Good evening, Arsenal fans. Here are your evening headlines for Friday, November 13.
Ozil weights into feud between Kroos and Aubemayang
Mesut Ozil has weighed in on the row between two players he’s played alongside, former Germany teammate Toni Kroos and current Arsenal colleague Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
"I find it very silly," Kroos said, speaking on his Einfach mal Luppen podcast, about what he perceived to be over-the-top goal celebrations.
"Even worse is if there are any objects hidden in their socks. Aubameyang once celebrated and took out a mask. That's where it ends with me. I don't think that's a good role model, either. What nonsense."
Aubameyang responded on Twitter with a picture of himself and former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Marco Reus dressed as Batman and Robin. “Send @ToniKroos congratulations for his 3 Kids cordially your Batman and Robin,” read the caption.
Now Ozil has taken to social media in support of his Arsenal team-mate, taking his side over Kroos, whom he won the 2014 World Cup alongside. .
He tweeted a GIF of Aubameyang celebrating an Arsenal goal by donning a mask, and wrote: “The best goal celebration!”
Arsenal already plotting fresh Aouar approach
Mikel Arteta is keen for Arsenal to make a fresh approach to sign Houssem Aouar, report The Athletic.
The Lyon playmaker was strongly linked with the Gunners over the summer, but he’s remained at the Ligue 1 club. Arsenal instead signed Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day, but are said to have lacked the funds to bring in both players.
But according to the latest report, Arteta remains a keen admirer of Aouar, who has scored four goals in 11 appearances for boyhood club Lyon so far this season.
The 22-year-old France international is still top of Arteta’s wishlist, amid rising criticism that his squad is desperately lacking a creative midfield presence in his mould.
Expert gives full lowdown on Martinelli’s surgery
football.london has spoken to Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT, a specialist in sports medicine, in order to get an insight into Gabriel Martinelli’s long injury layoff.
The 19-year-old made a big impression during his debut season with Arsenal, but the Brazilian then suffered a major setback, requiring surgery on a serious knee injury sustained in the summer.
“A cartilage is tissue in your knee joint that helps reduce force and friction. Think of it as a cushion between your knee bones - your femur which is your thigh bone and your shine bone which your tibia,” Brar said, responding specifically to a question about Martinelli’s recovery.
“An arthroscopic procedure is where they take tiny little instruments, cut little holes or ‘portals’ and they go in with a camera and the tools they need to repair what they’re doing.
“On the spectrum of surgery it’s considered one of the non-invasive side of things. From my understanding they’ve gone in and repaired what’s damaged, which is not always an option. The fact that he’s had it repaired is a very good sign for his long-term career.
“The fact that he’s young and quite fit before is quite beneficial. Arsenal are probably being relatively conservative with him due to the fact that he’s 19 and has a long career ahead of him, so you don’t want to rush him back either.”
