Arsenal hope to have two players back from injury for Saturday evening’s Premier League clash away to Crystal Palace as Mikel Arteta celebrates five years in charge
Mikel Arteta will be hoping to toast his fifth anniversary as Arsenal manager by beating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.
But the Arsenal manager, who provided a positive injury update on Friday afternoon, has been warned he needs to start turning his improvements into tangible success after 20 years without a Premier League title in north London.
Meanwhile, a former Premier League and England striker has made the startling claim that Manchester United could launch an all out bid to sign midfield star Declan Rice.
Here are the big stories from in and around the Gunners over the past 24 hours.
Injury boost
Mikel Arteta has provided a double injury boost by confirming that Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori will be available for Saturday evening’s trip to Crystal Palace.
And Gunners boss Arteta has said utility man Oleksandr Zinchenko is also nearing a return from injury following a torrid spell in which six different players who can play at full back have been absent.
“Rice and Calafiori are both available to be in the squad. Zinchenko probably available as well,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference, though he added that Takehiro Tomiyasu remains sidelined.
Jury out on Arteta
Mikel Arteta celebrates five years in charge of Arsenal – and yet the jury remains out on his reign.
That seems brutal bearing in mind Arsenal were a bit of a mess when Arteta took over on December 20, 2019. Arsenal were drifting after Unai Emery’s mixed fortunes during his spell in charge at the Emirates and Arteta has won an FA Cup and twice mounted a serious Premier League title challenge.
But Arteta’s legacy is yet to be decided because we do not know what comes next…
The point that everyone seems to be missing is this – 20 years – is the longest that Arsenal have gone post-war without winning the title. The last time they lifted the trophy was in 2004 with the Invincibles. Arsenal won it in the 50s, the 1971 Double, they enjoyed 1989 and 91 successes under George Graham and then Arsene Wenger’s three titles in his reign.
So, let’s not try to dress this up as some kind of rebuilding job. Arteta has turned the club around. But Arsenal do expect to be winning titles and the major trophies.
Remarkable Rice claim
Manchester United may be strapped for cash and in need of sales before they can buy but former striker Teddy Sheringham reckons the club should go all out to make the most unlikely of statement signings by bringing Declan Rice to Old Trafford.
Sheringham says a big name addition is required to kickstart the Ruben Amorim era and that signing should be one of Arsenal’s most-prized assets.
But there appears no chance of that happening for a host of reasons.
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