Arsenal have just under a week until they play West Ham at home, with Mikel Arteta set to decide whether to switch up his attacking options or stick with Mikel Merino up front after his surprise brace against Leicester
Arsenal will get a longer break between matches after their 2-0 win over Leicester on Saturday as they turn their attentions to a home clash against West Ham this weekend.
Mikel Arteta will be relieved the team have no mid-week games after seeing an alarming amount of injuries pile up, the latest being Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, to leave the Spaniard short on options up front.
He did see a tactical gamble pay off after Mikel Merino scored a brace as a makeshift forward against the Foxes and he will now be deciding whether to continue with him up front or try something different.
With just under a week until the Gunners play Graham Potter’s side, Mirror Football has broken down all the biggest Arsenal news and gosssip.
Arteta’s Nwaneri mistake
Arsenal’s injury crisis has been boosted by the emergence of 17-year-old forward Ethan Nwaneri, who has scored seven goals for the first team since being promoted from the academy by Mikel Arteta this season.
Nwaneri was one of Arsenal’s best players in their 2-0 win at Leicester, which saw them rally to a crucial victory despite not having a recognised No 9 on the pitch.
The youngster assisted one of Mikel Merino’s two strikes at the King Power to earn huge plaudits and it now means he has been involved in three goals in his last three Premier League games for Arsenal.
Nwaneri’s eye-catching displays have now left Rio Ferdinand wondering why Arteta didn’t bring him into the first team sooner.
His first consistent run of games didn’t come until December and Ferdinand has claimed Arsenal might be closer to Liverpool in the title race if he had been introduced in September, when Martin Odegaard was ruled out for two months.
‘Arsenal could be nearer to winning the league and closer to Liverpool if your manager played Nwaneri when Odegaard was injured,’ Ferdinand told his YouTube show Rio Ferdinand Presents.
‘What he is doing… he is cooking defenders, he is cooking teams. I think if he came in you would have got more points. It’s easy to say in hindsight but I was saying it at the time. Chuck him in and just see, what’s the worst that can happen?
“Because you were running up dead alleys at the time and not getting results. Put him in! Odegaard was gone.”
Arsenal learn Gittens price tag
Arsenal are one of the clubs who have been linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens after he burst onto the scene in the Bundesliga.
However, the Gunners will reportedly have to fork out around £80million if they want to prize the English star to the Emirates this summer, according to German outlet Bild.
The 20-year-old has turned heads during a superb campaign for Dortmund which has seen him score 11 times and assist three.
Gittens made his breakthrough to the Dortmund first team in 2021-22 and has gone on to make 91 appearances for the German giants, becoming the latest English success story in Germany after Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
Both of those players were sold for a combined £172m and Dortmund look likely to rake in more profit on a talented British youngster at the end of the season.
Chelsea are also understood to be in the running to sign Gittens, who started his career in the Blues and Manchester City academies.
Carragher tips Isak for Liverpool
One player Arsenal are almost certain to be in the running for this summer is Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.
The Swedish star has dazzled in the Premier League this season by scoring 19 goals in all competitions under Eddie Howe, adding to the 25 he netted in the last campaign.
He recently impressed against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals to help Newcastle reach Wembley and it is understood the Gunners are preparing a summer bid to lure him to north London.
With Arsenal’s striker situation becoming desperate after losing Havertz and Jesus for the season, Arteta will want a reliable No 9 who can supply regular goals throughout the season and Isak fits the bill.
But Jamie Carragher has been left baffled by speculation linking Arsenal with Isak and believes Liverpool will also be in the running to sign him.
“I don’t really get all the talk about going to Arsenal,” he told the It’s Called Soccer! podcast. I know Arsenal would love him, but one thing I would say as well, Arsenal aren’t the only team that need a centre-forward. Liverpool need one as well.
“I think in the summer, Liverpool will be in the market for a centre forward. So I think if he was available, there’s no doubt Arsenal would go for him, but I think Liverpool would be part of that queue as well.
“The problem you’ve got with Real Madrid is they’ve got [Kylian] Mbappe, Barcelona I’m not sure have the money – but they probably would be in the market for a centre forward because you think of the age of [Robert] Lewandowski, but if he’s to leave Newcastle, he has to go to a team that has a realistic chance of winning the Champions League because that’s how good he is.”
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