Arsenal news LIVE: Fresneda transfer race, next season's kits 'LEAKED', Balogun urged to QUIT England for America | The Sun
ARSENAL are back in the race to sign Real Valladolid star Ivan Fresneda according to reports.
However, the Gunners face competition from Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Newcastle who are all reportedly after Fresneda's signature.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's kits for next season have been 'leaked' online – and Gunners fans are NOT happy by the rumoured shirts.
And Folarin Balogun has been urged to switch his international allegiances from England to become America's new poster boy.
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- Jack Figg
Morning, Arsenal fans
The Gunners could make a "monstrous" bid for Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund – even though Gabriel Jesus is on course to return next month.
That's the stand-out gossip amid reports Arsenal remain favourites to sign Declan Rice and Youri Tielemans.
Of course, nothing decisive can happen on the transfer front until the summer window.
But It's claimed in Italy the Gunners and Real Madrid are considering offers for 6′ 4″ star Hojlund.
Calciomercato say the 20-year-old's Serie A club want at least £44million as the Dane is under contract until 2027.
There's more talk of Arsenal remaining in pole position for West Ham's England ace Rice.
And it's also suggested the Gunners are still keen on Leicester's Tielemans, although Manchester United are said to have renewed their interest in the Belgian.
It comes as Mikel Arteta's table-toppers prepare to visit the Foxes in the Prem on Saturday.
Wideman Emile Smith Rowe is understood to have trained well for the past two days following fitness issues.
And perhaps more importantly, Arteta is delighted with Jesus' progress following knee surgery that's ruled the Brazilian out since December.
The Spaniard said: “He’s on the pitch, he’s been doing quite a lot of work on the ball already and so far his rehab is going well.”
- Ian Tuckey
You must be Jor-king
Jorginho has endeared himself to Arsenal fans with a hilarious reaction to being asked about rivals Tottenham.
The former Napoli and Chelsea midfielder was asked about the North London rivalry between the two clubs.
Speaking to DAZN, the 31-year-old replied with two brutal words in reference to Spurs’ Champions League Round of 16 tie versus AC Milan.
Jorginho replied: “Forza Milan. The matches with Tottenham are those Arsenal fans look forward to the most. I am sure they will all support Milan.”
- Ian Tuckey
Gunners tipped to get hands on Dec
Arsenal have emerged as frontrunners to sign Man Utd transfer target Declan Rice after talks with the player’s representatives, reports say.
The England international has been linked with a move away from relegation battling West Ham.
And according to Football Insider, his team have held talks with Arsenal over a move.
The league leaders have long been in the market for a midfielder to partner Thomas Partey, 29.
And after missing out on Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, 21, they settled for a £10million deal for Jorginho, 31, from Chelsea.
But Rice, 24, would act as a long-term solution, with the star ready to target Champions League football.
He has also been linked with Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool.
- Ian Tuckey
Tielemans tipped for Emirates
Arsenal are again rated favourites for Youri Tielemans, who has also been linked with Manchester United.
Football Insider claim the Gunners are best placed to sign the Leicester midfielder, despite reported interest for the Belgian from Barcelona and Newcastle.
The Foxes still hope the 25-year-old will sign a contract past June.
But Tielemans is expected to eye a free transfer move after two years on the radar of top Prem rivals.
- Ian Tuckey
Mudryk 'not in good mood' after snubbing Gunners
A Shakhtar Donetsk supremo claims Mykhailo Mudryk is unhappy at Chelsea.
Sporting director Darijo Srna also joked the Ukrainian giants would buy him back after the war with Russia – just a month after Chelsea beat Arsenal to the £88m winger.
Mudryk has yet to taste victory, nor supply a goal or an assist, for the 10th-placed Blues.
And Srna told the Football Ramble podcast: “The market decided the price, not me or our president.
“Mudryk is one of the best players in Europe in his position after Mbappe or Vincius then it’s Mudryk.
“He’s from our academy, an amazing kid, an amazing player.
“Unfortunately, at Chelsea now he’s not in a good mood… but he has all the qualities to be one of the best players in the Premier League in the next couple of years.”
Srna added cheekily: “It’s no problem, we will buy him back after the war.”
- Ian Tuckey
‘Bukayo more important than Marcus'
Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn says he would start Bakayo Saka in front of Marcus Rashford in any team he was in charge of – but it is a close call.
Both England forwards have been in scintillating form since the World Cup, Saka for the Gunners and Rashford for Manchester United.
When asked which one he would go for, Winterburn told OLBG: “I think it’s a bit disrespectful to say which one you would rather pick.
“But I’m an Arsenal man, so I’m going to take Saka because I’ve seen his development and what he can do.
“There were questions over Rashford at the start of the season whether he could be the main man for Manchester United.
“But since the World Cup we are seeing a player who is on a hot streak.
“He’s up there with the in-form players – if not the most in-form player in the world right now.”
- Ian Tuckey
Jor my friend now, Granit
Jorginho has gone from having a “few fights” with Granit Xhaka to rating him a “really nice guy”.
The midfielders were fierce rivals until Jorginho switched from Chelsea to join Xhaka at Prem leaders Arsenal last month.
And the Italy star revealed he’s changed his opinion over the Swiss battler.
Jorginho, 31, told beIN Sports: “Yes I’m happy. We had a few fights on the pitch before but outside the pitch he’s a really nice guy and we have good laughs now.
“Outside the pitch I asked him the other day where I could go for dinner around here and he booked me and didn’t let me pay, so thanks very much for that.
“He’s a really nice guy and I’m glad I can see this other part of him.”
- Ian Tuckey
Emile fitness boost
Emile Smith Rowe's injury problems could be easing.
The three-cap England midfielder, 22, is thought to have trained well on Monday and Tuesday.
And although he'll struggle to break into the starting line-up for the table-topping Gunners, a fully-fit Smith Rowe would be a major boost for Mikel Arteta's squad.
- Ian Tuckey
Man Utd & Arsenal linked to Mount
Chelsea's Mason Mount could be a summer target for Manchester United and City plus Arsenal and Liverpool.
That's the claim from The Athletic's David Ornstein amid suggestions the England midfielder is far from reaching an agreement over a new Blues' contract.
Ornstein believes Juventus might also be monitoring the Stamford Bridge academy product, 24.
The journalist reckons it's unlikely Mount wants £300,000 a week as claimed in some quarters.
But it's thought a sticking point could be Chelsea's keenness to tie the playmaker to a contract of six to eight years.
- Ian Tuckey
Gunners eye 'monstrous offer' for Rasmus
Arsenal are tipped to fight Real Madrid for Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Italian outlet La Repubblica, via Sport Witness, claim the Gunners are "closely monitoring" the 6' 4" Denmark star.
But Calciomercato say his Italian club would only consider offers of at least £44million for the 20-year-old, who is under contract until 2027.
That's led Repubblica to suggest Arsenal and Real are ready to make a "monstrous offer".
Credit: Rex - Ian Tuckey
Arteta pleased with Jesus progress
Gabriel Jesus is tipped to return next month as Mikel Arteta hailed the Arsenal' striker's fine progress after knee surgery.
The Brazilian has been out since returning early from the World Cup injured.
But football.london claim the former Manchester City star is just weeks away from returning.
And asked about the 25-year-old's condition, Gunners' boss Arteta said: "Doing really well.
"He’s on the pitch, he’s been doing quite a lot of work on the ball already and so far his rehab is going well."
- Ian Tuckey
Computer says yes to Gunners
Arsenal will win the Premier League title after their dramatic win over Aston Villa, according to a predicting Supercomputer.
The Gunners secured a 4-2 victory with two late goals before title rivals Manchester City surprisingly drew to Nottingham Forest.
The weekend’s results mean the number-crunchers over at bettingexpert and their prediction model BETSiE believe that Arsenal will win the title in May.
This comes despite Pep Guardiola’s side securing an important 3-1 win over the North Londoners just last week.
Arsenal currently sit top of the table by two points with a game in hand over City.
BETSiE also believe that Manchester United will fall short of the title by around ten points despite their blistering form.
- Ian Tuckey
Gunners still in front over Declan?
Arsenal have emerged as frontrunners to sign Man Utd transfer target Declan Rice after talks with the player’s representatives, reports say.
The England international has been linked with a move away from relegation battling West Ham.
And according to Football Insider, his team have held talks with Arsenal over a move.
The league leaders have long been in the market for a midfielder to partner Thomas Partey, 29.
And after missing out on Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, 21, they settled for a £10million deal for Jorginho, 31, from Chelsea.
But Rice, 24, would act as a long-term solution, with the star ready to target Champions League football.
He has also been linked with Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool.
- Ian Tuckey
Fola your dream
Arsenal prodigy Folarin Balogun has been told to snub England and instead become America’s new poster boy.
USA legend Eric Wynalda says that the forward can be the man to fire his country to glory.
And he is adamant that the US Soccer Federation should be promising him all-sorts of endorsements and incentives to get him to turn his back on England.
Speaking to The Action Network’s Wondergoal Podcast, Wynalda, who scored 34 goals in 107 caps, said: “If we get Folarin Balogun him we solve a lot of problems.
“I’m impressed with everything about him. The power that he has, the timing of his runs.
“We have to appeal to his ego which is the reality of this. We should let him know that he will be a star.
“An absolute star
- Ian Tuckey
Luiz theatrics as good as ever
David Luiz was back up to his theatrical antics to get a rival player sent off – despite kicking him first.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal defender, 35, is back in his homeland of Brazil playing for Flamengo.
And he proved he still has his pantomime villain role nailed down with his latest piece of drama.
Flamengo were trailing 1-0 to Independiente del Valle in the first leg of their Recopa Sudamericana final.
And with two minutes to go, a frustrated Luiz took a naughty swipe at sub Julio Ortiz as he broke into the Flamengo half.
Ortiz did well to keep his footing but lost control of the ball.
And he angrily reacted by giving Luiz a shove in retaliation – which the wild-haired defender unsurprisingly made the most of.
The 57-cap Brazilian centre-back, who was booked for his challenge, flung himself to the floor in ridiculous fashion after a gentle swipe and writhed around clutching his face.
The referee immediately brandished the red card to Ortiz as Luiz's team-mate Arturo Vidal quickly arrived on the scene to only further antagonise the furious Independiente del Valle players, who travel to the Maracana for the second leg on March 1.
But fans on Twitter felt Ortiz was hard done by as they slammed the former world's most expensive defender.
- Ian Tuckey
Gunners favourites for Youri
Arsenal are again rated favourites for Youri Tielemans, who has also been linked with Manchester United.
Football Insider claim the Gunners are best placed to sign the Leicester midfielder, despite reported interest for the Belgian from Barcelona and Newcastle.
The Foxes still hope the 25-year-old will sign a contract past June.
But Tielemans is expected to eye a free transfer move after two years on the radar of top Prem rivals.
- Ian Tuckey
Jorginho changes mind over old enemy Xhaka
Jorginho has gone from having a "few fights" with Granit Xhaka to rating him a "really nice guy".
The midfielders were fierce rivals until Jorginho switched from Chelsea to join Xhaka at Prem leaders Arsenal last month.
And the Italy star revealed he's changed his opinion over the Swiss battler.
Jorginho, 31, told beIN Sports: “Yes I’m happy. We had a few fights on the pitch before but outside the pitch he’s a really nice guy and we have good laughs now.
“Outside the pitch I asked him the other day where I could go for dinner around here and he booked me and didn’t let me pay, so thanks very much for that.
“He’s a really nice guy and I’m glad I can see this other part of him.”
- Ian Tuckey
Pep speaks out on Thierry claim
Pep Guardiola has predictably disagreed with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry's claim that Manchester City are too predictable with Erling Haaland.
Haaland also suggested that the striker has not been effective in some of City's biggest games
But Etihad chief Guardiola pointed to City's excellent overall scoring record and suggested it is the responsibility of Haaland's team-mates to make the team less predictable.
Guardiola said: "I would say that I understand exactly what Titi [Henry] wants to say the fact we play and we put the balls to Haaland.
"Being less predictable does not depend on Haaland it depends on the way we can make the process to arrive in different channels to the final third, not just with Erling.
"But if you arrive here, here and fire the crosses or just pass to Erling that will be predictable.
"To be less predictable we need more runs from Kevin [De Bruyne], more runs from [Ilkay] Gundogan, more runs from the wingers, we need more runs when we arrive in the final third but to arrive in the final third we need the process.
"For the other ones the way we play in Europe and the Premier League, we play really good. We have these type of players that make our game not predictable.
"Come on, we scored 60 goals, we are the team that scored more goals in the Premier League. Always we can do good things and with Erling as well."
- Ian Tuckey
'Bukayo better for England than Rashford'
Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn says he would start Bakayo Saka in front of Marcus Rashford in any team he was in charge of – but it is a close call.
Both England forwards have been in scintillating form since the World Cup, Saka for the Gunners and Rashford for Manchester United.
When asked which one he would go for, Winterburn told OLBG: “I think it’s a bit disrespectful to say which one you would rather pick.
“But I’m an Arsenal man, so I’m going to take Saka because I’ve seen his development and what he can do.
“There were questions over Rashford at the start of the season whether he could be the main man for Manchester United.
“But since the World Cup we are seeing a player who is on a hot streak.
“He’s up there with the in-form players – if not the most in-form player in the world right now.”
- Ian Tuckey
'We'll buy unhappy Mudryk back'
A Shakhtar Donetsk supremo claims Mykhailo Mudryk is unhappy at Chelsea.
Sporting director Darijo Srna also joked the Ukrainian giants would buy him back after the war with Russia – just a month after Chelsea beat Arsenal to the £88m winger.
Mudryk has yet to taste victory, nor supply a goal or an assist, for the 10th-placed Blues.
And Srna told the Football Ramble podcast: “The market decided the price, not me or our president.
"Mudryk is one of the best players in Europe in his position after Mbappe or Vincius then it’s Mudryk.
"He’s from our academy, an amazing kid, an amazing player.
"Unfortunately, at Chelsea now he’s not in a good mood… but he has all the qualities to be one of the best players in the Premier League in the next couple of years."
Srna added cheekily: “It’s no problem, we will buy him back after the war."
- Ian Tuckey
Arsenal’s next five games
Arsenal will be fighting to stay top of the Premier League as they head into a huge final few months of the season.
Here are their next five games (all in Premier League):
- Leicester (A) – February 25
- Everton (H) – March 1
- Bournemouth (H) – March 4
- Fulham (A) – March 12
- Crystal Palace (H) – March 19
There is also the Europa League last-16 which has not yet been drawn, but the two legs will take place on March 9 and March 16.
- Dylan Terry
Arsenal new boy Jorginho mocks Tottenham
Jorginho has endeared himself to Arsenal fans with a hilarious reaction to being asked about rivals Tottenham.
The former Napoli and Chelsea midfielder was asked about the North London rivalry between the two clubs.
Speaking to DAZN, the 31-year-old replied with two brutal words in reference to Spurs' Champions League Round of 16 tie versus AC Milan.
Jorginho replied: "Forza Milan. The matches with Tottenham are those Arsenal fans look forward to the most. I am sure they will all support Milan."
- Dylan Terry
Shakhtar on Mudryk choosing Chelsea over Arsenal
Shakhtar Donetsk sporting director Darijo Srna has opened up about the reason behind Mykhailo Mudryk moving to Chelsea instead of Arsenal.
The Gunners looked set to secure the Ukrainian's signature before their London rivals stole in to seal an £88million deal late in the window.
Speaking about the two options Mudryk had, Srna said: "With respect to Arsenal, in the end it was the decision of Mudryk, because Chelsea paid him what he wants and he said he wants to go to Chelsea. It’s simple."
- Dylan Terry
Supercomputer predicts Arsenal title triumph
Arsenal will win the Premier League title after their dramatic win over Aston Villa, according to a predicting Supercomputer.
The Gunners secured a 4-2 victory with two late goals before title rivals Manchester City surprisingly drew to Nottingham Forest.
The weekend's results mean the number-crunchers over at bettingexpert and their prediction model BETSiE believe that Arsenal will win the title in May.
This comes despite Pep Guardiola's side securing an important 3-1 win over the North Londoners just last week.
Arsenal currently sit top of the table by two points with a game in hand over City.
BETSiE also believe that Manchester United will fall short of the title by around ten points despite their blistering form.
- Dylan Terry
Tierney considering Arsenal future
Kieran Tierney is considering his future at Arsenal after becoming increasingly frustrated by his lack of action.
And ambitious Newcastle are ready to throw the Scottish international full-back a £30million lifeline in the summer.
Tierney, 25, has managed just four Premier League starts all season following the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko last summer.
He is cutting an increasingly isolated figure in the dressing room and does not want to spend the next years of his career sitting on the subs’ bench.
Manager Mikel Arteta is sympathetic to his situation and hopes that Arsenal’s impending return to Europa League duty will give Tierney more opportunities.
But that is unlikely to appease the exasperated defender who knows that a number of Premier League rivals are closely monitoring his situation.
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