SETTABLOID

Arsenal are reportedly taking a hard-line stance on defender William Saliba amid growing interest from Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old has gone from being a player many felt would never be given his chance at Arsenal to one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Saliba and team-mate Gabriel have formed an effective partnership at the back for the Gunners and his performances have not gone unnoticed.

Real Madrid have been keeping tabs on the France international for some time now but it seems it will be difficult to lure the centre-back away from the Emirates any time soon.

Arsenal are expected to ‘block’ Saliba’s potential exit, as Los Blancos wait in the wings.

The centre-back is considered a ‘crucial’ part of Mikel Arteta’s plans for the future and will not allow him to leave the club under ‘any circumstances’.

They are in a position of strength as his contract runs until 2027 but the north London team are working on extending his stay to put them in an even stronger position.

In a clear act of mercy for our current injury plight, the footballing gods (and Spain manager Luis De La Fuente) saw fit to rest both Raya and Merino last night, as Spain beat Switzerland in what sounds like quite a compelling match. I wouldn’t know; international football and all that…

Tonight the gauntlet is run by Havertz and Timber and the hope must be that Havertz is rested, given that Germany have won their group, so there’s no need for any regulars to start tonight away in Hungary. Let’s see if Nagelsmann is as kind to us as De La Fuente was last night. I have my hopes.

Less so for the Netherlands, although they too are qualified with a draw over Bosnia and Herzegovina, so maybe Koeman might cut us some slack by letting Jurrien have the night off. I won’t count on it though.

Arsenal have been told to explore the possibility of signing Darwin Nunez.

The Gunners have long been linked with a new No.9, with the likes of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres among the names linked with a move to north London in recent windows. Kai Havertz is the club’s first choice striker at present, with Gabriel Jesus currently second choice behind the Brazilian.

There are question marks over the duo’s finishing ability, however, and this has led to speculation linking Arsenal with a new frontman.

Arsenal explored a number of striker options in the summer, with interest in Benjamin Sesko and Newcastle’s Isak but no move was ever pursued. It’s possible the area is revisited in January, although it’s believed the club is likely to be reactive rather than proactive in the market.

Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere believes his old side are lacking a striker who can run in behind, with Aliadiere naming Liverpool star Nunez as his dream forward.

Arsenal are reportedly preparing to offer as much as €90million for the transfer of Barcelona winger Raphinha following his superb form this season.

The Brazil international took some time to settle at the Nou Camp after joining Barca from Leeds a couple of years ago, but he’s now one of their most in-form players.

Raphinha currently has an impressive tally of 12 goals and eight assists in 17 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions this season, and one imagines they won’t be keen to let him go any time soon.

The report goes on to say that Barcelona view Raphinha as a hugely important player, so it remains to be seen how realistic this will be for the Gunners, even if fans will appreciate the ambition.

Raphinha transfer could take Arsenal to the next level

Arsenal haven’t quite been at their best this season, and a signing like Raphinha looks like exactly what they need to move up a level under Mikel Arteta.

The Spanish tactician has built a solid defence and midfield in this Arsenal squad, but they’re a little overly reliant on Bukayo Saka in attack, and lack another player who can really give them some spark in tight games.

Raphinha looks like just that kind of profile they’re looking for, with the 27-year-old also having the benefit of having shone in the Premier League in the past during his time at Leeds.

Arsenal are busy preparing for the return of Premier League football this weekend after the international break.

Saturday will see the Gunners face Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium as they return to top flight action following the final two-week hiatus of the calendar year.

Mikel Arteta will be forced to prepare for the game against Forest with several members of his squad on the sidelines through injury.

Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are among the list of players who have emerged as injury concerns either just before or during the November international break.

Arteta will provide a full update on his squad’s fitness when he speaks to the media in his pre-match press conference later this week at London Colney.

Other than Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were keen to recruit Mikel Merino in the summer. Real Sociedad also expressed a desire to retain him for the 2024-25 season, following his impressive performance last season and during the European Championship with Spain.

Merino struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League when he was with Newcastle, with suggestions he was homesick that 2017-18 season he was at St. James Park. Given that Merino had found his groove in La Liga with Real Sociedad and even attracted the interest of the league’s top teams, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, one might wonder why he would return to the Premier League.

In the end, Merino was adamant about joining Arsenal; Barcelona’s pull couldn’t persuade him to join them, and Sociedad couldn’t convince him to stay. So what ultimately persuaded the Spaniard to switch to Arsenal?

Leandro Trossard is the latest Arsenal star to hand Mikel Arteta a significant injury worry. The Gunners have been plagued by key absences this season with doubt currently surrounding Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Ben White and now Trossard.

Before the November international break, Saka and Rice left the Premier League clash against Chelsea with injuries. Rice was already a major doubt heading into the London derby and later pulled out of England duty having lasted just 67 minutes at Stamford Bridge.

Saka was subbed off just over 15 minutes later and has also been recovering at London Colney over the two-week domestic pause.

All three are now seemingly doubts to feature against Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium this Saturday and now Trossard is firmly in that category. During Belgium’s shock Nations League defeat to Israel on Sunday evening, the 29-year-old was withdrawn because of injury after just 37 minutes.

Arsenal are set to hold talks with the agents of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic ahead of a potential January move.

Mikel Arteta is keen to bolster his squad with a new prolific striker who can compete with Kai Havertz and rival Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in the scoring charts.

As a result, the Serbian international’s agents have begun talking to clubs, mainly non-Italian ones, to gauge the interest in his signature.

We understand that discussions are set to take place between Vlahovic’s entourage and English teams in the coming days and Arsenal are one of the clubs set to meet with them.

Sources say that the Gunners are the club are at the front of the queue for Vlahovic and they intend to keep a close eye on his performances ahead of the January transfer window.

Arsenal are keen on attempting to ‘repeat’ the operation which saw Martin Odegaard join the Gunners on loan from Real Madrid in 2021, according to reports.

The north London club have had a shaky start to the new Premier League season with Arsenal winning just five of their first 11 matches.

Arteta’s fourth-placed side are now nine points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool with the Reds making a fast start to the new season, while defending champions Man City are four points ahead in second.

Arsenal have not won in their last four Premier League matches as they struggle to stay in the title race and now there are rumours about who Mikel Arteta could bring in to improve his side.

The Gunners have only been able to call upon captain Odegaard for four Premier League matches this season and they are looking for some cover for the Norwegian.

And reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid attacking midfielder Arda Guler ‘could join’ Arsenal in January as the Turkey international continues to get frustrated about his game time.

The Premier League side ‘want to repeat what they did with’ Odegaard in 2021 with Guler after Arsenal brought the Norway international in initially on loan before making the deal permanent six months later for around €40m.

Guler, who starred at Euro 2024 for Turkey, is ‘seeing his talents remain on the back burner due to the lack of opportunities under the management of Carlo Ancelotti’.

Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva has given his thoughts on Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes for this season. The one-time Premier League winner hopes they can recover from their recent run of bad form.

Mikel Arteta’s side have only won one game in their last five in all competitions, coming in a 3-0 victory against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup. The Gunners return after the international break sitting fourth in the table – nine points behind leaders Liverpool.

Points are a must for Arsenal in the coming weeks if they are to stay in the title race. Silva, who was part of the 2003/04 Invincibles side, spoke to give his thoughts on where the Premier League title might be heading.

Obviously you create an expectation that this can be Arsenal’s year,” the Brazilian said. “That has not been so easy for them. They have lost some important points but have faced some tough opponents. Hopefully they can recover that.

“It’s not going to be easy because Liverpool are back. They are in good form with [Arne Slot] and the players are responding so well on the field. Before, people are thinking so much about [Manchester] City. Of course, City are a good team and they are going to be there fighting again.”

So far this campaign, Arsenal have come away with 2-2 draws from their fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City. Arteta has also dealt with several injuries and suspensions that have disrupted numerous team selections.