10pm Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Wilfried Zaha wants to LEAVE Palace, Joelson Fernandes BLOW, Partey LATEST – The Sun
ARSENAL go into their final Premier League game of the season at home to Watford on Sunday knowing they have missed out on Champions League football.
But the Gunners are in an FA Cup final next weekend against Chelsea, which could land Mikel Arteta the first silverware of his managerial career.
And off the pitch we have the latest on the Thomas Partey and Mesut Ozil transfer sagas.
Get all the latest news and transfer gossip from North London here…
BERND FEELING BETTER
Bernd Leno has given hope to Gunners fans of his potentially faster than expected return from injury.
The Germany keeper posted a video of himself on Twitter getting some practice between the sticks.
The Arsenal stopper was feared to have suffered a serious knee injury following his collision with Brighton forward Neal Maupay in June.
However the Germany international has managed to avoid serious ligament damage.
And while the 28-year-old has returned to training he's unlikely to be available for the Gunners' FA Cup final clash against Chelsea.
VARANE'S THE MAN
William Saliba says he hopes to become Arsenal's answer to France icon Raphael Varane.
The Gunners starlet made a good impression during his loan spell at Saint Etienne, making 11 appearances for the club in France's top division.
Saliba, 19 told L'Equipe: “I want to do things like Raphael Varane, the best French defender: continue to break through levels, play for the French team and win all possible titles.”
The young defender is due to return to Arsenal after Saint Etienne failed to agree on an extension with the Gunners.
It means Saliba will miss out on the chance to play in the club's French Cup final game against Paris Saint Germain later this summer.
ARSENAL VS WATFORD STATS
- Arsenal have won five of their six Premier League home games against Watford (L1), keeping a clean sheet in each victory.
- In their 13 Premier League meetings with Arsenal, Watford have only scored the first goal of the game on one occasion, doing so in their 2-1 victory at the Emirates in January 2017.
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 14 final day Premier League games (W12 D2), winning the last eight in a row. Arsenal haven’t lost their final league game when being played at home since a 1-3 defeat to Spurs in 1992-93, winning 10 in a row on home soil since. [OPTA]
JOEL BLOW
Arsenal have been dealt a major transfer blow with wonderkid Joelson Fernandes on the brink of signing a new contract at Sporting Lisbon, according to reports.
The Gunners have been closely tracking the Portuguese superstar who is being compared to club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was even reported that Arsenal had launched a £13.6million offer to entice Fernandes to London.
Sporting have been desperate to keep hold of their rising star and were eager to extend his current deal expiring in 2022.
And talkSPORT claim how they have made a major breakthrough in talks and expect Fernandes to sign a new contract this summer.
It will come as a major blow to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta who has a limited transfer budget to work with in the summer.
BRING AND BALL'
Marca claim Dani Ceballos could be heading to Arsenal on a permanent deal.
The Gunners have to raise the £32million needed for the Real Madrid midfielder, who reportedly does no see his future at the Bernabeu.
Ceballos has broken into the Arsenal first team after Matteo Guendouzi irked Mikel Arteta with his pay cheque rant at Brighton’s Neil Maupay.
The centre midfielder, 23, has played 35 games for the Gunners this season and has earned the trust of his Spanish boss.
MUST MISS
Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi will miss the FA Cup final against Chelsea on August 1 because of a hamstring injury, the Premier League club said.
Mustafi, 28, sustained the injury during the closing stages of Arsenal's 2-0 semi-final victory against Manchester City at Wembley last week.
Arteta said: “Musti’s injury is related to this because we had to expose our players and had some really bad injuries in the last weeks where we lost big, big players – our goalkeeper, central defenders, Martinelli, central midfielders. It is what it is.”
The German defender has received plenty of criticism for his inconsistent displays for the north London club since his arrival from Valencia in 2016 but has enjoyed a renaissance under Mikel Arteta, starting 12 of their last 15 Premier League games.
Mustafi missed Arsenal's 2-1 win against Chelsea in the 2017 FA Cup final because of illness.
STONE-FORD BRIDGE
Chelsea could make a move for Manchester City defender John Stones this summer, according to reports.
After the signings of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and their pursuit of Kai Havertz, the Blues will turn their attention to strengthening their defence.
Stones’ name has been thrown into consideration by the Chelsea recruitment team and the England international is on the club’s list of defensive targets, according to website Football Insider.
The 26-year-old’s injury troubles have caused him to fall down the pecking order at the Etihad.
With Man City rumoured to be chasing a new centre-back this summer the ex-Everton man’s future looks to be in doubt.
The Toffees, Arsenal and Newcastle have all been linked with a move for Stones.
BERGKAMP VS OZIL
Arsenal fans are debating the Dutch legend's legacy at Arsenal vs that of Mesut Ozil.
What do we think of this, Gunners faithful?
RAYA SUNSHINE
Arsenal and Manchester City are plotting to poach £10m goalkeeper David Raya away from Brentford this summer, according to reports.
The highly-rated Bees stopper has been in scintillating form for the West London side amid their promotion push.
According to 90min, City boss Pep Guardiola has eyed Raya as a replacement for departing back-up keeper Claudio Bravo.
Bravo has had just one season as City’s No1 choice shot-stopper since joining from Barcelona in 2016 and the Gunners were said to be plotting a swoop.
Following the arrival from Ederson a year later, the Chilean international has been limited to just seven Premier League appearances in the last three campaigns.
But they will face a transfer tussle with Arsenal for Raya.
GOLDEN OLDIE
Ray Parlour enjoys saying cheers to viewers of his hilarious jagerbomb videos.
This time he's doing a jagerbomb, but instead of using Red Bull, he's using British ale Old Golden Hen.
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE
Bukayo Saka is reportedly torn between choosing to represent England or Nigeria.
The 18-year-old whizkid has attracted attention from both camps following his scintillating form at Arsenal this season.
He admits he would be “proud” to pull on a Super Eagles shirt in homage to his parents’ heritage.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s a tough choice,
“I’m happy to have represented England at youth level but I’m also proud of my Nigerian heritage from my parents.
“We haven’t been picked by any team so it’s about staying humble and when the time comes we’ll make the decision.”
MODEL PRO
Hector Bellerin has shared photos of his shoot with Louis Vuitton.
FOUR HORSEMEN
Arsenal have reportedly drawn up a four-man shortlist to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should the Gunners captain leave the club.
- Wolves Raul Jimenez
- Lyon’s Memphis Depay
- Lyon’s Moussa Dembele
- Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin
SCORING A JOEL
Arsenal have reportedly lodged a £13.6million bid for Sporting Lisbon winger Joelson Fernandes with the teenager seeking a move away.
The 17-year-old – who has featured four times for the senior side this season – could follow Bruno Fernandes in making a switch to the Premier League.
Dubbed the ‘next Cristiano Ronaldo’, the Gunners are keen to secure the services of the exciting forward.
SunSport reported in June how Arsenal were keeping tabs on the player, who is also being chased by LaLiga giants Barcelona.
And according to Portuguese news channel TVI 24, the North Londoners have stepped up their interest and have submitted a formal offer.
PREDICTED XI
Here is how SunSport predict Arsenal could line up against Watford tomorrow.
WILF HE OR WON'T HE
Arsenal are on red alert after Roy Hodgson admitted Wilfried Zaha wants to leave.
And Crystal Palace have given their star winger the green light to leave if the right offer comes in, according to the Times.
Hodgson said: “Wilf has made it clear, ever since I came to the club really, that he would relish a move and would like to move on and find some pastures new.
“But he's a very valuable player and the club realises his value and appreciates his value.
“So really everything will depend I guess – as it always does – what sort of offers the club is going to receive for him and how they will equate that with the need to keep him or the need, maybe, to satisfy his wishes, and allow him to go after giving good service to the club for a period of time.”
JOE MY GOD
Arsenal are reportedly ready to pay what it takes to land Sporting Lisbon whizkid Joelson Fernandes.
The 17-year-old is under contract until 2022, but Sporting have been trying to extend that to fend off interest from elsewhere.
On Saturday, Portuguese outlet A Bola reported Arsenal are set to make a £41m offer that will trigger the release clause in his contract, with the bid “imminent”.
And now they claim Arsenal are ‘crazy’ about the winger.
Joelson’s agent Kia Joorabchian is close to the Gunners and will be handling negotiations.
HOW ARSENAL COULD LINEUP VS WATFORD
The Gunners face the Hornets in their last Premier League game of the season tomorrow.
But with the FA Cup final against Chelsea coming up on August 1, Mikel Arteta has some selection dilemmas on his hands.
JEN-AMISCING
It's 17 years since Arsenal signed Premier League winning goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
MART MY WORDS
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is targeting Manchester United keeper Sergio Romero and Arsenal's Emiliano Martinez.
The Whites, promoted back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence, have made signing a goalkeeper their top priority.
Martinez in particular has been in stunning form for the Gunners since replacing the injured Bernd Leno.
The Argentine had previously struggled for game time at The Emirates until this season.
But having made such a big impression now, the 27-year-old could be tempted into a move to a club where he could become the established No1.
GOOD MORNING ARSENAL FANS
The end of the season is fast approaching and one man has been ruled out of Arsenal’s remaining games.
Having already lost defenders Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers to injury, the club will also be without Shkodran Mustafi.
The German will miss the final two games of the season with a hamstring injury he picked up in the Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City on Saturday.
Reinforcing the defence will certainly be important to Mikel Arteta this summer.
However, Manchester United have reportedly joined Arsenal in the race for Lille star Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Daily Record claims Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to sign a new centre-back this summer.
The 22-year-old Brazilian had a fine campaign with Lille as they finished fourth in Ligue 1.
But it’s Napoli who were believed to be leading the race after striking personal terms with Gabriel.
In terms of outgoings, finding a club to take Mesut Ozil off their hands will be key for the Gunners.
Fenerbahce reportedly want to pay Arsenal £52,000-a-week to help cover Mesut Ozil's wages and secure a loan move – despite the player earning SEVEN times that amount.
According to Marca, the Turkish giants want to try and seal a loan move for the 31-year-old, but can only afford to contribute a fraction of his wages.
They are prepared to pay £2.7million of Ozil's salary a year, but he pockets around £18m annually.
Ozil has one year left on his Arsenal contract and is adamant he will honour it.
MORE ART TO OUR ATTACKS
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta wants his side to bring in more creativity to unlock defences.
He said: “It is one of the challenges we are facing and one of the areas where we have to improve, for sure.
“Sometimes it is down to individual quality, but the whole structure is probably even more important in order to be a threat in the spaces that you want to attack.
“How consistent you are in maintaining those attacks also depends on the structure behind the ball.
“Everything is linked together and the players have to understand that.”
SHKODRAN'S FINAL JINX
Arsenal have confirmed centre-back Shkodran Mustafi is out of Sunday's Premier League finale at home to Watford AND the FA Cup final with Chelsea on August 1.
The Germany star hurt his hamstring in the 2-0 last -four win over Manchester City.
Mustafi also missed the 2017 FA Cup final – after suffering concussion the week before.
STADIUMS AT 25% CAPACITY NEXT SEASON
Premier League teams are likely to be without packed stadiums for at least another year as a result of coronavirus.
That’s according to leading government adviser James Calder, who told The Associated Press that only 25 per cent of capacity will be filled once arenas are able to open their doors to the public.
Since last month’s restart, all Prem teams have been playing games behind closed doors.
Fans have had to make do with watching matches on their TV.
And it was hoped supporters would soon be able to watch their favourite sides in action live.
However, Calder says it will be “very difficult” for Premier League sides to host full stadiums while there is no vaccine available.
And if the green light is given to arenas opening their doors, a maximum of just 25 per cent of seats will be filled.
UTD AND ARSENAL RACE TO BAG MAG
United have reportedly joined Arsenal in the race for Lille star Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Daily Record claims Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to sign a new centre-back this summer.
And he has apparently identified Gabriel as the man to partner Harry Maguire next season.
The 22-year-old Brazilian had a fine campaign with Lille as they finished fourth in Ligue 1.
And it’s believed Gabriel is available for a bargain £22.5million.
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