A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as boss Mikel Arteta issues a big ‘always’ claim about Brentford, and two Gunners players know they are ‘done’ at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal ‘always suffer’ against Brentford
Manager Arteta has admitted that Arsenal ‘always suffer’ when they play Brentford ahead of hosting the Bees. The Gunners will welcome the Gtech Community Stadium outfit from west to north London this Saturday. Arsenal will move top of the Premier League table with a win.
Title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City – who Arsenal currently trail by two and one point respectively – meet at Anfield this Sunday. The Reds also drew 1-1 at Etihad Stadium back in November on the same day Kai Havertz gifted Arsenal a win in the 89th-minute at Brentford.
Arsenal rode their luck at times at Brentford with Declan Rice and Oleksandr Zinchenko both making goal-line clearances. And Arteta expects Thomas Frank’s side will give his side more problems on Saturday. Then, his attention can turn to Liverpool and Manchester City’s clash.
“Every point that we left, or we left this season, hurts and that’s still there,” he said, via the Arsenal website. “We have a lot to play for. The difficulty of the match is always really tough.
“We’ve played them twice already and we suffered, we always suffer against Brentford. On Saturday, I expect a really similar match. That’s the only thing we can control – perform well, play better than them and earn the right to win the game.
“Let’s do that and if we do that, then on Sunday it’s a beautiful game to watch for any football supporter. I will certainly be watching it. I will enjoy a magnificent game of football between two of the best teams in Europe in the last decade and let’s see what that brings.”
Read more about what Arteta has had to say about Arsenal playing Brentford, here.
Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale are ‘done’ at Arsenal
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale know they are ‘done’ in north London. That is according to journalist Jordan Davies, who believes Nketiah has checked out after Arteta ignored the 24-year-old at Sheffield United and Ramsdale also expects to leave.
Ramsdale will return to Arteta’s XI against Brentford this Saturday with David Raya ineligible to face the on-loan shot-stopper’s parent club. But their Premier League contest at Emirates Stadium will only mark the 25-year-old’s second outing in the top-flight since September 3.
Raya replaced Ramsdale in just the fifth game of the term and Arteta has not thought about recalling the Englishman. While Nketiah has also only started 10 of his 24 top-flight matches this season. Even Havertz and Leandro Trossard have featured as a striker ahead of Nketiah.
Read more about Nketiah and Ramsdale’s views on their futures at Arsenal, here.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sets a Europa League record
Former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set the Europa League’s goal record as Marseille thrashed Villarreal on Thursday. The 34-year-old bagged two goals in the round of 16 first-leg clash at the Stade Velodrome. He netted in the 42nd (penalty) and 59th minutes.
Aubameyang now has the record for the most goals in UEFA’s secondary club competition as the UEFA Cup and Europa League. He has scored 33 goals in 57 games in the competition’s history to move clear of ex-Gunners and Celtic forward Henrik Larsson, who scored 31 in 45.
Scoring once in Marseille’s knockout round play-off second-leg against Shakhtar Donetsk in February had given Aubameyang the Europa League goal record with 31. It put him beyond Radamel Falcao, who has 30 goals in 31 games but last played in the Europa League in 2013.
Read more about Aubameyang breaking the UEFA Cup/Europa League record, here.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
