Mikel Arteta &#8211; CaughtOffside

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Former Everton chief executive drops West Ham points deduction verdict after £110m signings

That made it 1-0, and it wasn’t too much longer before we saw a similar trick, with Gabriel arriving at the far post to nod in Declan Rice’s cross into the box…

??| GOAL: Gabriel Magalhaes DOUBLES the lead!!

Arsenal 2-0 Lyon

pic.twitter.com/t2uYUudCnM

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) August 11, 2024

Arsenal fans will hope Mikel Arteta can continue to make his side a real force on set plays, with the north London giants often using them as something of a secret weapon.

This can be hugely useful for teams when other tactical plans aren’t quite working, so this looks really promising from Arsenal so far.

Lyon arguably aren’t the toughest opponents and it will be a different story once the competitive Premier League football gets going again, but these initial signs look good for Arsenal.

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Arsenal ready to pounce for potential £94m transfer as star faces uncertain future

Mark Brus — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 11:48:04 +0000

Arsenal are reportedly on alert for a potential transfer move for Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes, whose future at the Bernabeu is now in doubt due to the arrival of Kylian Mbappe this summer.

The Brazil international has shone during his time with Los Blancos, though it could now be that much harder for him to play regularly as both Mbappe and Endrick will now be competing for a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s front three as well.

Rodrygo has been valued at around €110m (£94m) by Transfermarkt, while Arsenal’s interest has been reported by Spanish outlet Cadena SER.

The Gunners need a new striker as an upgrade on the unconvincing and injury-prone Gabriel Jesus, while Eddie Nketiah looks increasingly likely to leave the Emirates Stadium for a move to Marseille.

Rodrygo transfer looks like just what Arsenal need

Rodrygo won the Champions League with Real Madrid last season

Arsenal came so close to winning the Premier League title last season, and arguably the only thing missing from Mikel Arteta’s side is an out-and-out goal-scorer who can contribute 20-25 goals a season.

Rodrygo looks like he could be that kind of player for AFC, giving them more of a natural goal threat in the box than they’ve had from Jesus and other players who’ve had runs playing up front, such as Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard.

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Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

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Former Everton chief executive drops West Ham points deduction verdict after £110m signings

It surely won’t be cheap for Arsenal to sign a big name like Rodrygo, but it could be a worthwhile investment for the 23-year-old, who already has great experience of winning major trophies for one so young.

Rodrygo could improve even further under the expert guidance of Arteta, who has worked wonders with another former Real Madrid player in Martin Odegaard, with the Norway international notably another who found himself on the fringes of the first-team with the Spanish giants before really launching his career in north London.

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Another twist in the Eddie Nketiah story as Arsenal insist significant demand is met

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 05:44:46 +0000

As the 2024/25 Premier League season comes into view, Arsenal are still no closer to moving on Eddie Nketiah.

The 25-year-old is known to have agreed personal terms with French footballing giants, Marseille, but as of this moment, the Gunners have steadfastly refused to sell.

It’s a game of brinkmanship that could come back to bite Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar, should Marseille decide to back out of the deal.

Arsenal’s Nketiah demands could derail deal

According to The Athletic (subscription required), the North Londoners have made a specific demand which, if met, will finally see Nketiah swap the English top-flight for Ligue Un.

The Gunners will allow their player to move on loan as long as Marseille commit to paying a €30m fee upon completion of the loan deal.

Arsenal want a guaranteed €30m from Marseille in order to let Eddie Nketiah leave on loan

That’s significantly more than the €20m that the French club have already offered for Nketiah, and puts the ball firmly back in Roberto De Zerbi’s court.

Just how badly does Marseille’s Italian manager want the player?

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Aug 12 2024, 0:18

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Aug 11 2024, 23:38

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Aug 11 2024, 22:54

Alternatively, De Zerbi can sit tight and take things right to the wire of course.

There doesn’t appear to be much appetite for Nketiah from elsewhere, so if we’re going into the final hours of the window and there’s still no likelihood of an agreement, will Arsenal decide to come closer to Marseille’s valuation?

It’s a real cat and mouse situation at the moment with the player stuck right in the middle.

Clearly, Nketiah sees his future away from the Emirates Stadium, though he may be forced to sit through another few barren months in North London if both clubs can’t find an acceptable middle ground.

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Transfer news: Trippier not West Ham’s priority, Sancho situation open and more

Fabrizio Romano — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 18:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

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West Ham will only move for Trippier if Wan-Bissaka deal breaks down

Talks with Aaron Wan-Bissaka continue for West Ham and he remains their priority for the right-back position, although it is a complicated deal to get over the line.

Despite the rumours, I’m not aware of talks for Arnau Martinez, and Kieran Trippier will only be an option if the Wan Bissaka deal falls through.

There’s no imminent move for Vladimir Coufal either from what I heard.

Chalobah will take his time and choose the best option

On Trevoh Chalobah’s situation, Crystal Palace are interested but it’s the same with clubs from abroad.

Chalobah will take his time to decide what will be the best opportunity for him.

What I’m told too is that Crystal Palace also have Lacroix on their shortlist, a player that’s really appreciated by Glasner.

So, a decision will be made once Marc Guehi’s future is clarified as talks with Newcastle are still ongoing, not done yet.

De Gea has a verbal agreement with Fiorentina

David de Gea is back, guys.

The former Manchester United goalkeeper, finally back after more than almost 13/14 months with no activity on the pitch, is gonna play in Serie A.

Let’s wait for the signature because we know that with agents it’s always kind of dangerous on the market, but the verbal agreement is in place.

David said yes to Fiorentina. One year contract plus one year option, €2m net salary plus €1m in add-ons.

Good luck to David, after a long time out of the game for him.

Arsenal continue working on Nketiah and Merino deals

I also wanted to mention what’s going on at Arsenal, because we know that they are busy with the situation of Eddie Nketiah after selling Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham.

It was kind of a tense situation with Marseille because they had an agreement with the player. Nketiah wants to go to Marseille, he’s open to joining and attracted by the project.

But the negotiations were really tense in the recent days because Marseille had a new bid rejected and so they started exploring other options.

What they are doing now is to renegotiate again with Arsenal for Eddie Nketiah.

What I’m hearing is that they presented a new proposal in the last 24 hours, but now they want to close the deal only at their conditions – because they already spent other money in other positions.

Remember that Arsenal are also working to close the deal for Mikel Merino.

He hasn’t been called up for Real Sociedad’s next game because they say that he’s not 100 percent fit, but we know the transfer is behind this story because Mikel Merino has an agreement with Arsenal.

The contract is already agreed. The player said yes. He knows that Mikel Arteta wants him. This is the reality.

Arsenal have been closing in on the deal since last week, but they need to agree on the payment structure, payment terms, so a work in progress.

Barca pushing for Nico but Athletic are relaxed

Lots of questions still regarding Nico Williams, and as I wrote on Substack yesterday guys, no changes…

Barça keep calling Nico’s agent, but at the moment Athletic Club remain completely confident and optimistic to keep him at the club.

They are sure that Nico will end up staying. Barça have a dream and they are trying to make it a reality, but Athletic are currently relaxed.

Still chances for Ivan Toney to find a new club

I think there’s still a chance for a move to happen this summer for Ivan Toney.

There could be movements in the next days and weeks, but there’s nothing imminent so far.

We have to see about which clubs have a concrete interest, because about 10 different clubs have been rumoured to be interested in him this summer.

I don’t want to put out names without any concrete updates but, for sure, it’s still an open situation.

Richarlison’s focus won’t change Tottenham’s plans for Solanke

There are no changes to Tottenham’s plans on signing Dominic Solanke, despite Richarlison wanting to stay.

Solanke remains the priority target.

Richarlison is fully focused on Spurs and Tottenham were already aware of this so his situation doesn’t change the plan to bring in more players.

It’s never easy to negotiate with Bournemouth but Spurs are trying.

Chris Smalling could be on the move this summer

No concrete talks are taking place for Chris Smalling now but it’s yet another open case.

Roma are looking for a new centre-back and Smalling could leave in the case of a good proposal for both Roma and the player.

Jadon Sancho’s situation is still wide open

I wanted to finish by mentioning Jadon Sancho. It’s important to say that his situation too remains open.

He is 100 percent part of the Man United team, but in case of a formal proposal in the next three weeks, there could still be movement for Jadon Sancho.

Man United could be open to doing business and the player could also be open to the move, so it all depends on the proposals.

Now, everything is okay, but PSG and others have been making contact with Sancho’s agents.

Still no bid but the situation is one to watch until the end of the window.

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Bid made: Arsenal table €20m offer for transfer of versatile wide-man

Mark Brus — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 13:14:27 +0000

Arsenal have reportedly made a €20million bid for the transfer of Fenerbahce full-back Ferdi Kadioglu, along with Borussia Dortmund.

Both clubs are said to have tabled €20m offers to Fenerbahce, only to be told that they will need to come back with improved bids closer to €35m, according to Turkish outlet Nutuk.

It remains to be seen if Arsenal will improve their offer for Kadioglu, but this is a player they have been linked with for some time, and he seems like he could be a decent option for the Gunners due to his versatility.

The Turkey international can play left-back or right-back, as well as as a winger, so he could be just the kind of squad player Mikel Arteta would benefit from having over the course of a long and gruelling campaign.

Ferdi Kadioglu to Arsenal or Borussia Dortmund?

Sources have previously told CaughtOffside that Brighton were also preparing an offer to try to sign Kadioglu, who has been scouted and monitored by a number of clubs in England and elsewhere in Europe for some time.

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Arsenal have already strengthened their left-back options by bringing in Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna this summer, so it perhaps seems unnecessary to spend too much on another player who’d play a similar role.

If Kadioglu were to be available for more like €20m, that might be worth Arsenal’s while, but any higher than that would probably be seen as too expensive.

It will be interesting to see, however, if Dortmund try again or if any other clubs do end up firming up their interest in the 24-year-old.

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“The way he looks is different” – Arteta explains what he’s noticed about Arsenal star

Charlie Patrick — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 22:20:04 +0000

Mikel Arteta believes Gabriel Jesus has a “different energy” about him and looks good following Arsenal’s win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Emirates Cup.

Jesus scored the third goal as the Gunners ran out 4-1 winners against the German champions with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz also on the scoresheet.

Mikel Arteta’s side will now face French outfit Lyon in the final of the Emirates Cup on Sunday before beginning their season at home to Wolves on August 17th.

Jesus has a different energy about him

Jesus joined Arsenal from Manchester City back in 2022, but struggled with injury issues last season and the Gunners, who are believed to be in the market for a new striker were strongly linked with RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, whilst they also been linked with Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres.

The Brazil international could only manage four goals in 27 Premier League appearances last season and Arteta will need to see a much better return from the Brazilian next season if the Gunners are going to have any chance of winning the league.

Jesus joined Arsenal from Manchester City in 2022.

However, Jesus has looked sharp in pre-season and impressed on the tour of America as well as against Leverkusen on Wednesday.

After the game Arteta was asked about the 27-year-old and said he looked good and there was a different energy about him.

“The first feeling when I saw him [this summer], it was something different,” he told reporters.

“I could sense it. The energy was different. The way he looks is different. The way he moves is different, he looks good.”

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Jesus has scored just 19 goals for the Gunners in 69 appearances and he will be hoping to increase that tally next season.

It’s been a quiet summer for the north London outfit who have only signed Italy international Riccardo Calafiori, but they have also been strongly linked with Spain midfielder Mikel Merino, although that deal has yet to materialise.

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“The only issue…” – Arsenal given transfer warning as they work on €40m deal

Mark Brus — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:40:46 +0000

Former Arsenal captain William Gallas has warned his old club about pursuing the transfer of Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino when he feels they are in desperate need of a new striker.

Gallas believes Merino is not needed at Arsenal, with the Frenchman saying that Declan Rice can play that defensive midfield role, whereas the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz aren’t enough in attack.

Arsenal came ever so close to winning the Premier League title last season, being pipped to the trophy by Manchester City on the final day of the season.

The Gunners were rock solid defensively but arguably lacked that Erling Haaland-esque figure in their squad, with no one really looking capable of scoring 20-30 goals a season.

Gallas believes that should now be Arsenal’s priority as he cast his doubts over the pursuit of Merino, whilst also criticising Jesus and Havertz.

Kai Havertz in action for Arsenal

Arsenal given transfer warning by former captain

“Arsenal don’t need to sign Mikel Merino when they have Declan Rice who can play in that role,” Gallas told Genting Casino, as quoted by the Metro.

“They still need a top class striker that can go and score them 20 goals in the Premier League.

“The only issue is that they haven’t signed that striker yet, despite coming so close to being champions last season.

“They got that close without having a striker who could score 20 goals, Manchester City won it because they have Erling Haaland. You have to have a player like that.

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