Bukayo Saka missed Arsenal’s draw with Manchester United (Visionhaus)
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney are both doubts for Arsenal’s clash with Wolves on Tuesday evening.
The pair missed Arsenal’s goalless draw with Manchester United on Saturday evening as Saka has been struggling with a hip problem, while Tierney remained sidelined with a calf issue.
Tierney had trained in the build-up to Arsenal’s draw with United, while Saka was not risked due to the Gunners’ busy fixture schedule.
Asked if Tierney and Saka will be available for the match against Wolves, Arteta said: ‘We don’t know yet.
‘Today we’ve got a training session and they haven’t been able to train with us yet, so I think it will be really difficult for them.
‘But I don’t know, we’re going to try to last-minute see how they are feeling.’
Kieran Tierney has been sidelined due to a calf injury (Getty)
Martin Odegaard was also given his Arsenal debut on Saturday as the 22-year-old came on as a second-half substitute against Manchester United.
And Arteta is open to starting the on-loan Real Madrid midfielder against Wolves.
‘Let’s see today how everybody is,’ Arteta said when asked about the possibility of naming Odegaard in his starting line-up.
‘We have some other issues in the last few days as well, so today we’ll have a better picture of who is available to play tomorrow.
‘Then we’ll put the players who are completely fit to start the game.’
Gary Neville has picked out three world class Premier League players (Picture: Getty Images)
Gary Neville says there are just three world class players in the Premier League and none of them play for Manchester United.
The Red Devils legend was reflecting on Mohamed Salah’s performance in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over West Ham on Sunday and decided that the Egyptian is undoubtedly world class.
Salah scored two excellent goals in the victory over the Hammers, with the second especially catching the eye as he brought down a long pass from Xherdan Shaqiri with one touch and finished expertly with his second.
Neville was blown away by the quality of the Liverpool man and puts him in a bracket with just two other players in the Premier League in terms of being genuinely world class.
The likes of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba miss out on his assessment, with Manchester United’s bitter rivals at the Etihad and Anfield doing very well.
‘We very rarely give the tag of world class, and we do have some world-class performers in the Premier League,’ Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast.
‘There’s Kevin De Bruyne and I think Alisson is a world-class goalkeeper, but Salah is a world-class forward and striker.
Mohamed Salah produced two moments of magic as Liverpool’s recovery continued with a 3-1 win at West Ham in the Premier League.
‘That first touch and second touch was something different. It was an unbelievable goal. One of the best goals I have seen, certainly this season. I’m not going to say any season because we have seen some great goals, but it really did catch our eye.
‘Everybody at home will just think wow, what a goal!’
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp was understandably delighted with Salah after the win at West Ham, also praising his second goal as world class.
The strike was Salah’s 21st of the season as his remarkable form since arriving at Anfield in 2017 continues.
‘Actually, he scored a goal against Tottenham; it didn’t count, I know that, but it was a brilliant goal,’ Klopp said.
‘That was a good sign for him, for sure. He played a super game tonight, he was involved in everything — flexible, kept the ball, passing was good and his control of the game was good.
‘The first goal is just a super smart goal, the goalkeeper could not see the ball because it was a crowded box and he chipped it into the far corner.
‘And the second, what a counter-attack, two passes until Mo got the ball and the first touch was outstanding, world class.’
Arteta thinks the move would be good for Willock (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock is poised for a move to Newcastle United on loan as Steve Bruce looks to bolster his squad on transfer deadline day.
Willock has made 17 first-team appearances under Mikel Arteta this season, scoring three goals, but has been limited to just two starts in the Premier League.
It’s thought he might benefit from a spell away from the Emirates on loan and Newcastle have emerged as the most likely contenders.
Willock is one of two loan deals Bruce’s team is pushing for on deadline day, according to The Telegraph.
Leicester star Hamza Choudhury is also lined up for a move to the north east.
The Willock deal is currently more likely, although it’s still unclear if he will agree to move to Newcastle.
Willock is poised to join Newcastle on loan (Picture: Getty Images)
Choudhury has agreed to move on loan but his hopes of an exit could be denied by injury problems at Leicester.
Bruce is due to speak to Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers to get a firm yes or no on that deal.
Arteta believes that a move to Newcastle would be the ideal test for Willock at this stage in his career.
Bruce is expecting a firm answer within the coming hours.
Mikel Arteta has let Matt Smith move out on loan again (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal midfielder Matt Smith has moved to Charlton Athletic on loan for the rest of the season after being recalled from his previous loan at Swindon Town.
The 20-year-old has been a regular in the Swindon team so far this season, making 24 appearances for the side struggling near the foot of the League One table.
He has moved back to London and up the League One table by joining Charlton for the rest of the season, with the Addicks seventh in the table and very much in the hunt for the play-offs and a return to the Championship.
Smith has been at Arsenal since the age of seven but is yet to make a senior appearance for the Gunners, although he has come close.
The youngster has been on the bench in the Premier League and was an unused substitute in the FA Cup final last season when Arsenal beat Chelsea to lift the trophy.
Smith (L) was on the bench as Arsenal won the FA Cup last season (Picture: Getty Images)
Smith said of his move to The Valley: ‘I’m really excited, I’m really looking forward to getting started. I feel I can learn a lot off the manager and from the experienced players here.
‘It’s a new challenge for me and ultimately I want to come here and help the team get promotion and have a strong second half to the season.’
Charlton boss Lee Bowyer added: ‘I think he suits the way we play, he’s an energetic midfielder. I like that he looks to play forward every time he receives the ball, he’s going to be another good addition to our squad.
‘We know with players we’ve had previously from Arsenal, they are all good and comfortable on the ball and importantly he has played men’s football before so he should hit the ground running.’
Emile Smith Rowe has impressed in the last six weeks (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Former Arsenal forward Andy Cole has praised Mikel Arteta’s decision to blood the youngsters in recent weeks and says Emile Smith Rowe is the pick of a ‘really exciting’ bunch.
The Gunners’ form has been transformed in the last six weeks since Smith Rowe was brought into the side and the side are unbeaten in the Premier League since a 2-1 defeat to Everton before Christmas.
That recent run has reignited Arsenal’s hopes of a European finish this term and the club’s decision to offload the likes of Mesut Ozil, Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis has given more room to a host of talented younsters such as Reiss Nelson.
Cole started his career in north London before making a name for himself at Newcastle and Manchester United but the former England striker says he’s been impressed with Smith Rowe.
Cole has lavished praise on Arteta (Picture: DAZN)
‘I’m very, very excited by the Arsenal youngsters,’ Cole told Premier League Prodcutions.
‘I was at Arsenal when I was a kid and I know what Arsenal’s potential is like for bringing through kids because back in my day virtually all of the first team was kids.
‘To see Emile Smith Rowe playing I’m really, really pleased that Arteta has given him the opportunity to play in the first team.
‘He’s gone out there and done extremely well. He’s a real, real bright youngster.’
Arsenal will be hoping to continue their recent revival when they travel to face Wolves at Molineux on Tuesday.
The Gunners are set to be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang again as the striker has been given time off due to family reasons.
Alexandre Lacazette is expected to be cleared to play after sustaining a head injury in the dying moments of Saturday’s draw with Manchester United.
According to Sky Germany, Liverpool have now turned their attention back to Kabak and are looking to sign the 20-year-old on loan with an option to buy this summer.
It’s claimed that Liverpool are looking to pay a loan fee of around £2.5m for the Turkey international.
Liverpool are looking to sign Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke (Getty)
Schalke, meanwhile, are open to letting Kabak leave but want to secure a replacement before their transfer window closes at 6pm in the UK.
The Bundesliga club have held talks with Arsenal over the signing of Shkodran Mustafi, and it’s understood that the Gunners are demanding a €2m (£1.7m) fee for the 28-year-old.
Schalke and Arsenal already have a good relationship after the Gunners agreed to loan Sead Kolasinac to the German side earlier this month.
Serena Williams admitted she was a doubt for the Australian Open (Picture: AFP via Getty)
Australian summer tennis is back with a flurry, with fans of the sport handed the arduous task of tracking multiple tournaments on the same site in the same week.
With the Australian Open a week away and players desperately trying to get some match play under their belts after their two-week spell of hard or soft quarantine, tournament organisers have laid on a string of events at Melbourne Park to offer playing time to players.
Two WTA events are already underway, with Serena Williams among those involved at the Yarra Valley Classic and Naomi Osaka leading the Gippsland Trophy field, while two ATP events, the Murray River Open and the Great Ocean Road Open, have also started.
The ATP Cup kick starts on February 2, while a third WTA event, the Grampians Trophy – for those players forced into hard quarantine after positive tests on their charter flights, will start on February 3. Good luck keeping up with all of that.
Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, looked in decent shape on her return to competitive action.
She beat Aussie Daria Gavrilova 6-1 6-4 to move into the last-16 of the Yarra Valley Classic, where she will face Tsvetana Pironkova.
Boulter secured a win (Picture: AFP via Getty)
Had the original schedule gone to plan, the Australian Open summer would already be over, with the men’s final initially set to take place on Sunday, and Williams revealed that she would not have made it to Melbourne had that timeline materialised.
‘It was great for me because I needed the time, because I couldn’t practise because of my achilles,’ said Williams after her first match of the season.
‘I needed every time – I don’t think I would have been here if it was during the regular season.
‘So whew, that was an unwanted blessing, I would say, but it was much needed for me. So I definitely took that time to recover and to just do the best that I can, and yeah, and so now it’s a lot better.
‘I was able to get a regular block. Honestly, not as much as I would have liked, because I needed to take – achilles are like the worst thing honestly, oh my goodness, I didn’t realise it would be this long.
‘But, yeah, so I definitely was pushing the limits, but I’m here.’
There were mixed results for the British contingent overnight.
Katie Boulter, who is using her protected ranking to compete in the Australian Open after dropping to world No. 371 due to prolonged absence after a back injury suffered on Fed Cup duty in 2019, beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-1 6-3 to advance to round two of the Gippsland Trophy.
Gauff awaits Boulter in the second round (Picture: AFP via Getty)
Her compatriots Francesca Jones and Cameron Norrie were, however, first-round losers, suffering defeats to Nadia Podoroska and Tommy Paul respectively.
Boulter will go on to face American teenager Coco Gauff, the 14th seed, in round two.
Gauff, 16, battled past Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) and quickly turned her attention to the test of the British No. 13.
‘I never played her before, but I know she’s tall and she has a big serve and has some big ground strokes and to be honest I’m just going to take the same mindset that I had today,’ said Gauff.
‘I think I play tomorrow, in tomorrow’s match, and I haven’t really thought about the next round that much, but, yeah, definitely the mindset will be something I’ll take into that.’
The winner will likely face three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
British No. 1 Johanna Konta will kick her season off on Tuesday against a familiar foe, American Bernarda Pera.
Heather Watson, Britain’s No. 2, will take on Veronika Kudermetova in the Grampians Trophy later this week.
Dan Evans, the eighth seed in the Murray River Open, will face Portugal’s Pedro Sousa.
Mikel Arteta admits there could be comings and goings today (Photo by ANDY RAIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits there could be deals in and out of the club before the transfer window closes.
The Gunners have been one of the busier clubs in the Premier League this month, discarding of Mesut Ozil, Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis while adding Martin Odegaard to their squad.
However, Arsenal aren’t done yet as Arteta as Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Shkodran Mustafi could leave, while Patrick Van Aanholt is a target at left-back.
And, while most clubs have shut for business, Arteta admits it could be a busy day in north London.
Maitland-Niles. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
‘The last day of the transfer window is always unpredictable so things can happen,’ said Arteta.
‘They might happen, they might not happen. We are on it.
Asked about the likes of Mustafi and Maitland-Niles, Arteta continued: ‘You mention a few players, so you have a better chance. The more you mention, the greater the chance you have to get it right!
‘Again, we are discussing things with some players and some clubs, and if we do anything before the deadline, it is because we believe it is the right thing for their development.
‘We had some priorities that we wanted to get done [this window] and we have managed to have some done, some others we haven’t yet, so let’s wait and see how things develop today and what we are able to do, and what we aren’t.’
Arteta will hope he can conclude the business he had planned in time for any potential new signings to face Wolves.
The Gunners are looking to continue their recent upturn in results when they travel to Molineux and Arteta’s side are now within sight of the top four.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to leave Arsenal on loan on deadline day (Getty)
Arsenal are keen for Ainsley Maitland-Niles to develop at full-back if he joins Leicester City, Southampton or Newcastle United on loan, according to reports.
The 23-year-old has struggled to secure a regular role under Mikel Arteta this season and is keen to leave the Gunners before the 11pm transfer deadline in order to secure more playing time.
It’s understood that one of the primary reasons for Maitland-Niles’s desire to leave is also due to concerns over missing out on a place in England’s squad for the European Championship this summer.
Arsenal have held talks with Leicester, Southampton and Newcastle over a loan deal for Maitland-Niles.
And according to The Athletic, if Maitland-Niles leaves on loan, Arsenal’s preference is to see him played at full-back. However, the player is keen to impress in a midfield role.
The report also claims that Leicester is Maitland-Niles’ preferred destination out of the three Premier League clubs who have registered their interest.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles wants to leave Arsenal to secure more playing time (Getty)
Arsenal and Leicester are yet to agree the terms of the loan deal, with the Gunners looking for the Foxes to have a mandatory purchase option this summer instead of an option to buy.
It’s understood that Arsenal’s preference is for Maitland-Niles to join Southampton, and the Saints are willing to accept the Gunners’ terms of the deal.
When asked if Maitland-Niles will be leaving Arsenal, Arteta said: ‘I don’t know, I cannot speak about any individual players.
‘What we want to do, the conversations we’ve had, the various reasons. Let’s see if we can get something done tonight.’
