Here are your Arsenal headlines for the evening of Wednesday June 17.
Hector Bellerin makes pledge to plant 3,000 trees for every Arsenal win
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has pledged to plant 3,000 trees for every match Arsenal win over the final two months of the Premier League season.
The Spanish full back has partnered up with charity One Tree Planted ahead of the return of the 2019/20 Premier League season with the Gunners playing their first game back against Manchester City on Wednesday night.
“As a child growing up in Barcelona, I spent a lot of my with my grandad in his garden planting trees and playing in forests so it’s an issue very close to my heart,” Bellerin said about the pledge.
“When I saw the great work that One Tree Planted do, not just the planting of the trees but within the communities as well, I knew it was something that I wanted to get involved in.
"I hope that by doing this and using my platform, others will see how important it is to look after our world and donate to a cause which really affects us all."
Edu opens up on recruitment relationship with Mikel Arteta
Arsenal technical director Edu has spoken about how he envisages Mikel Arteta playing a role in the recruitment that will take place at the Emirates Stadium over the summer.
The former Brazilian midfielder was appointed to the role at the North London club in July 2019 to head up player recruitment and scouting for Arsenal and with the Gunners on the brink of what is expected to be a busy summer window Edu has opened up on what part Arteta will play in the process.
“Mikel has to be involved in recruitment, he must,” Edu told The Athletic . “We talk about what we need, the characteristics of the players, the system we’re going to play and then I start the process internally.
“That’s my role. If he has names, if he advises or wants advice on players, that’s fine. If he wants to talk to the other guys (like scouts) of course he will talk to them, but normally that’s my process.
"That’s why the relationship between us needs to be very strong. I have to understand his points and he has to understand the club’s points."
Former Arsenal director reveals first impressions of Arteta
Josh Kroenke has revealed what his first impressions were of Mikel Arteta as the new manager of Arsenal after the Spaniard took over from Unai Emery.
Hired in December having previously been Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, Arteta has enjoyed a positive start to life at the Emirates Stadium, but Kroenke says there is a bigger picture for the Spaniard at the club.
“When Mikel and I sat down one-on-one to talk about him coming to Arsenal, he walked me through things that he’d seen on the pitch and took me through several things he would like to implement from a coaching standpoint,” Kroenke told The Athletic .
"But really what we spoke about was club culture and setting a new tone. He told me some of the thoughts that he had and ideas they had done at Man City. It’s going to take some time - we’ve got a long road ahead of us. But the culture is changing.”
