Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Patson Daka, Odsonne Edouard, Donyell Malen, Houssem Aouar
Follow all the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip for the Gunners
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Follow all the latest Arsenal transfer news, rumours and gossip as Mikel Arteta’s side continue to monitor a number of forwards ahead of the January transfer window.
RB Salzburg’s Patson Daka, Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard and PSV’s Donyell Malen have all been linked with the Gunners, who are still keen to add attacking firepower to their squad amid a creative drought in the side.
The £45m deadline day signing of Thomas Partey has, of course, had a significant impact on the club’s budget, but Arteta remains a huge admirer of Lyon’s Houssem Aouar, although the Gunners are now likely to face competition from Juventus and PSG next summer. Follow all the latest news below:
ARSENAL MONITORING DAKA
Red Bull Salzburg’s Patson Daka is being scouted by Arsenal and Manchester City ahead of a potential summer move next year according to SportsMole.
The 22-year-old forward has been in stunning form for the Austrian side this season scoring 12 goals in 11 appearances across all competitions.
Arsenal have been named as potential suitors for the Zambia international, with City looking for a new striker after the injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero.
Daka is contracted to Salzburg until the summer of 2024 so any deal for the striker will likely come with a hefty transfer fee which could potentially put off the Gunners.
'I TRIED MY BEST’
Mikel Arteta says he tried his best to reintegrate Mesut Ozil into the Arsenal squad but was left with no other otpion than to omit the 32-year-old from the side.
Here he explains the situation:
PEPE NEEDS CONSISTENCY
Nicolas Pepe showed his quality last night with a stunning strike to score Arsenal’s third goal against Dundalk.
Manager Mikel Arteta was impressed by the £72 million signing by now wants him to be consistent in quality in order to cement a place in the starting XI:
Mikel Arteta explains what Nicolas Pepe must do to become Arsenal regular
Arteta has preferred the likes of Willian and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as his wide forwards this season
GUENDOUZI ASKED OZIL FOR TRANSFER ADVICE
Matteo Guendouzi admits he spoke to Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil before his loan move to Hertha Berlin in the summer.
Guendouzi told Kicker: "I had a very good relationship with Mesut Ozil and Bernd Leno. Both of them told me a lot of good things about the Bundesliga."
He went on to add that he learned a lot from his time at the Emirates and hinted he may not be back after his loan spell is over saying:
"I played over 80 games there [at Arsenal] and had a good, intense time there. I learned a lot there in terms of sport and grew up there. It was two good years for me."
Mesut Ozil’s current contract with the Gunners runs out in the summer and Guendouzi may be joining him in the search for a new club.
RUNARSSON MAKES ARSENAL DEBUT
Alex Runarsson made his debut for the Gunners last night after signing for the club in the summer to replace outgoing goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
The 19-year-old had a quiet night against Dundalk but managed to keep a clean sheet in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory.
Alex Runarsson proud to make Arsenal debut in Europa League
Runarsson enjoyed a quiet night in goal as the Gunners cruised to a 3-0 win
SZOBOSZLAI ON GUNNERS RADAR
Arsenal are looking at Dominik Szoboszlai as an alternative to Houssem Aouar and a long-term successor to Mesut Ozil as the team's creative lynchpin, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The Red Bull Salzburg attacker has scored five goals and made seven assists in just 10 games this season.
Speaking on the Here We Go Podcast Romano said:
"The situation is that Arsenal [have been] following Szoboszlai [for] years.
"So, what we [can] say is that Arsenal’s scouting [department] are looking at the player. At the moment, there are no negotiations with [Salzburg].
"There are many clubs interested – he was one step away from joining AC Milan last summer.
"We will see [in] January, we will see next summer, what [Salzburg] will decide to do – because Szoboszlai wants to play in a top league.
“He’s in love with the Premier League, so let’s see what Arsenal will decide. What I’m told is that Arsenal are looking to sign this kind of player.
"They were looking [at Houssem] Aouar, they are now considering the situation of Szoboszlai.
"So, let’s see what will happen next summer or [in] January, but Arsenal are following the player.”
THE JOURNEY IS JUST BEGINNING
19-year-old Folarin Balogun apparently dropped a hint about his future at Arsenal after he was handed a senior debut by Mikel Arteta last night.
"They are going to see lots of energy, and I'd like to say lots of goals," the forward told the club's official website when asked what fans can expect from him. “But yeah, I think I'd like to carry my performances from the youth team into the first team.
"That's what got me here so it's important I carry on playing the way I do.”
FRINGE PLAYERS IMPRESS ARTETA
Mikel Arteta was impressed with the players on the fringes of his squad after their competent display against Dundalk in Thursday night’s Europa League match.
Players such as Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun showed their quality to the Arsenal manager who is considering his squad to play Manchester United at the weekend.
When asked in any of them are in contention to play Arteta says it all depends on their performances. He said:
“Yeah, they are always in the frame to play. It is not if we lose or win, it is what they bring to the team.
"We made it look easy because we were very disciplined, took it seriously and were at it from the beginning,
“We made a lot of changes, gave opportunities to other players and I think they performed well.
“We have a large squad and I wanted to give opportunities to everybody. They showed they were prepared when I need them and they made it more difficult for me for selection.
“Sometimes it is about the quality, sometimes it is about the tactical plan for the game. I am very pleased with the performance today.
“After losing the way we lost against Leicester it was painful. It took us a few days to react, but it was good to respond straight away with a win and now we go to Old Trafford and try to win again.”
AUBAMEYANG FORM CONCERNING
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s form has been concerning since the start of the new season.
He has scored just once in the Premier League and made only one further goal contribution and assist against West Ham in the second week of the campaign.
Aubameyang signed a new three-year deal during the summer to keep him at the Emirates, worth a reported £250,000 per-week.
The 31-year-old was tentatively linked with both Barcelona and Inter Milan, after proving his worth as a striker but is yet to hit those same heights this year.
With a clash against Manchester United on the horizon Arsenal will hope their captain and talisman can turn things around.
But, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock takes a different view. He says Aubameyang no longer has to prove his worth and that is the reason for his dip in form.
"What I will say is that since Aubameyang signed his contract he hasn’t looked the same sort of player as he did before he signed, a player hungry to prove his worth to suitors,” Warnock said.
“I’m just a little bit concerned about him. When you’re entering the final year of your contract you’ve got it all to play for.
“He knew what was at stake and how important he was to the club. He knew the cards were in his hands and he was the one in demand.
“A lot of teams would have snapped your hand off to get him with one year to go or wait for him to walk out on a free.”
PARTEY TALKS DEADLINE DAY MOVE
Arsenal signed Thomas Partey in a last minute move on deadline day and now the £45 million midfielder has explained how the move happened.
He told Sky Sports that he was unaware he was moving to the Premier League until late in the day.
“I was not thinking of anything, I was okay I was talking to a friend that I train with to go and train in the morning and then my agent called me,” he said
"He said 'no, we have to go to this place to sign this paper' in case we have to sign some papers for you and you are not there, we will sign for you.
“So in the morning we went there, we did that. Since we went out from the morning we could not come back home.”
Partey instead went to a restaurant with his agent and the chef there begged him not to leave Atletico Madrid. Partey explained:
"We went to a restaurant to eat and the chef was like 'don't leave us today', I was like 'what do you mean?'
"He was like 'today is the deadline day, do not leave us today'.
"And I think my agent knew something about that and was like 'nothing will happen don't worry'.
"So we went to sign the papers, we went to eat and I think they talked to Edu (Gaspar), and Edu said 'no, we have to do this today'.
“I was like 'how are we going to do this today?' And we had to go now, now, now to do medical and that's how everything happened.”
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