Arsenal news: Andrea Berta’s hand forced on contract talks as star causes stir in training

Arsenal are gearing up for a visit to Craven Cottage on Saturday as one highly-rated defender has impressed so much that he is forcing new contract conversations

Arsenal will take on Fulham on Saturday evening with the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League. Second-placed Liverpool will play Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, meaning the Gunners have the chance to put the pressure on the reigning champions with a victory at Craven Cottage.

Mikel Arteta will be welcoming back his international Arsenal stars with open arms after a successful October break. While club captain Martin Odegaard is set to be out for a period of time with a knee injury, Declan Rice and Piero Hincapie look to be ready once again for Saturday.

The north London outfit have a busy schedule coming up of Premier League, Champions League and domestic cup fixtures. Arteta’s squad looks to be strong enough to ride through this wave of congested games. Here, Mirror Football has the details on some of latest news coming out of the Emirates Stadium this week.

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Jurrien Timber contract talks opened

Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta has been forced to take notice of Jurrien Timber, as his high-quality performances have caught the eye of Bayern Munich. Reports have suggested that the Bundesliga giants have reached out to Timber’s people to gauge an interest in a move to Germany.

However, the Evening Standard has noted that the Gunners are now locked in talks in securing a new deal for the defender to bat away any competition. After signing for Arsenal and immediately tearing his ACL, Timber has returned from the season-long setback with a newfound confidence in his game.

Speaking highly of the Dutchman before the international break, Arteta said: “The way he’s come back and what he’s doing for the team is phenomenal.

“I think he’s a really good example of another one that hopefully is going to have a long career with us. I rate him a lot. When you’re talking about a total player, he has almost every quality that you want from a defender.”

While Timber’s contract currently runs until 2028, the north London side are keen to tie him down to an even longer deal to discourage any chance of a move away from the Emirates Stadium.

Dowman catches eye in training

Max Dowman first caught the attention of the Premier League by making his debut against Leeds United in August. He won a penalty in the 93rd minute and became the second youngest player in top-flight history at just 15 years old – only behind team-mate Ethan Nwaneri.

Now he is being compared to Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal by team-mates and showered with praise by manager Arteta. Cristhian Mosquera has hailed the young Arsenal star, telling The Athletic that Dowman will be “world class.”

Mosquera said: “I don’t mean to compare, but his style and way of playing is like Lamine Yamal. His movements are Lamine-esque.

“I didn’t have him on my radar and when I got to Singapore, he was already training and playing. When they told me he was 15, I couldn’t believe it. He really is an incredible player, and I think he’s going to be world-class.”

Arteta has also been singing Dowman’s praises and hailed his ability to take on the physicality of the Premier League with maturity. When asked how senior members of the first team reacted to the 15-year-old in training, the Arsenal boss said: “At the beginning, they responded immediately, kick him! That was the first one.

“And Max, to be fair, he was excellent. He stood up and got into the next one. You can really take an impression of someone who was 14 last year at some point when he was doing certain things to players. And now, yeah, everybody loves him. You just want to hug him, help him. He’s such a nice boy as well, and he’s very much liked by everybody here. And just looking after us.

“It brings responsibility to look after somebody with that talent and make sure we just do what we have to do to make sure we’re giving him the best chance to exploit his talent. That’s all.”

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