Here are the Arsenal morning headlines for Friday 17th July.
Sokratis against move despite interest
Greek central defender Sokratis Papastothopoulos has fallen out of favor in the Gunners, unused by Mikel Arteta since the restart despite the rotation of a threesome defense.
Sokratis is not believed to be part of the long-term manager’s plans and had been linked with a return to Germany, but the telegraph (through Espresso) suggest that the 32-year-old is not planning to leave this summer.
With one year left for his deal, worth over £ 90,000 a week, he plans to stay out of the past 12 months even if he isn’t present.
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At that point he would have left a free transfer, further depriving Arsenal of the possibility of recovering a commission for him.
The board of directors must support Arteta on the market
Arsenal are miles away from the top teams in the Premier League, despite what the scoreboard said at the end of the 90 minutes against Liverpool.
Arteta knows she needs time to improve the team on the training ground, but also funds to invest in new staff if she wants to continue the club.
Former midfielder Perry Groves fears a A huge investment is needed to bridge the gap and suggests that the starting point is an expense of £ 150 million in the transfer market.
“Arsenal needs money spent in different areas, particularly in the midfield and central midfield,” he said on talkSPORT. “We have a lot of young players on the way, which is good, but watching the game against Liverpool was a survival kick, let’s be honest.
“But I can see what Arteta is trying to do, I can see that there is a plan to close and be closer as a unit, but at the moment it has to do with six, seven, eight players that he knows he doesn’t really want.
“There’s some light at the end of the tunnel, but finances, that team probably needs £ 100-150 million spent on it.”
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Arteta’s dilemma in the game plan against Man City
Arteta’s favorite lineup is slowly taking shape, but there are a few positions that still appear at stake, particularly on the back of the right.
Cedric Soares appeared recently but is not eligible for the FA Cup semifinal against Manchester City, which means the manager he has to decide between Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Bellerin.
While the Spaniard has seen more beginnings in recent times, pairing with Nicolas Pepe is critical to the unique nature of the game and there is a case for Maitland-Niles to make the nod instead.
The FA Cup now looks like Arsenal’s best bet for a place in the Europa League, but it will take another 90 minutes of defensive action against City to get there.
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