ARSENAL aren’t just preparing for the biggest European clash in their modern history, but also for a busy transfer window.
The Gunners may be 120 minutes away from earning a place in the Champions League final, but they’re miles away from Premier League title rivals Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta and his team are already hard at work at finding the right recruits to move Arsenal closer to ending their wait for a league title next season.
In this week’s edition of Arsenal Files, SunSport’s Jordan Davies and Martin Lipton lift the lid on potential new signings and the build up to Tuesday’s MASSIVE Champions League semi-final.
CROWN JULES
Barcelona’s Jules Kounde has emerged as a potential defensive target as Mikel Arteta seeks to bolster his squad.
France ace Kounde is now the established first choice right back at the Nou Camp after joining from Sevilla in a £42m move when he rejected an offer from Chelsea to stay in La Liga.
But the 26-year-old Parisian had previously signalled his preference for playing in the middle of the defence, a versatility that has massive appeal to Arteta who is ready to make a £55m offer if he senses a deal is possible.
Another plus-point in Kounde’s favour is his fitness record.
He had played 104 straight games for Barca before finally being rested for the midweek win over Mallorca but will return for this weekend’s Copa del Rey Final against Real Madrid and the Champions League semi-final first leg with Inter.
Prising Kounde out of Catalonia might be difficult with Barca coach Hansi Flick seeing his pace in a high defensive line as a vital asset and his contract having two more years to run.
But Arsenal’s Euro run and Prem near-misses could help turn the defender’s head if he is seeking a change of scenery.
GIFT OF THE GAB
While the attention of many Gunners fans has been on who might come in this summer, it seems Mikel Arteta is making moves to ensure one of his key on-field lieutenants makes a long-term commitment.
Arsenal are ready to begin new contract talks with Gabriel this summer – despite the significant hamstring injury that ended the Brazilian’s season prematurely.
In his five years since arriving from Lille, Gabriel’s influence has grown, even more so since the arrival of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover.
Before sustaining his season-ending injury against Fulham he had scored five this season, including the September North London derby winner at Spurs, taking his Arsenal tally to 20.
Gabriel’s central defensive partnership with William Saliba has been a cornerstone of the Gunners’ emergence as part of the new Prem and Euro elite.
Indeed, without his South American pal, Saliba has recently appeared slightly less secure – making costly mistakes against both Real Madrid and Crystal Palace.
Gabriel, 27, has been targeted by Saudi Pro League clubs including Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
But Arsenal believe he wants to stay at the Emirates and are ready to instigate extension talks even though he still has two years left on his current deal.
BARREN SPELL
PSG boss Luis Enrique showed Champions League semi-final tetchiness after being probed on striker Ousmane Dembele’s current goal drought.
Former Barcelona wide-man Dembele’s astonishing run of 24 goals in 18 games across three competitions included vital Champions League strikes against Manchester City and Liverpool.
But Dembele, 27, has gone five without finding the net since scoring in the 3-1 win over Marseille on March 16, including both quarter-final legs against Aston Villa as PSG wobbled at Villa Park.
He was hooked after barely an hour of the midweek draw at Nantes and seemingly unimpressed with the decision to bring him off.
Pressed on the player’s state of mind ahead of next week’s semi-final first leg in North London, Luis Enrique reacted huffily, accusing his inquisitor: “I don’t know. You make up stories sometimes.
“Everyone manages their emotions as they want, can, and know how to.”
NEW KIDS ON THE BOX
Ethan Nwaneri broke another milestone in Arsenal’s 4-0 victory at Ipswich last weekend.
The 18-year-old added a goal to his growing tally in a spectacular breakthrough season in the senior side – making it nine goals in 34 appearances in all competitions.
But perhaps even more impressively, he then spoke to reporters in the mixed zone at Portman Road post-match for the first time.
Nwaneri handled what can be a nerve-wracking moment brilliantly.
He spoke calmly yet passionately, opening up and showing a side that not many outside the club have seen, cracking a smile with considered and thoughtful answers, going into detail on how he has handled being thrust into the spotlight under Mikel Arteta, leaving us wanting more.
As one of the three journalists to chat with him, it was remarkable to even consider that here was a teenager not long out of school, who had navigated it so well and, seemingly, with little fuss.
In our chat, there was inevitably talk of his childhood pal and team-mate Myles Lewis-Skelly, and how their bond has made his step-up into the first that bit more special.
Lewis-Skelly, the more outgoing of the two, has already participated in his fair share of media duties, including a mixed zone at the Emirates earlier in the season.
But Nwaneri is growing in confidence every day when it comes to expressing himself, not just with the media, but around the training ground and with his team-mates.
Arsenal are immensely proud of the duo, not just for their impact on the pitch, but off it too.
The club takes incredibly seriously the responsibility of preparing young academy players for life away from the walls of London Colney, and that includes media training, especially for those featuring in the U18s and U21s.
Academy manager Per Mertesacker is a huge advocate of this, treating off-field preparation as important as tactical intelligence or work in the gym.
And when it comes to looking for role models to learn from in mixed zones, Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko, David Raya, Declan Rice and William Saliba, to name a few, are regular post-match speakers.
Nwaneri revealed at Ipswich: “It’s testament to the way that the players treat us.
“They treat us like we’re men, ever since we first came in. They’ve treated us well, like we’re part of the team, so that’s just how we feel now.
“Declan [Rice] and Bukayo [Saka] are very close to us. They help us out, they keep us grounded, they lift us up when we need it as well. They’ve been brilliant.”
THROWING POINTS AWAY
Arsenal twice blew a lead to draw with Palace in midweek, throwing away yet more points with Liverpool set to comfortably stroll to the Premier League title.
Of all ironies, the Reds could win it on Sunday against North London rivals Tottenham at Anfield.
The Gunners are set to finish runners-up for the third successive year, and they only have themselves to blame again – this time with too many draws.
Wednesday’s 2-2 result was their 13th Prem draw – only 13th-placed Everton have more [14] – and their ninth from winning positions, two more than any other side.
It is the most since Spurs did the same in 2007/08 when they finished 11th under Martin Jol and then Juande Ramos, the same year they lifted their last trophy in the shape of the League Cup.
It is also now 18 points dropped from winning positions this season.
Only twice have Arsenal ever dropped more in the Prem [21 points in 2019-20 and 20 points in 2001-02 when they won the league]. In comparison, Liverpool have dropped 11.
Had both teams kept those points, Liverpool would still be five ahead, but the title race would have been far more gripping and competitive in the final weeks.
Looking at those nine Prem draws from winning positions, five of them have come at the Emirates, with only one in controversial fashion – the 1-1 draw with Brighton in August following Declan Rice’s bizarre sending off for denying the taking of a free-kick.
Of the other four away from home, only a dubious penalty against William Saliba earned the Seagulls another point in January.
Arteta can rightly point to injuries and unfortunate red cards and refereeing decisions hampering his side, but they have also been their own worst enemies at times.
KEEPER IT SIMPLE
Palace boss Oliver Glasner revealed on Wednesday that his analysts had pointed out pre-match that David Raya was often high off his line, something they showed the players as something to potentially exploit.
They did just that. Raya was caught off his line and away from the middle of his goal as Saliba’s mistake was pounced on by Jean-Philippe Mateta with the Frenchman then chipping in off the bar into an empty net.
Mateta also said at full-time: “When I started on the bench, I watched the first half. He [Raya] was very high, so I knew if we won the ball high, I could try – so I did, and scored.”
This was not a fluke, and Raya was almost caught in the first half as his wayward pass was intercepted by Adam Wharton only for the midfielder’s shot to be blocked by Thomas Partey.
Raya has, rightly, been hailed not just for his save-making abilities this term but his comfort with ball at feet, starting attacks from deep and racing out of his box to cut out threats.
But is this a chink in the until-now bullet-proof armour that opposition teams will look to target from now on?
It is understood that Arteta views this as a one-off embarrassing gaffe as opposed to a concerning issue that requires major changes at this late stage of the season.
Regardless, you will bet that Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique will have watched the game with interest ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Emirates on Tuesday.
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