SETTABLOID

Arsenal are busy preparing for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup clash against Newcastle United as they seek a first major trophy since 2020.

The Gunners were left frustrated last time out in their 1-1 draw at Brighton in the Premier League. Had Arsenal come away from the AMEX Stadium with all three points, the gap would have only been four points to Liverpool at the top of the table.

The games are coming thick and fast for Mikel Arteta’s side, but attention will also be on the January transfer window. So far, there has been more business done with players leaving the club.

However, the Gunners continue to need reinforcements in attack following Bukayo Saka’s injury. Among the names being linked are Newcastle star Alexander Isak and Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic.

Other players being linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium are Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard and Bryan Mbeumo.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would like to sign Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams in this window, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein.

However, the financial demands the Gunners would have to meet make it highly unlikely for a move to happen before the January transfer market ends, and the Spain international is also not agitating to leave this month.

Williams has been involved in 34 goals since the start of last season, and Arsenal could do with such an attacker during the second half of the season.

The North Londoners could be without Bukayo Saka until March or April following surgery, and they need a quality replacement for the time being.

To get Williams this month, Arsenal have to pay his €60 million release clause in full and meet his personal demands, making a move very tricky.

A summer deal appears to be more realistic, and the Gunners may need to wait until then to get their man.

Arteta is a huge admirer of the Spanish winger given his versatility, pace and creativity, but he has to look elsewhere for the attacking reinforcement he badly craves from the look of things.

Williams is reportedly open to a Premier League move after a deal to join Barcelona fell through last summer, but the Gunners will have a fierce battle on their hands should they look to land him even next summer, with Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Liverpool also keen on recruiting his services.

Arsenal have been linked with a loan interest in Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson, but it remains to be seen whether the Seagulls are open to a deal.

Raheem Sterling has dropped an early team news hint ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Newcastle United. The Gunners will lock horns with the Magpies at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as they look to get the upper hand in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Arsenal will be eager to return to winning ways after they were held to a draw by Brighton on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Newcastle, who have won each of their last six games across all competitions, will be looking to pick up from where they left off after storming past Tottenham Hotspur.

Nevertheless, Sterling has posted pre-match graphic previews of the Magpies fixture to his Instagram story. Usually, this suggests that he’ll be involved in some capacity despite questions marks over his fitness.

Jurrien Timber and Jorginho have also done the same, hinting that they could start against Eddie Howe’s side. Speaking to reporters ahead of the heavyweight clash, Arteta confirmed that Ethan Nwaneri will miss the clash due to a muscle injury.

“Unfortunately, he has picked up an injury and he is going to be out for a few weeks,” said the Spaniard. “Yes. He didn’t really know to be fair. He said, ‘I am feeling something but I don’t really know what it is’.

“He has earned the right to step up and play for us and now he has started some games, some big games and impacted those games in the way he has done in different positions, too.

Arsenal will be without several members of their squad when they take on Newcastle in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

Mikel Arteta’s side host Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as they look to take a first-leg lead to St James’ Park next month. The Gunners defeated Crystal Palace in their quarter-final tie in December, with Gabriel Jesus scoring a hat-trick in the 3-2 victory.

This time, Arsenal will have several players on the sidelines due to injury for the clash against Newcastle. Arteta confirmed in his press conference on Monday that Ethan Nwaneri suffered a muscle injury in the Premier League draw with Brighton at the weekend, and will be unavailable for several weeks.

Kai Havertz has missed Arsenal’s last two matches against Brentford and Brighton due to illness. Arteta was optimistic that Havertz could return to the matchday squad against Newcastle but would not confirm if the German would be available or not.

Goalkeeper Neto will be unavailable for the match as he is cup-tied, having played in the competition earlier this season for Bournemouth before his loan to Arsenal. Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also unavailable due to injury.

Goalkeepers: David Raya, Tommy Setford.

Defenders: Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Kieran Tierney.

Midfielders: Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Mikel Merino, Jorginho.

Forwards: Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard.

Unavailable: Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Raheem Sterling (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Ethan Nwaneri (muscle), Ben White (knee), Neto (cup-tied).

Arsenal are weighing up a move for a £20m-rated midfielder, and while he has the green light to leave via a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, a sale could wreck his current club’s season, according to reports.

Mikel Arteta has stated Arsenal are attentive to opportunities in the winter window and won’t hesitate to make a move if the circumstances are right.

Many among the Arsenal fanbase are hopeful of a blockbuster addition to the forward line. Alexander Isak of Newcastle is the club’s No 1 striker target, though a January move is virtually impossible given the Swede’s £100m-plus valuation and Newcastle’s extreme reluctance to sell.

Instead, a new signing on the wings to provide cover for the injured Bukayo Saka could be on the agenda, while a fresh report from FootballTransfers states central midfield could be strengthened.

It’s claimed Arsenal have lingering doubts over the futures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho who are both over 30.

Speaking last week, Arteta revealed Arsenal don’t intend to discuss the futures of the midfield duo until later in the season. Partey (31) and Jorginho (33) are both in the final six months of their respective deals.

“I don’t want to start to have these conversations now, I want to have these conversations much later because the focus has to be on what we have to do in the season.

“It’s close communication with them to understand as well what their idea is, what they want to do, express as well our intentions and then let’s decide for everybody what is the best option there.

Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has insisted no club would be able to afford Alexander Isak amid transfer speculation links to Arsenal.

Isak has been on the Gunners’ radar since his Real Sociedad days and his stock has only risen since moving to the Premier League. The striker has scored 49 times in 88 games for the Magpies and has been in red-hot form this season.

After scoring four goals in the first 13 games, the Sweden international has scored in each of the last seven games, including a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Ipswich Town. He is currently just four games away from equalling Jamie Vardy’s record for the scoring in 11 consecutive games.

Isak netted the winner in Newcastle’s win at Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, sparking more speculation that he is the missing ingredient in Mikel Arteta’s team. The Gunners are in desperate need for a new attacker, even more so following Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Shearer has insisted that there aren’t many strikers better than him in the Premier League. “It’s him and Salah isn’t it, without a doubt,” he said when asked if he was the best striker. “[Erling] Haaland has been through a tough time but he’s always going to score goals.

“Isak is a fantastic centre forward, he offers you something different. He doesn’t mind going out wide, he doesn’t mind playing the central role and he is a very, very good goalscorer. He’s having a great time at the minute.

Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of Arsenal’s match with Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final. The Gunners’ manager has been dealing with a spate of squad issues in recent weeks.

Both injury and illness have hit the group. Kai Havertz missed out for the second successive match, was unable to train, and was sent home before the trip to Brighton. Martin Odegaard, also affected, couldn’t train and only made the bench, while Gabriel Martinelli joined him after suffering a knock following the clash with Brentford.

Ethan Nwaneri came off against Brighton at half-time. Unfortunately, the youngster will also be missing from this game and perhaps many more this month and beyond.

“Unfortunately, he has picked up an injury and is going to be out for a few weeks,” Arteta said, clarifying: “Muscular injury.”

He was asked about Nwaneri’s reaction to the injury. Interestingly the teenager seemingly didn’t really know how serious it was.

According to reports, Arsenal and West Ham United have ‘agreed a transfer’ involving Kieran Tierney, who has made his preference clear this month.

Tierney is not included in our list of the 20 best footballers who could become a free agent in the summer, but his long-term future is in doubt.

The Scotland international has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons as he’s dropped in the pecking order at Arsenal and The Athletic‘s David Ornstein revealed last month that he will leave in the summer.