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Arsenal welcome Brentford to the Emirates on Saturday as they look to strengthen their bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League. The north London side are currently sixth in the league table. They trail fourth-placed Manchester United by four points, but have three games in hand.
Meanwhile, manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that the Gunners need Nicolas Pepe. Elsewhere, the Premier League giants have received a blow in their pursuit of an AC Milan star.
On that note, here's a look at the key Arsenal transfer stories as on 19th February 2022:
Arsenal need Nicolas Pepe, says Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta has said that the Gunners need Nicolas Pepe. The Ivorian's future at the Emirates continues to hang in the balance, with his current contract set to expire in 2024.
Speaking recently, Arteta expressed hope that Pepe would stay at the Emirates.
"I hope he does (see his long-term future at the club). But I understand when a player doesn’t play, he’s disappointed, and Nico has been disappointed because he wanted to have more minutes," said Arteta.
"Hopefully he can play many more minutes, and he can contribute to the team because he has the ability to do it. Since he has come back again from AFCON, I think I’ve seen a different Nico as well. I don’t know what it is," continued Arteta.
The Spaniard added that Arsenal need the Ivorian as they chase a top-four finish.
"Probably he has realised the importance of the end of the season for him. He had a brilliant end of the season last year; he can replicate that. We need him; we need him at his best. Everybody’s going to contribute because we are really short at this moment, and we need it," said Arteta.
"Hopefully he has understood that we want to play him, that I don’t want to have a player like him sitting on the bench, and not using him. The moment I have chances, I want to give him chances," continued Arteta.
It's worth mentioning that Pepe has not started a Premier League game since October. Currently, he finds himself behind Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli.
Gunners receive blow in Rafael Leao pursuit
Arsenal have received a setback in their pursuit of Rafael Leao. According to Just Arsenal via La Gazzetta, AC Milan are preparing to triple the Portuguese's wages in a bid to keep him at the club. The 22-year-old has been impressive for the Rossoneri since arriving in 2019, scoring 19 times in 82 league games.
The Gunners are on the lookout for a new number nine, and have Leao on their wish list. However, prising him away looks difficult, as AC Milan are planning to tie him down to a new deal with a huge pay raise.
The Serie A giants are confident of keeping Leao at the San Siro, so the Gunners might have to move on to alternate targets.
Mikel Arteta praised for handling of senior rebels in squad
Sam Allardyce has praised Mikel Arteta for his tough stance against senior rebels in the squad. The Spaniard stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the Gunners' captaincy, and offloaded him to Barcelona in January.
Speaking to Ladbrokes, Allardyce said the incident showed other members of the squad that they must respect the club.
"He’s had a lot of big, senior players who haven’t been pulling their weight, and personally I think he’s dealt with those situations very well. (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang, in particular, was the most recent example," said Allardyce.
"That incident showed everyone at the football club that it doesn’t matter who you are; it doesn’t matter how big you think you are – if you’ve been honoured with the captain’s armband for a club like Arsenal, to disrespect that, to disrespect the manager and to disrespect Arsenal Football Club, I can’t sympathise with how Arteta deals with you," continued Allardyce.
Allardyce also pointed out that Arteta has laid down a marker regarding discipline at the Emirates.
“He dealt with that magnificently well, because it shows the rest of the team that there’s a certain level of expectation when it comes to discipline, and if you’re not going to adhere to that, you’re gone," added Allardyce.
