Here are your Arsenal morning headlines for Tuesday, 24 November.
Rio Ferdinand desperate for ‘beautiful footballer’ Nicolas Pepe to succeed
Nicolas Pepe’s Arsenal career hit another low point on Sunday, with manager Mikel Arteta criticising the Ivorian for his red card in the draw with Leeds United.
Pepe saw red less than 10 minutes into the second half, and will now miss a number of games, but former Premier League champion Rio Ferdinand still has hope for the Gunners’ record signing.
“I want to see Pepe do well,” Ferdinand told the FIVE YouTube channel (via Metro).
“I saw him at Lille, beautiful footballer with skills. He needs to do it at Arsenal. ‘The big fee brings pressure and he’s not dealing with it right now.”
However, Ferdinand accepted that Pepe let himself and his team-mates down with the dismissal against Leeds.
“Nicolas Pepe let you down, I don’t understand it,” he said.
“You’re a player who said before the international break that he wants to get back into the team, that he needs his chance and he’s not happy.
“You get given your opportunity and you do something so ridiculously stupid and get sent off. It doesn’t make sense.”
Arsenal’s dream and realistic signings ahead of January transfer window opening
After the first few weeks of the season, it seems pretty clear a creative midfielder should be high on Arsenal’s shopping list.
Mikel Arteta’s team have averaged less than one goal per game from open play, and sit in the bottom half of the table as a result.
Dominik Szoboszlai remains the dream signing for the Gunners, but the Red Bull Salzburg youngster has been interesting plenty of clubs around Europe and a lack of Champions League football could end up working against Arteta’s side.
We have taken a closer look at the Hungarian to get a feel for why Arsenal are so keen on bringing him to north London.
However, we’ve also identified a more realistic signing if a move for Szoboszlai is not feasible, and it’s another man who has been on the club’s radar for a number of years.
The one player Mikel Arteta needs to build his Arsenal team around
Arsenal might have drawn another blank in their trip to Elland Road on Sunday, but there were still some positives to take from the game.
Chief among these was the performance of Kieran Tierney, who returned from significant exertions on international duty to help his club grind out a draw despite playing nearly half the game with 10 men.
Tierney is marking himself out as someone who Arsenal need to build their team around - perhaps even more so than the attacking players in the side - due to his passion and a growing influence on his team-mates.
Even his reaction at the final whistle - racing over after seeing Granit Xhaka with his arm round Ezgjan Alioski after the Leeds man’s part in Nicolas Pepe’s red card - demonstrates a fighting spirit not always present at Arsenal in recent years.
After an injury-hit first season with the club, Tierney is quickly showing himself to be integral to the Gunners.
