Second offer for Aouar Accepted plus £9m in add-ons, Six players for sale, Arteta blueprint for Liverpool clash

Gunners fans hopeful of Aouar switch

News of that second offer for Aouar has led to much excitement among the Arseanl fan base.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed a Gunners bid and wrote on his Twitter page, via football.london: “For Houssem Arsenal is too far from his value: we are counting on him to play a great match in Lorient and lead OL in CL next year.”

Despite Aulas insisting the star will stay at the Ligue 1 club, it has been pointed out that he took a similar stance on Alexandre Lacazette – and a multitude of other stars – who he then sanctioned deals for weeks after.

Arsenal are reportedly already preparing a significantly improved bid for their primary target Houssem Aouar after Lyon rejected their initial offer earlier this week.

The Gunners are determined to sign the 22-year-old this summer and are set to raise their dismissed £32million offer to £36.5m with a further £9m in bonuses in a hope to secure the creative midfielder, according to football.london.

The Frenchman, who has made 130 appearances for Lyon, is paramount to Mikel Arteta’s plans as he looks to deploy his team in a 4-3-3 formation this season.

Six players for sale to land double swap

The two midfielders, of Atletico Madrid and Olympique Lyonnais respectively, are targets for Mikel Arteta’s side, but the club will have to raise significant funds and clear the wage bill before financing their arrivals.

The Daily Express report that Sead Kolasinac, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil have also been told to find a new club.

Arteta blueprint for Liverpool clash

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has triumphed on each of the two occasions he has faced Liverpool as a manager, but Monday night’s clash is set to be the toughest test yet.

The Gunners travel to Anfield as underdogs for the encounter despite edging out the Reds 2-1 at the Emirates late last season and ousting them on penalties in the Community Shield.

Arsenal had a fair share of luck in those games but there was also a firm tactical plan in place that allowed those results – and rare losses for Jurgen Klopp’s side – to happen.

“First of all you need a great individual performance by all of them,” Arteta said, as per football.london.

“You need certain luck, that’s for sure, in moments in the game, and then you have to be so consistent in everything you do throughout 96 minutes because in any moment they can open you up and you can get exposed.”