Here are your Arsenal morning headlines for Wednesday, 9 September.
Aouar talks broke down over Guendouzi offer - Juninho
Lyon sporting director Juninho has revealed that discussions with Arsenal regarding sought-after midfielder Houssem Aouar broke down after the Gunners offered Matteo Guendouzi as part of their offer.
The Gunners offered cash-plus-Guendouzi in a bid to land the 22-year-old but the French side are not interested in the Arsenal outcast.
Guendouzi was frozen out of the first-team picture at the Emirates following his clash with Brighton & Hove Albion striker Neal Maupay in June.
"I get on very well with the Sporting Director (Edu)," Juninho told RMC Sport, as reported by football.london. "We spoke on the phone. Houssem Aouar is really well-liked by Arteta.
"There were some discussions for Mattéo Guendouzi, who is also a good player. He was brought up during the discussion.
"But we don’t need his profile, we were very clear. If it is like that, we are not interested at all, we cut the conversation, that is where things ended.”
Villa want Martinez before season-opener
Aston Villa are keen to complete the signing of Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez before the start of the new Premier League season, according to the Daily Mail .
Martinez, 28, impressed towards the end of the 2019/20 campaign after replacing the injured Bernd Leno between the sticks.
However, the Argentine is thought to be keen on regular first-team football and is not willing to deputise for the German during the upcoming season.
Arsenal are said to value Martinez at £20million, but it remains to be seen if Villa will raise the cash, with the Midlands club currently in the process of trying to complete a club-record deal for Brentford striker Ollie Watkins.
Former scout backs Arteta to succeed
Former Arsenal scout Francis Cagigao insists he has no bad feelings against the club after being sacked by the Gunners, and has backed Mikel Arteta to succeed as manager.
Cagigao spent 23 years at the club but was dismissed from his role as head of international scouting as part of Arsenal’s corporate restructuring.
And having expressed pride in the work he did for the club, Cagigao said he believes Arteta will do “exceptionally well” in his managerial career.
"He was always a strong-minded, organised, well-balanced midfielder and I think these are qualities he has taken on into his management career, which is at an early stage, but I think we can already see he is going to bring a lot to the table,” Cagigao told Guillem Balague’s YouTube channel .
“The experience he had working with Pep Guardiola was absolutely invaluable, he's played in a lot of countries so he's going to have an open mind, but strong convictions and I think he will do exceptionally well as a manager."
Cagigao also revealed how close Arsenal came to signing Lionel Messi in 2003.
“Arsene has said that at one stage we were close to signing Leo Messi and although I wouldn't go so far as to say we were close, we were there or thereabouts," he said.
"Discussions took place with his representative, but he had an issue with his work permit which at the time wasn't even clear in Spain where he was, so that was discarded.”
