Merson highlights area Arsenal need to improve
Paul Merson has claimed Arsenal must improve their defence if they are to challenge for silverware under Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners sat in ninth place in the Premier League before the season was postponed, but there have been signs of improvement since the Spaniard’s appointment.
But Merson has insisted Arsenal have a lot of work to do yet.
"Will Arsenal be challenging for titles soon? Even if Pep Guardiola was in charge, no. Not at the moment," he told Sky Sports.
"Arsene Wenger used to say it all the time: it's all about the players. And for Arsenal at the moment, it's not a good enough team, not a good enough squad.
"I like Mikel Arteta, I really do, and I think he'll do better than the last manager Unai Emery, but at the same time, to challenge for the title I think they are a million miles off.
"They can't defend, and if you can't defend, you can't challenge for titles.
"Is there room for much optimism? I'm going to say no, to be honest. I don't know any team that has won anything when they can't defend.
"This is going to be a slow, slow journey back for Arsenal."
Reims defender could be perfect addition for Arteta
Reims centre-back Axel Disasi could the man to address Arsenal’s defensive issues.
The Gunners have been linked with the 22-year-old, who looks set to leave in the summer and is valued at £13 million.
Football.london took a look at Disasi, a player who has proven himself an excellent tackler and a capable distributor of the ball from defence.
David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi have all been unconvincing for Arsenal this season, so a new player in the position is expected to be a priority for Arteta.
The club have also been linked with RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano, Juventus’ Daniele Rugani and Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake.
UEFA release statement on plans for resuming season
UEFA have confirmed that their aim is to finish domestic and cup competitions across Europe as the coronavirus crisis continues.
Football across the continent has been postponed and as yet there is no plan in place to restart.
In a statement, the European governing body confirmed that a decision would not be made until after a meeting of the Executive Committee on Thursday.
"UEFA today met its 55 member associations via video conference and presented an update of the options being looked into by the two working groups that were created mid-March," the statement read.
"A variety of calendar options were presented covering both national team and club competition matches.
"The funding of National Associations through UEFA’s HatTrick programme was also discussed with UEFA reiterating its commitment to meeting the payments to member associations as planned.
"There was a strong recommendation given to finish domestic top division and cup competitions, but some special cases will be heard once guidelines concerning participation to European competitions - in case of a cancelled league - have been developed.
"Any decisions on the above topics would be announced after the UEFA Executive Committee on Thursday."
