Here are the Arsenal evening headlines on Wednesday July 22.
Gunners ready to offer Aubameyang new bumper deal
Arsenal are preparing to offer captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a new £250,000-a-week contract, according to the Telegraph .
The report states that the Gunners are putting the “finishing touches” on a new contract offer to persuade the Gabonese striker to stay at the Emirates Stadium.
The 31-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season, and there have been plenty of rumours linking him with a move away from north London, to avoid Arsenal losing him on a free.
The Telegraph has stated that Mikel Arteta and Aubameyang have formed a “close working relationship” and the club captain would consider re-signing under the Spaniard.
Xhaka questions his team-mates after Villa loss
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has questioned his team-mates' mentality following Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
The defeat to relegation-threatened Villa means the Gunners are not able to finish in the top seven and are relying solely on winning the FA Cup to be playing European football next season.
Xhaka said to reporters after the game: “In my opinion, you can’t come here and play like this. It’s not good enough and you can’t play with this mentality.
“It was not good enough to take something from today, and we knew if we won today, the last game if we won as well we could have got into the Europa League.”
Adams hits out at Pepe signing
Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams believes the £72million spent on Nicolas Pepe last summer should have been spent on different areas.
Pepe was signed for big money after a sensational season for Ligue 1 side Lille, and despite showing glimpses, his first season at the Emirates may be seen as rather underwhelming.
Adams believes the Gunners could have spent the £72m elsewhere and improved different aspects of the squad, when speaking to Stadium Astro : “I was very against Pepe to be honest with you because we had Saka coming through, we’ve got Eddie (Nketiah), Reiss Nelson, Martinelli.
“We’ve got a lot of kids that need to play, and to go and buy (Pepe for) £72m, I thought it could have been used in different areas.”
