Rafael Leao
According to reliable sources, Arsenal's board is willing to hand Mikel Arteta a €180 Million war chest so as to strengthen the squad in the summer and increase Arsenal's chances of competing favorably in the league. Among the players the board is interested in pursuing is AC Milan striker Rafael Leao whose contract is set to expire when the season ends. AC Milan have already opened talks with the Portuguese striker but inside sources have revealed that for some unknown reasons he has been delaying the talks.
This means that Arsenal have a chance at signing the Portuguese striker and the €180 Million could be put to great use by making him the priority signing. Leao, 22, is known to be very ambitious and the only way Arsenal can fully convince him to join the club is by first qualifying for the Champions League.
Christian Eriksen
Arsenal yesterday exacted their revenge on newly-promoted Brentford at the Emirates after a Hale-End-inspired 2-1 victory. Arsenal were very dominant throughout the game and that was probably because Brentford had some of their best players unavailable for selection like for example Christian Eriksen and Ivan Toney. While it is understood that Toney missed the match due to lack of match fitness, Eriksen's exclusion was a mystery to many fans, particularly those of Brentford's.
Rumor has it that Eriksen personally asked Brentford's manager Thomas Frank to sideline him from the match because he wanted to make his first appearance for Brentford at Brentford's home stadium in the next fixture. Following this revelation, many Arsenal fans have assumed that Eriksen refused to play in yesterday's match because he knew that Brentford's loss was inevitable.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Following an impressive performance yesterday against Brentford, Cedric Soares is likely to keep his spot in the first eleven as Arteta seeks to reduce the dependence on Takehiro Tomiyasu in the right-back position. Cedric has now played in Arsenal's two successive matches despite Tomiyasu being match fit and that shows that Arteta has new intentions for the Japanese defender. If Cedric maintains his form, Tomiyasu might be a familiar face on Arsenal's bench.