A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Mikel Arteta discusses Aaron Ramsdale’s hopes for England’s squad, and Manchester City’s Kyle Walker fires a title race dig.
Man City star Kyle Walker fires a title race dig at Arsenal
Manchester City defender Walker has thrown down a gauntlet to Arsenal to prove that they deserve to win the Premier League title by winning at Etihad Stadium. Arteta takes his team to the Citizens on March 31 for a potentially huge game to determine the 2023/24 title race.
Arsenal finally ended their 15-game winless run against Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s side in October. Gabriel Martinelli’s 86th-minute strike flew past Ederson via a huge deflection off Nathan Ake’s face. The Gunners had lost their previous 12 encounters.
Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud secured Arsenal their previous win over Manchester City with a 2-1 result at Emirates Stadium in October 2015. But Arteta will now have to oversee their first win at Etihad Stadium since a 2-0 win in January 2015 when they visit this month.
Walker was keen to remind Arsenal of their now nine-year wait for an away Premier League win at Manchester City. But he concedes the Gunners deserved to win last October. Arteta’s team took 12 shots with two on target while Guardiola’s side struck four with one on target.
“The better team won on the day,” Walker told FIVE. “[There are] still a lot of games to play. Remember the last time they came to the Etihad? Come to the Etihad [and then] we’ll see.”
Walker also admits that his past with Tottenham Hotspur still plays a huge part in his desire to deny Arsenal their first Premier League title since 2003/04. The 33-year-old joined Spurs from Sheffield United in 2009 and would make 229 appearances for them through to 2017.
“It’s so hard,” he added. “I don’t want Arsenal [to win] because of Tottenham. I just don’t want Arsenal [to win it].”
Read more about what Walker has had to say about Arsenal and the title race, here.
Arsenal still want Ivan Toney but not in an £80m transfer
Arsenal still hold an interest in signing Ivan Toney but will not target any transfer if Brentford demand £80m. That is according to the Mirror, which reports that the Gunners are prepared to move on to other strikers. They are also admirers of Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres.
Toney remains amongst the top options on the shortlist at Emirates Stadium as concerns are growing about Gabriel Jesus’ injury record. Arteta has been without the 26-year-old in many games after further aggravations of the knee injury he suffered back at the 2022 World Cup.
Jesus’ plight will see Arsenal target strikers in the summer, and admire Toney for his physical presence, fitness record, clinical finishing and intelligence. But further interest from Chelsea and Tottenham might spark a bidding war for Toney’s transfer, which Arsenal refuse to enter.
Read more about Arsenal’s latest stance on a transfer for Brentford star Toney, here.
Mikel Arteta backs Aaron Ramsdale for England’s Euro 2024 squad
Arteta has backed Gareth Southgate to name Arsenal outcast Ramsdale in England’s squad for Euro 2024. The Spaniard would urge the Three Lions manager to remember what the 25-year-old has achieved in recent years and not only his seat on the Gunners’ bench this term.
Ramsdale made the PFA 2022/23 Team of the Year after helping Arsenal fight for last term’s Premier League title. But Arteta then signed David Raya on loan from Brentford last August. Raya also replaced Ramsdale as Arsenal’s No1 following the September international break.
Southgate has, so far, still included Ramsdale in each of England’s squads since June 2022, despite his situation at Arsenal. So, Arteta hopes Southgate will continue to trust what the four-cap stopper from Chesterton can offer England and also take Ramsdale to Euro 2024.
“I don’t know how Gareth is thinking,” Arteta said, via the Mirror. “But if I put that situation into my eyes and my perspective and how I make a decision, I would judge Aaron not for what he has done in one day, but what he has done in the last two or three seasons.
“He has shown consistency and for the quality he has shown. It would give me no reason to make another decision. A player has to be himself and one of the biggest qualities of Aaron is his character and his charisma, his enthusiasm, his energy. He is contagious with that.”
Read more about what Arteta has had to say about Ramsdale and England, here.
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