ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE UPDATES: Get all the latest from the Emirates here…
Friday August 25
Bielik latest
19:15: Arsenal youngster Krystian Bielik will remain at the club this transfer window after picking up a shoulder injury, according to Goal.
The 19-year-old has been linked with a move to Leeds and Nottingham Forest but has now been ruled out for eight weeks.
Wilshere latest
16:49: Jack Wilshere has been challenged to get back to his best and earn a new deal at Arsenal, although manager Arsene Wenger admits the chance to do so may come elsewhere.
“If he gets back to his best and wants to stay, we have to sit down, I think, later in the season. I don’t rule that out,” he said when asked if he planned to offer Wilshere a new deal.
“You know how much I love Jack and his talent, I started him at the age of 17 but today in the football world you need to be a consistent presence and what is at stake for Jack is not his quality, his talent or his determination, it is whether he is a consistent presence at the top.
“I hope he can manage to do that and after nobody questions his quality.”
Lemar wants United move
10:00: Monaco winger Thomas Lemar would prefer to join Manchester United over Arsenal, according to Duncan Castles.
Manchester United and Arsenal have both been tipped to lure Lemar away from Monte Carlo this transfer window.
And the Red Devils’ path to the winger was left clear yesterday with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger conceding defeat in his bid to land the 21-year-old.
It represented a bitter blow to Arsenal fans, who had been hoping to see the 21-year-old move to the Emirates this summer.
But Castles says a Monaco contact has informed him Lemar would rather join United than their Premier League counterparts – and suggested it is why the Gunners have stopped pursing a deal.
“I had a chat with a Monaco contact last night, asking where things stood, he said the Lemar deal was very much on the table as far as they’re concerned,” he told the Transfer Window podcast.
“It is a possibility he leaves if the transfer fee they’re looking for (60m) is met.
“The interesting bit of information is I asked where Lemar would prefer to go, whether it’s Arsenal or Manchester United.
“And he was very clear. Lemar wants to go to Manchester United.”
Sancho snubs Arsenal
09:00: Manchester City youngster Jadon Sancho will snub Manchester United and Arsenal in favour of Tottenham, reports claim.
According to ESPN FC, Sancho wants to leave the Etihad and hopes to find a clearer pathway to first-team football.
The 17-year-old is believed to have snubbed City’s £30,000-a-week offer because he feels that he’s got a better chance of breaking through to senior level under Mauricio Pochettino.
VVD deal edges closer
08:05: Arsenal are moving closer to the signing of Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
James Dodd, a reporter from Fox Sports News, says conversations have been held between Arsenal, Van Dijk and his representatives over a possible move.
And The Sun add that Arsene Wenger is prepared to pay £50million to secure his services.
But Arsenal aren’t the only challengers with Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool also making contact with Southampton representatives.
Ox predicament
08:00: Arsenal could be forced to sell Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with the player reportedly set to reject their latest contract offer.
Oxlade-Chamberlain sat down with Gunners chiefs for a round of talks earlier today, with the club desperate to resolve his future.
The 24-year-old is currently out of contract at the end of the season along with team-mates Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
Chelsea are eager to land him before next week’s deadline (11pm) and the club are considering raising their offer to £35million in order to land the England international.
And according to the Daily Mail, a new contract offer by the Gunners worth £180,000 a week has been proposed to Oxlade-Chamberlain, but he is set to rebuff it.
The north London outfit would loathe to lose the winger on a free transfer next summer, and the Mail add Liverpool are still in the hunt for his signature.
No Carvalho swoop
07:55: Arenal will NOT challenge for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, reports claim.
The Gunners have frequently been linked with the Portuguese international having extensively scouted him in his younger days.
But it’s London rivals West Ham who are leading the battle for his services with the Daily Star claiming they’re close to agreeing a £37.5million deal.
Asked whether Arsenal would make a last-gasp effort to hijack Slavan Bilic’s swoop, Football London reporter Charles Watts said: “His playing style is not that easy on the eye, so perhaps Wenger does’t feel he would fit in at Arsenal.
“But the fact he may well end up at West Ham tells its own story really. Despite plenty of big clubs looking at him, no-one made a move.”