in his sights in recent weeks.
He has been a key player for Bayer Leverkusen, so this season Xabi Alonso’s team was aiming for its first Bundesliga title.
However, Frimpong could be on the move come the end of the season.
Bild reports that Arsenal are willing to honour his £34 million release clause once it comes into force this summer.
Mikel Arteta fears his players have developed a mental block in front of goal after the defeat to Liverpool.
He said: “It probably is. Especially afterwards, rather than against Fulham or West Ham before that. That’s why I think we want to restart. “
“It’s very difficult. But if the team gets beaten, doesn’t play well and doesn’t deserve to win football games, I’d be a lot more worried. “
“I’m worried because I like to win and we have to win a lot more games. That’s what we want to replace and what we want to restore is here. “
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