ARSENAL are reportedly lining up a sensational deal involving Albert Sambi Lokonga plus £52.5million for Lazio talisman Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The Gunners' lack of depth in the squad was exposed during their disappointing 1-1 draw against Southampton.
And Arsenal are 'willing to do anything to secure the services of Milinkovic-Savic who could be the solution to their problems.
Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka is also on Mikel Arteta's transfer list for January.
But the Gunners boss could be keen on bringing Folarin Balogun back from loan first as the youngster has netted seven times in just 12 league games for French outfit Reims.
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Stay up to date with all the latest from the Emirates…
- Alex Smith
Ex-refs disagree on penalty shout
Mark Halsey and Dermot Gallagher disagreed on whether Arsenal should have got a penalty versus Southampton.
Gabriel Jesus collided with Duje Caleta-Car but nothing was given.
Gallagher said to Sky Sports it was "clumsy" but not a penalty, just a "tangling of legs".
But Halsey believed the decision "highlighted the inconsistency of decision-making by officials".
- Alex Smith
Gunners scoring more than Messi
Alexandre Lacazette has netted seven goals in Ligue 1 this season for Lyon.
Meanwhile, Folarin Balogun has also scored seven times – the youngster is on loan at Reims.
Lionel Messi has scored six times meaning two players with Arsenal links are ahead of the footballing legend in the league's scoring charts – who would've predicted that.
- Alex Smith
Patino impresses at Blackpool
Arsenal youngster Charlie Patino is out on loan at Blackpool.
And the talented midfielder is loved by his new club, who chant his name and he's swiftly become a fan's favourite.
Patino, 19, has been hailed as "sensational" by his teammate Jerry Yates.
He added: "“He deserves all the credit. Hearing the fans singing his song for 90 minutes I bet is surreal to be honest."
- Alex Smith
Guendouzi makes bold claims
Matteo Guendouzi further explained that his incident where he had an altercation with Neal Maupay was not the nail in the coffin regarding his Arsenal career.
He said: "Journalists used this excuse to say that we had a bad relationship and that’s why I stopped playing and left Arsenal [the Maupay incident].
"Not at all. It’s a gesture like many on the pitch. There’s a lot of tension sometimes, a lot of problems on the pitch. In any case, it has nothing to do with all that."
Guendouzi was rarely used after this incident but he claimed he put in a lot of "great performances" under Mikel Arteta.
- Alex Smith
Guendouzi explains why he left Arsenal
Matteo Guendouzi has explained why he felt he had to quit Arsenal.
He revealed his relationship with manager Mikel Arteta was not good and he did not want to sit on the bench.
The Marseille star said: "It’s true that I didn’t have the best relationship with him [Arteta].
"Beyond that, I always tried to work, always gave the maximum of myself in training and in matches. I still play a few matches with him, I still did great performances.
"He preferred other players and I respect that decision.
"That’s why, afterwards, I also decided to leave because I was still young, I needed playing time to continue to progress. The most important when you’re young is to play."
Credit: AFP - Alex Smith
Ramsey tips Arsenal for title
Former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey believes his old side have what it takes to win the Premier League title.
Ramsey told the Mirror: "I know Mikel [Arteta] from playing with him in my time at Arsenal.
You could always tell that he was going to become a manager one day.
"I got asked about this just as he moved to Arsenal, but I always knew that it would be a great decision for them.
"Now you're seeing him thrive, really, and Arsenal have produced some really good performance this season already.
"Obviously there's still a long way to go, but right now – at this moment – I'm really happy as an ex-Arsenal player and a fan still. For the fans, as well, it must be a really exciting time."
- Alex Smith
Official: Emery joins Villa
Unai Emery has become the new Aston Villa manager after they paid the £5.2million release clause in his contract.
He has left Villarreal after guiding them to the Champions League semi-final last season.
He has previously managed Arsenal, Sevilla and PSG.
The Spaniard, 50, replaces the sacked Steven Gerrard and will join on November 1 meaning he will NOT be in the dugout this Saturday against Newcastle.
- Alex Smith
Emery expected to accept Villa job
Unai Emery is set to become the new Aston Villa manager after they paid the £5.2million release clause in his contract.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that sources inside Villarreal, the club Emery is currently managing, are expecting him to walk away from the LaLiga side.
Talks are in their final stages, according to reports.
Emery managed Arsenal for a season and a half from 2018 to 2019.
- Alex Smith
Jesus reveals ref chat
Gabriel Jesus has revealed what he said to referee Robert Jones after he was denied a penalty.
The striker was bundled over after a coming together with Duje Caleta-Car.
Jesus told Arsenal's website what he said to the referee: "I don’t like to talk about the referee’s decisions, I just want to talk about our performance but sometimes it can change the game.
"I spoke with him straight after and he said: 'If you go down before, maybe I can give a penalty'.
But I think I was fair. I tried to hold, tried to keep standing, tried to finish the action but at the end he grabbed me and it was impossible, so I go down normally. But that is not the reason why we didn’t win the game."
- Alex Smith
Trossard wanted
Arsenal are keeping an eye on Leandro Trossard of Brighton, according to reports.
He has entered the last year of his contract and the Seagulls have the option for an extension but the Daily Mail claim the Gunners and Chelsea are both keen on signing the Belgian.
Trossard recently said that his future “completely depends on which club” comes in for him.
- Alex Smith
Arsneal desperate for Lazio ace
Arsenal are reportedly "willing to do anything" to land Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
That includes having youngster Albert Sambi Lokonga as part of a package deal with £52.5million.
Milinkovic-Savic, 27, is a wanted man as his contract expires at the end of next season.
The Serbian midfielder is set for crunch talks with the Serie A side to discuss his future.
He has netted four times and assisted seven in 15 games this season for the third-placed team.
Lazio are said to have slapped a whopping £105m price tag on their prized target.
- Alex Smith
Elneny coaches youngsters
Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny took time out of his day to visit the club's Under-16 side.
Elneny coached a session, according to Joerge Bird.
He has been applauded by Gunners fans.
- Alex Smith
Emery to make Villa decision
Ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery is set to choose between Aston Villa and staying at Villarreal.
Reports suggest that Villa are prepared to pay his £5.2million release clause.
Emery has just one year left on his contract at the LaLiga side who want for him to stay.
- Alex Smith
Winterburn says new players making the difference
Ex-Arsenal star Nigel Winterburn has said the additions that Mikel Arteta made to the squad and the fact he was given time to build his squad has resulted in the Gunners' great start to the season.
He told Paddy Power: "Arsenal's form this season is down to combination of Arteta’s coaching, as well as the signings of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus as well as William Saliba in essence.
"Last season, not being in European competition was ideal. it gave Arteta a lot more time to work with his players and now we're seeing the benefit of that.
“Arteta now completely has a team that he wants.
“We're now seeing the benefits of three quality players coming in, but also seeing the benefits of the time Arteta has had to work with the team.”
- Alex Smith
Xkaha praised by ex-Gunner
Granit Xhaka has been praised by former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn.
Speaking to Paddy Power, Winterburn said: “A lot of Arsenal fans used to be unhappy with Granit Xhaka and his performances.
"But he's a player who does a lot of work that goes very unnoticed.
“At times he was a little bit rash, but he changed positions slightly towards the end of last season, and now this season, he’s playing slightly more advanced.
"He [Xhaka] has a new lease of life and he seems to be enjoying his football.
"Did I ever think he would be captain again? No, I didn't. But that shows great courage from the manager and from Xhaka. He’s really shown his worth to the team.
“There will still be some that will prefer not to see him with the armband. But he's a huge player within the squad and he seems to have a big influence on a lot of players.
“At this point in time, I'm absolutely delighted for him that that he's shown he has great mental strength to turn things around and it's great that we are talking about him in such a positive way."
Credit: AFP
- Alex Smith
Emery back in Premier League?
Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been made the heavy favourite by the bookies to take over at Aston Villa.
Steven Gerrard was sacked as manager last week and Emery appears the most likely to replace him.
Emery guided Arsenal to a Europa League final before getting sacked and he was ridiculed by some Gunners fans.
However the Spaniard enjoyed success at Sevilla and PSG.
He is currently in charge of Villarreal – they made the Champions League semi-final last season in a shock run – but Emery may now leave.
- Alex Smith
Correct Decision?
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has claimed that official Robert Jones made the correct decision to not award Arsenal a penalty versus Southampton.
He analysed refereeing performances over the weekend and watched Gabriel Jesus' incident with Duje Caleta-Car.
Gallagher called it a "tangle of legs", "untidy" and "clumsy" but still sided with the referee that it was not a penalty and it was just a coming together not a foul.
Credit: Getty - Alex Smith
Arsenal want Liverpool star in shock move
Arsenal are one of a number of Premier League clubs monitoring Liverpool star Naby Keita's contract situation, according to reports.
90min claim the Gunners, Chelsea and Tottenham could all be interested in signing him on a free transfer.
Keita is set to leave Anfield at the end of the season when his deal expires.
- Alex Smith
Gunners Xmas schedule revealed
Arsenal face a horror fixtures list after being given all night-time starts in the Boxing Day and New Year TV slots.
Footy chiefs have finally confirmed telly fixtures for the day after Christmas.
The Gunners face a horror list after being given night-time starts in ALL THREE rounds of fixtures.
26th December – West Ham (H) 8pm KO – Amazon Prime
31st December – Brighton (A) 5:30pm KO – Sky Sports
3rd January – Newcastle (H) 8pm KO – Sky Sports
- Alex Smith
Arsenal wanted Martinez
Ajax chief Edwin van der Sar has stated that he told Arsenal that Lisandro Martinez was not for sale just weeks before he joined Man Utd.
Van der Sar said the club wanted to keep the Argentine at the club and fought hard to do so handing Arsenal what he described as a 'firm no'.
But Ajax's former boss Erik ten Hag swooped for Martinez as the Dutch club's stance softened.
Van der Sar also revealed he wanted Antony to stay another season but he forced the move so they had to sell.
- Alex Smith
Saints draw 'hurts'
Gabriel Jesus has revealed what the Arsenal dressing room was like after the draw to Southampton.
The striker has taken part of the blame for not finishing his chances.
He said: "Everyone was a little bit upset because we know we could win the game.
"We created a lot but we were not finishing good. I put me in that of course. I could have scored one or two – and then we win. It’s hard, it’s difficult, it hurts, but we have to wake up, improve and come back."
- Alex Smith
Gabriel Jesus vows to end goal drought
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus began life in North London in outstanding form scoring goals for fun early in the season.
But now the goals have dried up and he has not netted for five games – a long time for a striker of his quality.
However, the Brazilian remains confident his blank spell will end in the near future.
Jesus was asked why he hasn't found the net in recent weeks he replied: "I don’t know, I really don’t know. If I know I can tell you.
“But the only thing I can do is keep trying, keep fighting, keep improving.
"Like I said, I am here to score goals, I am here to help the team with the goals. I understand that. Of course, the goals are coming back soon."
Mikel Arteta admitted Gabriel Jesus should be feeling “disappointed” after his run.
- Kostas Lianos
Arteta laments Southampton draw
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has lamented two points dropped against Southampton, as he saw his team draw 1-1.
Arteta told Arsenal.com: “I have a feeling that we lost two points, especially with the way we started the game and the chances we had. When you look back at the chances, we should have come out on top.
“But we have to blame ourselves. I think the way we played in the first half and in the second half was very different, especially what we did in ball possession. We should have more courage, more consistency and be more reliable in ball possession and dominate the game better when we have total control of it.
“Today we should have won the game and sustained our level, which we haven’t done in the second half – and that we have to raise the level again.
“There are positives – if you can’t win, don’t lose it. Coming to any ground in the Premier League with the amount of games we are playing is very difficult – but we have to demand from ourselves to be better”
- Kostas Lianos
Prem match rescheduled
Arsenal's Boxing Day clash with West Ham could be pushed back by five hours in a blow to fans.
The London derby at the Emirates is currently slated to kick off at 3pm.
But according to The Daily Mail, the game is on the brink of being pushed back a few hours.
They claim negotiations over delaying the start time for the match are underway, with the clubs aware of the Premier League's eagerness to push back kick-off.
And the prospect of an 8pm kick-off is said to have been discussed by Premier League chiefs.
The Boxing Day schedule, however, has yet to be finalised – although the potential change of kick-off time will be a cause of concern for fans of both teams
- Kostas Lianos
Gabriel Jesus concern
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted Gabriel Jesus should be feeling "disappointed" he hasn't managed to score in his last five games.
Arteta said: "I’m sure today he will be disappointed knowing Gabi.
"He’s having the chances and he’s always there.
"It’s a shame he couldn’t put them away"
Credit: Getty
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