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Football London
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Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Arsenal news: Summer targets, Europa League squad, Saliba praise, 3 players Arteta has improved

Arsenal supporters have to wait another 11 days to see the team in action.

The Premier League's first-ever winter break is taking place over the next fortnight and the schedule has worked in the Gunners' favour as they have this weekend off.

And ahead of the home game against Newcastle United, plans are in place for Mikel Arteta's side to recharge their batteries in an attempt to finish the season strongly.

What Arsenal need to do during the winter break

Tomorrow, the squad will fly out to Dubai for a spot of warm-weather training.

Despite there being no game for the Gunners, plenty will still be happening off the pitch.

With that said, here's all the news from around the Emirates Stadium over the past 24 hours.

Summer transfer targets

Arsenal were smart in the January transfer market. Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari arrived on loan in what are relatively low risk deals which was to be expected.

However, things could be different come the summer.

Depending on how the season turns out is likely to have an affect on the type of player the Gunners can attract to the Emirates, but with many quality players threatened by relegation, this is a market to take advantage of in a few months time.

Jack Grealish and Max Aarons battle for possession (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

Here is a list of five players facing the drop that the Gunners could try to poach when the transfer window reopens.

Europa League squad confirmed

Arsenal have announced their full squad for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

As expected, there were no surprises. Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares are the new additions, while youth players Miguel Azeez and Tom Smith have also been added to the list.

Eddie Nketiah is also named following his return to north London last month after spending the first half of the season on loan at Championship outfit Leeds United.

Click here to read the squad in full.

Saliba praise

William Saliba will prove to be a huge success at Arsenal.

That's the view of former defender Mathieu Debuchy who is a current teammate of the £27m summer signing at Saint-Etienne this season.

Though injuries have limited Saliba to just nine appearances across all competitions this season he has won praise from his compatriot.

"He's a great player," the 34-year-old told the Ligue 1 podcast. "I'm so happy for him to play next season for a big club like Arsenal.

"He improves every game and I think he is a great player. He's strong with good technique. He's quick.

"I think he has a lot of quality to play at Arsenal."

3 players Arteta has improved

Mikel Arteta has improved three players since being appointed Arsenal head coach.

According to Gunners legend Ian Wright the players in question are Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi.

"I don't think it should matter where they finish this season, simply because taking over from Unai Emery, where it was spiralling out of control, no direction, there has been a change in organisation, closing down, intensity of our play," he said on BBC 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

Tammy Abraham takes on Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi (Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

"People like [Lucas] Torreira, [Granit] Xhaka, he's turned Xhaka right around, he's got something out of [Shkodran] Mustafi, he played well against Burnley the other day.

"Things are happening, but it's going to take time.

"The defence was poor, now it's getting more solid, we just need to convert chances."

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