A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Ian Wright welcomes a transfer for Brighton forward Evan Ferguson and Jamie Carragher thinks four Gunners have been ‘average’.
Wright backs Arsenal’s interest in Ferguson’s transfer
Highbury hero Wright would sign Brighton & Hove Albion prospect Ferguson at Arsenal ‘in a heartbeat’. The 19-year-old has emerged as a transfer target for the north London outfit and several rival clubs. He has continued his incredible rise on the south coast so far this season.
Reports by TEAMtalk cite Arsenal’s interest in Ferguson moving to Emirates Stadium. But the Gunners will face a £100m asking price to take the eight-cap Ireland international away from the Amex. He is also now under contract to June 2029 after signing an extension this month.
Arsenal and Chelsea are also just the latest sides to consider chasing Ferguson after scoring six goals in 12 Premier League games this season. The Meath native’s form had already lured scouts from Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United down to the south coast.
Brighton expect to be inundated with bids for Ferguson’s transfer next summer. Arsenal may also wait until next summer as any deal may exceed £115m. But Wright cannot see a reason why the forward would not make for an excellent addition at Emirates Stadium in the future.
“Oh my gosh, there’s no way I’m not going to say I’d take him in a heartbeat,” Wright said on his Wrighty’s House podcast. “We will see how it goes.”
Read more about what Wright has had to say about Arsenal’s interest in Ferguson, here.
Carragher names Saka among four ‘average’ Arsenal stars
Carragher believes Bukayo Saka is one of four ‘average’ Arsenal players who are hurting the Gunners’ bid to win the Premier League title. The Liverpool hero claims the attacker, along with Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, have not found their top gear.
He cites the quartet’s regression in front of the goal as why they have each been below-par this term. Saka has scored once every 259 minutes so far this season but he hit home once every 228 last term. Martinelli has suffered the biggest drop off going from 187 to only 806.
“At times, they’ve actually been more offensive [than last term],” Carragher told Sky Sports. “But the reason I don’t think they are as fluid, I just think, individually, the attacking players have been average this season.
“Whereas they were on absolute fire last season, in terms of Martinelli, Saka [and] Jesus. Odegaard, for me, last season was up there alongside Kevin de Bruyne. I know he’s had a few injury problems but, when we actually look at the stats, [he has also regressed].”
Read more about what Carragher has had to say about Arsenal’s ‘average’ players, here.
Campbell feels Gabriel is more important than Saliba
Kevin Campbell believes Gabriel Magalhaes is more important to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side than William Saliba. The Gunners hero is a huge fan of what the Frenchman delivers in their defence. But he feels the Brazilian is ‘the glue’ that holds the north London natives together.
“What tends to normally happen is if a player leaves the back four and goes up, somebody will go in his spot. They don’t need to,” Campbell told Highbury Squad. “Gabriel will handle all of that left-hand side, centre-back to left-back when [Oleksandr] Zinchenko goes inside.
“But because [Gabriel] wasn’t there, that’s why you had Saliba on the left-hand side, you had Ben White and that’s why Thomas Partey played there because Mikel Arteta wanted the inverted one to go from the right-hand side earlier on in the season.
“But as soon as Zinchenko was fit, we still needed to use Gabriel. Gabriel for me is the glue. People think Saliba’s the glue. No, Saliba is the Rolls-Royce.”
Read more about what Campbell has had to say about Gabriel and Saliba at Arsenal, here.
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