SETTABLOID

Arsenal have slapped an asking price of £100 million on William Saliba amid interest from Real Madrid.

The representatives of the Frenchman have held talks with the La Liga club as Los Blancos look to sign him during the next summer transfer window, and the Gunners are looking to hold on to him beyond this season.

Saliba sees joining Madrid as the ultimate dream of his career, and the prospect of playing with his international teammate and friend Kylian Mbappe appeals to the Arsenal star.

Madrid are short of centre-back options at the moment following key injuries to their best players in the position, and they are desperate to land the Gunners defender.

It will take plenty of money to convince Arsenal into parting with Saliba anytime soon, and it appears the Spanish club are ready and willing to make him the most expensive defender in history.

The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League, with 116 appearances to his name for the North London club.

Arsenal are challenging for the English top-flight title for the third campaign running after finishing second behind Manchester City in each of the last two seasons, and Saliba has been very crucial to their recent progress.

However, a move to Madrid will be very tempting given their status as the biggest club on the planet, and the Gunners may need to win a major silverware this term to have a chance of holding on to him.

They are currently challenging for the Premier League and Champions League having been dumped out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and Saliba will hope to help them win both competitions.

Victor Osimhen has shared a new update following reports that both Arsenal and Chelsea could make a summer transfer window swoop for the forward.

The Nigerian international failed to secure a mega-money permanent move away from Napoli last summer, forcing a loan to Turkey for the 2024/25 campaign as he joined Galatasaray until the end of the current season. Both Arsenal and Chelsea have held interest since last year, and a winter deadline day move was not out of the realms of possibility.

Osimhen has not wasted his year, though, scoring 17 goals in 23 appearances at the Turkish giants. With such form, he may hope big suitors continue to glance in his direction ahead of this summer’s transfer window. Indeed, The Chronicle reported over the weekend that Newcastle United are set to be offered the chance to sign Osimhen again this summer, after baulking at Napoli’s £113million asking price last year.

The forward will be available for £60million this summer, however, and tht could also tempt Arsenal and Chelsea to bid for him. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old was unable to get himself on the scoresheet of his team’s latest Turkish Super Lig fixture.

That wasn’t entirely his fault after opponents Adana Demirspor walked off the pitch in the 30th minute of their clash on Sunday. The bottom-of-the-league side were unhappy with a penalty awarded to Osimhen’s team, Alvaro Morata took and scored it, then they protested until the match was called off.

Afterwards, the striker made a caption-less post to Instagram of key highlights from the brief run-out he and his teammates had instead of a full fixture. With no outcome decided for this chaotic mess yet, Galatasaray issued a public statement: “On Sunday, February 9, 2025, prior to, during, and following the match between Galatasaray and Adana Demirspor, our club has made the necessary applications to judicial authorities to shed light on the processes experienced.

Arsenal are presently in Dubai for warm-weather training, and they could be handed potential injury boosts ahead of their return to the United Kingdom later this week.

The Gunners travelled with injured trio Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Ben White, and they have provided an update on the England international forward.

Saka is stepping up his rehabilitation and recovery in the gym, and Arsenal have taken to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share pictures of their academy graduate working hard.

The 23-year-old picked up a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace on December 21, undergoing surgery some days later, and it is good to see him finally doing some work.

Arsenal were initially hoping to have Saka back in training by the final week of February with a view to having him available to play in March, but his lay-off could extend into April as he has yet to return to individual training.

He has missed the last 12 games across all competitions, and the Gunners have dropped four points in the title race and have been dumped out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in his absence.

They return to Premier League action on Saturday with a trip to King Power Stadium to face Leicester City but could find themselves nine points behind leaders Liverpool should the Reds beat Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday.

Arsenal will continue to challenge across both the Champions League and Premier League going forward this term, but being Saka could be a blow to their chances, and manager Mikel Arteta will be praying he returns to action sooner rather than later.

Injuries have affected the Gunners all through this term and failure to strengthen the team during the January transfer window could have a negative impact on their squad depth.

Benjamin Sesko has reminded Arsenal exactly why he’s one of the most coveted strikers in Europe. The 21-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium in the summer before opting to sign a new contract with RB Leipzig instead.

Sesko, who sees his deal at the Red Bull Arena expire in June 2029, has featured 20 times in the Bundesliga this season, scoring nine goals and providing three assists. Playing a key role in Marco Rose’s side, the Slovenia international has fired Die Roten Bullen to fourth in the table.

His impressive performances in the German top flight haven’t gone under the radar, attracting interest from some big clubs in Europe – including Arsenal.

It’s said that he could leave RB Leipzig at the end of the season, with a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ in place. At the weekend, Sesko reminded Arsenal exactly why they wanted to sign him, netting his 100th career goal in a 2-0 win over St. Pauli.

RB Leipzig caught St. Pauli on the counter-attack after a brilliant save from Péter Gulácsi. Xavi Simons carried the ball into the opposition’s half before playing a perfectly weighted pass behind the opposition’s backline and into Sesko’s path.

For a player that Arsenal were willing to get rid of, Granit Xhaka’s rise to being so irreplaceable by the end of his final season is all the more remarkable. It is a credit to himself and Mikel Arteta that things ended as well as they did.

Since his exit in July 2023 Arsenal have done plenty to try and fill the void. First, it was Kai Havertz, picked to operate initially as a left-sided No.8 crashing into the box but offering the technical skill from deep to dictate play.

Havertz’s change as a player hasn’t led to Arteta being able to rely on him regularly from deep. Declan Rice moved from the base of midfield, leaving Jorginho and Thomas Partey as the more orthodox No.6 metronome, and then Mikel Merino was signed.

His first six months or so in England haven’t shown too many signs to suggest he will be the replacement for Xhaka that Arteta is looking for either. Granted that what he is asking his left-sided No.8 to do is different to in the 2022/23 season, the balance is still necessary between defence and attack with physicality and some goal production.

Mikel Arteta, his team, and the Arsenal players are all enjoying some time away from the everyday pressures of English football. It is much needed.

With a free week and the chance to recharge the batteries before an end-of-season push over 14 Premier League matches and then the return of Europe, it is a true blessing. Following on from the disappointment of crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Newcastle United, a trip to Dubai only seems appropriate.

It was this voyage last winter that sparked a dramatic uptick in form and confidence. Arteta knows that anything but a repeat will leave his side stagnating for the season.

Lewis-Skelly noticed

Thomas Tuchel and his England staff are already making plans to callup Myles Lewis-Skelly for the March internationals. It is claimed that he is being closely monitored by the new Three Lions boss despite being yet to feature for the Under-20 or Under-21 side.

Lewis-Skelly has raced through the Arsenal academy setup and is now an undroppable first-team feature for Arteta. He has been tipped to be part of the 2026 World Cup squad after recent form.

Just over 12 months ago, Arsenal used domestic cup frustration to their advantage. During a two-week warm weather training camp they regrouped and went on to win eight league matches in a row.

The run extended to 11 unbeaten and 16 wins from the final 18 games. It wasn’t enough to clinch the title but it was ample to ramp up serious pressure on Manchester City, forcing them to be near perfect as well.

In order to go one better than consecutive second-place finishes, Mikel Arteta knows that his team will need to be just as good in the final three months of this season. Coming off the back of a disappointing Carabao Cup exit to Newcastle United, the side have once more decided to make the most of the schedule.

Having left on Thursday, Arsenal are now back in Dubai. Owing to their FA Cup third round defeat to Manchester United last month, Arteta and his side have room to decompress before returning for a big push towards the exit.

They recaptured their form and 2022/23 creativity in the burst after a trip to the Middle East last year and must now do the same. Albeit with less time to tan in the sun, the FA Cup weekend has provided them with an out.

It has also given Arteta some room to breath. He has come in for criticism both for his recruitment influence and decisions and also the results, especially when in the domestic cups.

Arsenal are watching the FA Cup fourth round fixtures from the comfort of their training camp in Dubai as they prepare for the Premier League match against Leicester City next weekend.

The Gunners fell out of the competition on a penalty shootout against Manchester United in the third round. However, it means that Arsenal can make the most of a free weekend.

Taking a watching brief on games could also help Mikel Arteta assess some of his possible summer transfer targets ahead of the window opening at the end of the season. One of those could be Wolves forward Mathus Cunha.

Arsenal are one of the teams linked with an interest in the 25-year-old who has been a standout player for Wolves this season. He appeared to put an end to the speculation over his future by putting pen-to-paper on a new contract at Molineux.

It is however said that the deal contains a £62 million release clause, giving Arsenal and their rivals a chance of completing a summer deal – especially if Wolves are relegated at the end of the season.

Wolves are one of the teams in FA Cup action this weekend as they take on Championship side Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in Sunday’s early kick-off. Cunha was named in the starting line-up by Vitor Pereira.