A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Gabriel Magalhaes receives big praise and Mikel Arteta admits he is making life ‘difficult’ for one Gunner at Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel Magalhaes is echoing Arsenal legend Tony Adams
Former Arsenal star Adrian Clarke feels Gabriel Magalhaes is offering echoes of Tony Adams, so would hate to play against him. The 26-year-old has astounded the player-turned-pundit with his displays at Emirates Stadium this season, having taken his passing to another level.
Clarke loves how Gabriel has modified his game to distribute the ball with Arteta also asking Oleksandr Zinchenko to do an inverted full-back role. Per WhoScored, the centre-half ranks third for Arsenal for total passes on 1,454 to William Saliba (1,988) and Declan Rice (1,739).
Only 56 of his 1,289 accurate passes have also been long balls so far this season. While the way that Gabriel takes charge and bursts between their defensive and midfield lines tempts Clarke to liken his displays to the four-time top-flight title-winning Arsenal legend, Adams.
Clarke told the Handbrake Off Podcast: “I wouldn’t want to play against him if I was a striker. He’s always sort of looking to nip in front [and] he’s touch-tight quite a lot.
“I also think this season, and last season as well, but with Zinchenko coming infield, he’s had to basically play at left-back in possession, which is something that maybe he wouldn’t have experienced too often previously. I think that’s helped develop his passing range.
“His distribution has improved because of that we’ve seen him step forward a lot more often. We’ve seen him go on the charge a little bit like Tony Adams used to back in the day.”
Read more about what Clarke has had to say about Arsenal defender Saliba, here.
David Ornstein names three strikers Arsenal are interested in
David Ornstein has claimed in a Q&A for The Athletic that Arsenal have made signing a new striker their ‘main focus’ for the summer transfer window. Arteta also has several forwards on his radar. Arsenal are interested in Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres and Evan Ferguson.
Arsenal have further options the north London giants will consider over the coming months to whittle down their shortlist further. But Sesko has scored 11 goals in 30 RB Leipzig games this term, Gyokeres has 31 in 34 for Sporting CP and Ferguson has six over 31 at Brighton.
Highbury hero Ian Wright has already stated that he would sign Brighton prospect Ferguson for Arsenal ‘in a heartbeat’. But while TEAMtalk cited their interest in November, it also has Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United as targeting the 19-year-old.
Additionally, Brighton want over £100m for Ferguson’s transfer. A deal for Gyokeres – who A Bola noted Arsenal sent their scouts to watch on Thursday – would also cost €100m (£86m) in a release clause. Calciomercato has long noted a €45-50m (£38.5-43m) price for Sesko.
Read more about what Ornstein has said about Arsenal’s striker transfer plans, here.
Mikel Arteta admits he makes life ‘difficult’ for Jakub Kiwior
Arteta has admitted that he makes life ‘difficult’ for Jakub Kiwior by asking the centre-half to play at left-back when without Zinchenko. The 24-year-old has made all but one of his top-flight starts this season out of his natural role, while featuring in 14 Premier League fixtures.
“We have made it difficult for him for two reasons,” Arteta has outlined, via football.london. “One, because he hasn’t played that many minutes. And the second one, because we asked him to play in a position that he’s never played in before.
“So, it’s like putting William Saliba as a full-back and saying, ‘There we go tomorrow, go and perform and do what we have to do!’ And I think he’s adapted really well.
“I think he’s playing better and better. You can tell that he’s earning the confidence and physically, he’s better. He understands the role much better and he’s been really good.”
Arsenal have sporadically been without Zinchenko – along with Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu – at times this term through injury. He has missed their last three Premier League games with a calf issue. But Zinchenko might return from the injury against Sheffield United.
Read more about what Arteta has had to say about Kiwior’s life at Arsenal, here.
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