Here are your Arsenal lunchtime headlines for Sunday, March 15.
Pablo Mari talks teammates
Having joined on loan from Flamengo in late January, Mari made his debut for the Gunners earlier this month in the FA Cup fifth round, keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Portsmouth. He followed that up with another solid display as Arsenal beat West Ham United 1-0 in the Premier League.
On both occasions the Spaniard was partnering veteran centre-back Luiz in the heart of the Arsenal defence, the pairing provided Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta with ball-playing qualities and a balance that comes from Mari being left-footed and his team-mate being right.
Arsenal line up Issa Diop move
Arsenal are reportedly plotting a move for West Ham defender Issa Diop.
The Mirror state that the Gunners are ready to join the race for the centre-back, with Man United and Chelsea also linked in the past.
And should West Ham get relegated, Arsenal will attempt to get the 23-year-old on a cheap deal.
The Hammers paid £22.5million for Diop in 2018, and still has three years remaining on his current contract.
Wayne Rooney delivers coronavirus verdict
Former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney has delivered a scathing verdict on footballing authorities and the government following the coronavirus outbreak.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was the first person in the Premier League confirmed to have contracted the virus on Thursday evening, shortly after the Premier League had confirmed that all games for the weekend would go ahead.
However, postponements were forced on Friday as Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi confirmed that he had also been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Behind the scenes
On Monday morning Arsenal executives had already begun to put together their plans to ensure the club's exposure to COVID-19 was mitigated in every way possible.
Discussions were to be held that day on the cessation of executive travel; scouting missions, business meetings and conference visits would all have to wait until the coronavirus crisis had died down. Just over three days later Arsenal found themselves at the heart of the United Kingdom's battle against the pandemic.
It would not be an overexaggeration to say that Mikel Arteta's diagnosis with COVID-19 radically altered football's approach to the virus. Postponing the English game immediately went from an option that required serious consideration to an absolute necessity.
Read more on the behind the scenes efforts at Arsenal here .
Ian Wright's surprising revelation
Arsenal have had some iconic football shirts throughout the years.
From their partnerships with Nike, Adidas and Puma over the years, there have been some absolute stunners - as well as some not so great efforts.
But one of the best in the club's history was undoubtedly the infamous 'bruised banana' kit worn between the 1991 and 1993 seasons.
So much so that when the Gunners signed a new kit deal for this season with the sportswear giant, a remake of the shirt became the club's official away kit for 2019/20.
The demand for the shirt has been huge, with fans loving the new version of their iconic kit - but Arsenal legend Ian Wright says it wasn't always as popular - particularly with the players.
You can read his views in the link above.
