Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Saliba video LATEST, Lacazette wanted by Juventus, Benfica in Rome

WILL I NEVER

William Saliba has hit out at Mikel Arteta for 'judging' him after just two-and-a-half matches.

The defender joined Nice on loan last month after failing to impress the Gunners boss.

Speaking to RMC Sport, he said: "He [Arteta] judged me on two-and-a-half matches.

"I would have liked for him to play me more. But he told me I wasn't ready.

"I was waiting for him to give me a chance, but football is like that."

NOT GUNNER HAPPEN

Joan Jordan has dismissed reports that he could join Arsenal in the summer.

The Spanish midfielder, 26, has insisted he is 'delighted' to be playing for Sevilla.

He told El Desmarque: "I do not see myself outside of Sevilla, at all.

"And it is reality. The second year in Eibar I did see certain reasons to go away, but now I am in a spectacular club, with ambition, with demand and that is what my body asks for.

"It is the ideal place to keep improving and do great things club. I am delighted to be here and my mind is here."

MONEY TALKS

With Mesut Ozil out of the equation, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the highest-paid player at the Emirates.

But the striker has struggled for form since he signed his bumper new deal with Mikel Arteta's side.

He scored 22 goals and made three assists in 36 league appearances during the 2019-20 campaign.

But this season he has managed just five goals and one assist in 19 matches. Ouch.

SIX APPEAL

UEFA is increasingly confident its planned Champions League revamp will be agreed by next month - despite opposition from leagues.

They want to replace the current group stage of the Champions League with a 36-team single table.

SunSport revealed in December the most controversial aspect of the proposals, with three of the four extra places being awarded via Uefa’s “coefficient” of previous European results.

That could see up to SIX Premier League sides in the competition when the restructure - due from 2024-25 - comes into effect.

It opens the way for Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United AND Spurs to all share millions in extra Euro revenue from 2024.

JUST AU-FUL

Tony Cascarino has described Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as 'anonymous' following his display against Aston Villa.

The club captain came off the bench on the weekend and could not turn around his side's fortunes in the 1-0 defeat.

After the game, the former Chelsea and Ireland striker told talkSPORT: "Willian was poor, he kept giving away the ball, and Aubameyang.

"These are two top-quality players who have done a hell of a lot in football that came on and made no impact at all.

"Aubameyang, I didn't even know he'd really come on.

"He’s been far too anonymous this year as a player because he is a player that Mikel Arteta can’t afford for him not to change games and make things happen."

THAT'S A PAR

It could take Arsenal THREE YEARS to break back into the top four of the Premier League.

That is according to former Gunners star Ray Parlour, who has urged the club to back Mikel Arteta in the transfer window.

He told talkSPORT: "Arteta has got to show he's got a plan going forward. It might take three years to try to challenge that top four or try to challenge for the league.

"But we know money does make it easier and that's where the board comes in.

"If they think they've got the right man, please give him a chance by giving him a little bit of money."

As things stand, the Gunners are slumped in the bottom half of the table after 23 matches.

AUBA AND OUT

Arsenal should NOT leave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench, claimed Garth Crooks.

The star striker did not make the starting XI for the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.

But ex-Tottenham star Crooks told BBC: "I know Nicolas Pepe scored against Wolves last week.

"But can Arsenal really afford to leave someone of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's class on the bench? I don't think so.

"Having got his team back on track with some decent results, Mikel Arteta's meddling again."

Aubameyang, who earns £350,000-per-week, has just five goals in 19 Premier League games this season.

MORNING GUNNERS FANS

Both of Arsenal’s Europa League games against Benfica will be played on neutral territory, Uefa have confirmed.

Due to coronavirus travel restrictions, the two sides are unable to meet in England or Portugal for the last-32 clash.

UK restrictions mean Arsenal’s entire travelling party would have to quarantine in a hotel for ten days after playing in Portugal.

Benfica’s ‘home’ game will therefore take place at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on February 18.

Arsenal will then play their ‘home’ game in Athens – 2,000 MILES away from the Emirates – on February 25, with Olympiacos’ Karaiskakis Stadium welcoming the clubs.

In other news, Marc Overmars will not be joining the Arsenal boardroom, according to reports.

It had been suggested that the Ajax chief could be returning to North London in an executive role.

But Football.London report on the club being happy with their management setup with little interest in the Dutchman.

Meanwhile, the same news outlet claims that Thomas Partey could be fit for Arsenal’s match with Leeds.

The Ghana star has played in the Gunners’ last seven games having battled a number of injury problems since signing from Atletico Madrid.

And finally, the French Football Federation are reportedly set to open an investigation into the behaviour of William Saliba after a recording of a team-mate’s sex act was leaked on social media.

The Arsenal youngster – currently on loan at Nice – could end up in hot water after an old recording of a team-mate openly masturbating in the dressing room did the rounds on Snapchat.

The video, believed to have been filmed around three years ago, shows Saliba in a France national team tracksuit.

TOP PRIORITY

Arsenal will focus on signing a left-back in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The Gunners are eager to bring a new left-sided full-back to the Emirates with manager Mikel Arteta admitting the club were 'short' in that position.

The Spaniard wants a new recruit to support first-choice Kieran Tierney with Sead Kolasinac expected to leave on a permanent basis.

And here, SunSport take a closer look at the FIVE most likely options for manager Mikel Arteta, according to odds supplied by bookmakers Coral.

Click HERE to see who could be brought into the Emirates.

REISS IN PIECES

Reiss Nelson needs more game time at Arsenal, according to former Gunners striker Kevin Campbell.

The midfielder has struggled for game time this season and Campbell told Football Insider a January move away would have done him a favour.

He said: “Reiss Nelson is still in and around the squad and we’ve seen injuries happen and players having to come in and hit the ground running.

“He went on loan last season and done okay, so he’s had a long spell of first-team football.

“But I think he needs more football because he’s not really getting a lot of football at Arsenal.

“It was an interesting one [loan speculation] but it hasn’t quite happened for him.”

ART DEALER

Arsenal icon Paul Merson believes Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles will leave the club permanently in the summer after departing on loan in the winter transfer window.

Willock linked up with Newcastle - and even scored on his debut, while Maitland-Niles signed for West Brom.

Sky Sports pundit Merson said: "It’s massive three months for Arteta to see who’s going to be there for him and who’s not.

"He’s allowed a couple of players to go out on loan and I personally think in doing that, he doesn’t see them at Arsenal next season.”

FEELING BLUE

Arsenal fan and YouTuber Chunkz did a Fifa forfeit match with Chelsea and Mason Mount.

And it didn't go well for the Gunners supporter...

Take a look at what happened below.

SALIBA PROBE

The French Football Federation are reportedly set to open an investigation into the behaviour of William Saliba after a recording of a team-mate's sex act was leaked on social media.

The Arsenal youngster - currently on loan at Nice - could end up in hot water after an old recording of a team-mate openly masturbating in the dressing room did the rounds on Snapchat.

The video, believed to have been filmed around three years ago, shows Saliba in a France national team tracksuit.

In the clip, the defender, 19, turns on his front-facing camera and pans it around his surroundings.

While many of his team-mates - claimed to be a France youth squad by French outlet RMC Sport - are in full tracksuits, the player in question is slumped naked on a sofa surrounded by his pals.

Sitting immediately next to Saliba, the player can be seen openly masturbating while using his phone. It is as yet unclear who leaked the X-rated video.

EUR MOVING

Both of Arsenal's Europa League games against Benfica will be played on neutral territory, Uefa have confirmed.

Due to coronavirus travel restrictions, the two sides are unable to meet in England or Portugal for the last-32 clash.

UK restrictions mean Arsenal’s entire travelling party would have to quarantine in a hotel for ten days after playing in Portugal.

Benfica's 'home' game will therefore take place at Rome's Stadio Olimpico on February 18.

Arsenal will then play their 'home' game in Athens - 2,000 MILES away from the Emirates - on February 25, with Olympiacos' Karaiskakis Stadium welcoming the clubs.

Uefa have also confirmed away goals WILL still count double, despite both legs going ahead abroad.

HEN DO

Arsenal goalkeeper Mat Ryan has revealed watching a documentary on Thierry Henry convinced him to support the club.

He told the club's website: "I was a young kid at my friend’s house and we were watching television at the time and on came a documentary of Thierry Henry.

"Being a football lover, me and my friend sat there watching and we were just in awe of his achievements and what he was doing in this documentary.

"It was obviously a montage of highlights, of goals he’d scored and the success he’d helped contribute to at Arsenal with what they’d won in those times. 

"From that moment on, I basically fell in love with him and the club and became an Arsenal supporter. I have been, I was going to say until this day, but I guess when I was down there in Brighton and signed there, you guys became a rival. 

"So I guess a little less so then, but it’s still a club that had a special place in my heart and now even more so than it ever has in the past because I’ve got the opportunity to represent them now."

UEFA SHAKE-UP

Uefa is increasingly confident its planned Champions League revamp will be agreed by next month - despite opposition from leagues.

A virtual meeting over the proposals with the 55 Uefa member associations found no significant issues.

Uefa wants to replace the current group stage of the Champions League with a 36-team single table.

Each side will play 10 opponents of varying strengths under the so-called “Swiss system”, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the knock-out stage and the teams between ninth and 24th playing off to join them.

SunSport revealed in December the most controversial aspect of the proposals, with three of the four extra places being awarded via Uefa’s “coefficient” of previous European results.

That could see up to six Prem sides in the competition when the restructure - due from 2024-25 - comes into effect.

IN LAC

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the future of Alexandre Lacazette, with the striker's deal to expire in 2022.

Speaking on the Blind Gooner YouTube channel, he said: "This is an interesting situation because last summer he had an opportunity with Atletico Madrid, he was one of the options, but they decided to sign different players.

“For sure the situation of his contract is like ‘ok, we either extend the contract in the summer, or the player is leaving.’ Just because they can’t have the risk of him going for free.

“Let’s see also the situation of Italian clubs, because Lacazette was appreciated with Juventus, but they are happy with [Alvaro] Morata."

Before adding: "At the moment Arsenal are happy with his performances, his mentality also in training because also I’m told that he’s training so well in the last weeks and everything."

OD TO JOY

After his impressive cameo against Aston Villa, will Martin Odegaard get his first Arsenal start on Sunday against Leeds?

UNAI WORK WELL TOGETHER

Arsenal loanee Matteo Guendouzi has named former Gunners duo Mesut Ozil and Unai Emery as the best player and coach he has worked with.

Guendouzi is due to return to the Emirates at the end of the season following the conclusion of his loan to Hertha Berlin.

But that did not stop the 21-year-old from controversially naming two departed Gunners as the greatest duo he has been involved with.

When asked to name the best player he has ever played with, he unequivocally told The Mirror: “Mesut Ozil.

“Technically, whether he’s on the pitch during a match or on the training ground he has a technical ease.

“He reads the game better than everyone else. He’s a player I’ve loved playing with.”

The youngster was then asked who the best manager he has worked under is, to which he simply replied: “Unai Emery.”

PHIL YOUR BOOTS

Man Utd icon Phil Neville is closing in on a Brit double swoop at Inter Miami. 

SunSport understands a deal to bring Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross will be completed this week. 

And former Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs, 31, is in talks and looks set to follow Shawcross to MLS after deciding to quit West Brom.

His contract at the Hawthorns expires at the end of the season and he’s keen to move to South Florida. 

Neville and owner David Beckham have wasted no time getting to work and sorting out the problems which hampered Miami’s first season in the League. 

Both players will boost a defence which was in desperate need of leadership and experience last term. 

WHERE’S YOUR ED AT

Eden Hazard has revealed his admiration… for Arsenal.

The former Chelsea ace, now of Real Madrid, could not help but be attracted to the French connection in North London.

He told On The Front Foot magazine: “When I was little the team I watched the most was the French national team

“For me, the players I looked up to were Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, and it’s difficult for me to admit because of my relationship with Chelsea, but I really liked the Arsenal team at the time.

“They had players like Robert Pires, [Sylvain] Wiltord and [Patrick] Vieira, so it was mainly French players that I followed growing up.”

LOCKED IN

Earning a victory in his first Newcastle appearance, Joe Willock has spoken highly of the atmosphere at his new club.

The Arsenal loanee scored in the 3-2 win over Southampton after sealing the switch from the Gunners.

He told NUFC TV: "It was buzzing.

“We were all fighting together. That was the mentality of the team.

"From the first day I got here, I could see that it was a very close-knit group and they wanted to fight for each other. I'm happy it showed today."

BREAK THE BANK

Manchester neighbours City and United have lost the most money in the last 10 transfer windows ahead of the likes of Paris Saint-Germain.

In tenth overall, Arsenal's outlay of £515m is over £300m less than Premier League rivals Chelsea.

But they have only sold £253m worth of talent having seen a number of big names leave the Emirates on free transfers.

Mesut Ozil was the latest name to have his contract paid off while Aaron Ramsey also joined Juventus for nothing.

Arsenal also unbelievably sold Bayern Munich superstar Serge Gnabry for just £4.5m to Werder Bremen.

WIDE OF THE MARC

Marc Overmars will not be joining the Arsenal boardroom, according to reports.

It had been suggested that the Ajax chief could be returning to North London in an executive role.

But Football.London report on the club being happy with their management setup with little interest in the Dutchman.

ROME AWAITS

Arsenal are set to travel to Rome for the away leg of their Europa League tie with Benfica.

Travel to Lisbon is not possible while the UK remains on Portugal's red list of coronavirus nations.

The return leg in London is also up for question with Portugal on the UK's red list.