Here are your Arsenal morning headlines for Monday, July 13.
Arteta prioritises new midfield pairing
Mikel Arteta has to help Raul Sanllehi perform a juggling act this summer, improving a poor squad by Arsenal standards on a tight budget.
One area Arteta will be keen to bolster is the centre of the park, with his two central players needing to be able to control the game in both halves if the Gunners are to be successful.
Arteta is sufficiently impressed by the improvement shown in Dani Ceballos to want to sign the Real Madrid man permanently, while he has also identified another La Liga option as his ideal partner.
That is Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey, with the Times suggesting Arteta sees him as an “elite defensive midfielder” and would like to pair him with Ceballos, who brings a more creative edge.
If Arsenal are able to sign both it would be a step forward for the club in terms of rebuilding, though the finances involved might mean sales are also required.
Derby defeat leaves Wright deflated
Arsenal led in the north London derby on Sunday, but eventually suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.
Arteta was unimpressed, the players looked annoyed at their inability to hold on and the fans will have shared that most painful of experiences from afar: losing to the local rival.
And the former players who remain supporters weren’t exempt, with Ian Wright sharing a wordless social media post at full-time to express his feelings.
Wright posted a mock-up photo on Twitter of actor Will Smith in an Arsenal shirt, looking suitably disappointed at proceedings.
Redknapp points out Xhaka’s role in goal
It all looked so promising for the Gunners when Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring, before Spurs turned the match around to win 2-1. While the French striker took the acclaim, Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp explained a slight input from midfielder Granit Xhaka in allowing the strike to be taken.
"It's a poor piece of play by Serge Aurier, not a great header, he gets up too slowly, it's a poor touch and he needs to win the tackle,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.
"He doesn't win it and the ball falls to Lacazette, who just hits that so well.
"Granit Xhaka does him a favour as he just gets in the way of Aurier.
"He just steps across him, that buys Lacazette a fraction of a second to get a shot away, otherwise Aurier might have been able to get back to slide tackle.”
