Arsenal’s Premier League title charge has been revitalised thanks to results since the winter break – but that hasn’t taken the focus fully away from transfers.
Following Sunday’s stunning 6-0 win away to West Ham, the Gunners will look to make it five wins in a row when they travel to face Burnley on Saturday. In the meantime, though, Mikel Arteta is assessing his squad with an eye on next season and the arrival of a new striker has been heavily mooted amid doubts over the durability of Gabriel Jesus and quality of Eddie Nketiah, who’s seemingly fallen further down the pecking order when it comes to leading the line.
Here’s a round-up of the latest news from the Emirates.
Arsenal ‘losing patience’ with Havertz
Kai Havertz is expected to be put up for sale by Arsenal this summer, according to reports in Spain. It’s claimed by Fichajes that Havertz, who joined the Gunners for £65million last summer, is beginning to test Arsenal’s patience.
The German forward’s lack of attacking output and struggles in adapting to Mikel Arteta’s style of play are cited as the two reasons, but it’s added that previous admirers Real Madrid aren’t willing to cough up the Gunners’ asking price of a similar fee to what they paid Chelsea. Havertz, 24, has failed to score since the turn of the year.
Ferdinand warns Toney over Arsenal move
Rio Ferdinand has warned Arsenal transfer target Ivan Toney that he’ll need to keep a lid on his confidence should he eventually get a big-money move to the Emirates. Brentford striker Toney raised eyebrows on Saturday after saying in jest that manager Thomas Frank doesn’t want him at the club next season due to his contract only having one year left and several clubs interested.
When Ferdinand was told by one of his podcast co-hosts that the 27-year-old England hopeful has ‘next-level confidence’ and believes that ‘no-one can chat to him’, the former Manchester United defender replied: “He won’t last long then. I don’t think that is him, but if he goes into the dressing room, a strong dressing room like Arsenal, and thinks, ‘No-one can chat to me’ – that’s where the dressing room will be tested.”
Ramsdale hints Nwaneri sub was Jorginho’s idea
Aaron Ramsdale has suggested that it was Arsenal teammate Jorginho who helped persuade boss Mikel Arteta to bring 16-year-old Ethan Nwaneri on for a late cameo during Sunday’s 6-0 win at West Ham. Midfielder Nwaneri made only his second appearance for the Gunners when he replaced Gabriel Martinelli after 77 minutes.
“The players on the bench [were] whispering, ‘Ethan in’ – which is a great thing to hear,” Arteta revealed post-match. Now on Instagram, Ramsdale has hinted that it was Jorginho making the case.