Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Mbappe ‘willing to join Gunners’, Chelsea ‘in battle for Williams’, Neto updates

Arsenal lead Ivan Toney race

Arsenal are leading the race to sign Brentford forward Ivan Toney in the summer transfer window, according to Football Insider.

Thomas Frank seems resigned to the fact that his star player will probably be sold in the summer.

But the Bees will demand £80million to let him go.

Shearer lavishes praise on Rice

Alan Shearer thinks Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was “unstoppable” against former club West Ham in the Gunners 6-0 win over the weekend.

He said: “[Declan Rice was] unstoppable against his former club, setting up two goals before scoring himself.

“[Ben White] adapted really well to a new role, moving in and out of midfield, and linked so well with Bukayo Saka. Nothing got past [William Saliba], and he made an impact in West Ham’s box as well with his goal.

“[Bukayo Saka’s] game had everything and, after coolly converting his penalty, his second goal was clinical.”

McCoist issues hands off warning

Ally McCoist has warned Arsenal against signing Kylian Mbappe amid links to the Frenchman.

He told talkSPORT: “No chance because not only would you break it, you’d have to obliterate it and destroy it and once that happens there’s knocks on the door, saying well he’s on this, I’m only on a quarter of that and have scored this many goals.”

Tierney reveals "alien" Arsenal role

Kieran Tierney has revealed he found what Mikel Arteta wanted of him at Arsenal to be "alien" to him.

He told the Daily Mail: “At Arsenal the left-back can be one of the most central players in the team.

“If it’s Oleksandr Zinchenko then he is one of the biggest creators from a central position.

“When that got introduced it was alien to me. I have never played centre midfield, I started as a winger, I was trying to learn that when I was at Arsenal.

“When you see how well it works it is hard to question it. My choice was to just get on with it and learn and I got to practise it with one of the best.

“It’s so natural to Zinchenko, he makes it look so easy.”

Wenger leaves fans in stitches

Arsene Wenger left football fans in stitches after rating a YouTuber's skills.

The Frenchman is set to manage Team Chunkz at Match for Hope, a charity game set to take place at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar next week.

Ahead of the event, Wenger was told to rate Chunkz's skills from a series of highlights.

He said: "Chunkz? Who is Chunkz? I have great captains in my life but I don't know who is Chunkz.

"But if you have nobody else, maybe."

While watching a video of the YouTuber, he said: "Okay let's see what this Chunkz can do.

"Not bad. He's alright. Very skillful. Not the quickest, but very skillful."

Fans found the manager's comments hilarious and were quick to react, with one person writing: "Maybe not the quickest 😂."

Arsenal 'ready to compete' for title

Former Arsenal star Mikael Silvestre believes Arsenal are finding their best form at the right moment.

The Gunners produced statement wins against Liverpool and West Ham in their previous two games and SIlvestre believes they are ready to compete for the Premier League title.

He told : "It's still early but obviously December was a setback but looks like they had a good winter break and now they're performing better."

"It's good to be in form at this moment in the season because the other team - Man City - is also coming back to their best."

"So, for Arsenal to be in good form in mid-Feb, ready to compete, is a good sign for the final sprint."

Pundit heaps praise on Saka

Garth Crooks was full of praise for Bukayo Saka after he starred in Arsenal's 6-0 win over West Ham.

The BBC pundit said: “He’s come a long way since he missed his penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout.

the way the England international put his spot-kick past Alphonse Areola in the West Ham goal to put Arsenal 2-0 up seemed to suggest Saka hasn’t lost a wink of sleep about taking penalties since that fateful evening.

“I said then that the experience would make a player out of him and it has. He’s not only become one of the best players in the country, he’s Arsenal’s most consistent goalscorer.

“Meanwhile, as emphatic as their win was against the Hammers, Arsenal cannot win the title without a top-class natural finisher at centre-forward and they don’t have one.”

Henry weighs up Champions League chances

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was shocked to learn the Gunners have the same odds of winning the Champions League as REal Madrid with the bookies.

“Wow,” responded Henry after being told Arsenal have the same odds as Real Madrid.

On whether it’s an overstatement: “I don’t know about odds. I don’t do odds. It will be a tough game against Porto away. If we pass that well, then we can beat them at home.

“There was a massive decision about. Does Arsenal need a number nine? What they needed to do was put the ball into the back of the net. When Arsenal does that, it’s 6-0. In every game, it could have been the same. In the cup against Liverpool, they didn’t do it. They did it, with a bit of help, in the league from Liverpool.

“But when Arsenal are on point and put the ball in the back of the net, it doesn’t matter who plays. Trossard will score. Declan Rice has been scoring. Gabriel has been scoring. It doesn’t really matter. If we turn our opportunities into goals, then we are going to be a very difficult team to beat."

Mbappe 'willing to join Arsenal'

Kylian Mbappe is reportedly willing” to sign for Arsenal in a blockbuster move so he can follow in the footsteps of his hero Thierry Henry.

However, this update from The Independent also adds that PSG chiefs still expect Mbappe to join Madrid in the summer.

But It is believed Madrid's proposal was lower than what they put on the table two years ago for the striker with Mbappe still sitting on the fence about the move.

Gunners 'too predictable'

Ex-Manchester United frontman Alan Brazil claims Arsenal are too predictable and lacking a natural goalscorer.

Yet the pundit still believes the Gunners are genuine title contenders.

Brazil told : My main problem with Arsenal is, who’s going to score the goals?” 

“Yes they scored plenty against West Ham, but they still don’t have a proper centre-forward. 

"Defensively and in midfield they’re great with the likes of Martin Odegaard, who I think is a great player, but they can be a bit predictable.

“There are still a few issues for Mikel Arteta to sort but there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re in the title race.

"The wins over Liverpool and West Ham will have been a huge relief and they’ll be pleased to show those who had written them off that they’re not finished yet.”

Thierry reveals why Gunners don't win 6-0 more often

Thierry Henry says erratic finishing is the only reason Arsenal don't dish out more 6-0 thrashings.

The Gunners' strike legend believes Sunday's Prem win by that score at West Ham could easily have been repeated regularly this season.

Boss Mikel Arteta is reportedly keen on bringing in a world-class goal-poacher.

And Frenchman Henry told CBS Sports: “There was a massive discussion about if Arsenal needs a #9 - what they needed to do is put the ball in the back of the net.

"When Arsenal does that, it’s 6-0. In every game it could’ve been the same. When we do, we’re tough to beat.”

Sak's appeal grows

Arsenal fans rate Bukayo Saka the "best winger in the league"; after amassing an awesome 26 goal contributions in 31 games in all competitions this term.

The 22-year-old England star has shrugged off a modest opening to the campaign.

And he notched two more goals in Sunday's 6-0 demolition of West Ham.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer has 25 goal assists in 31 matches, with Manchester City wideman Phil Foden on 23 from 35.

But Saka's current form puts him top of the England starlets.

And one fan posted: "Arsenal's star boy just keeps getting better & better."

Emile hurt in training

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has been crocked in training.

The Times say the three-cap Englishman, 23, was hurt trying to leap over a slide tackle in training.

The Londoner is said to have suffered bruising and swelling after landing uncomfortably

It's claimed Smith Rowe wanted to try to play through the pain but Arsenal refused to take any risks.

Prem giants queue for Mitoma

Brighton left-winger Kaoru Mitoma is reportedly interesting at least four Premier League giants.

Manchester United and City, plus Arsenal and Chelsea, are said to be keen on the Japanese 26-year-old.

And it's claimed in Spain tonight that the Seagulls will be ready to listen to offers in the summer.

The suggestion is that Ibrahim Osman's £16million arrival at the end of the season from Nordsjaelland will "open up the possibility" of Mitoma moving.

Thierry verdict on why Klopp is quitting Liverpool

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp decided to leave this coming summer as he "has to take care of himself".

The France Under-21 manager likened Klopp's exit to current Manchester City chief Pep Guardiola taking a year off after his stunning stint at Barcelona before joining Bayern Munich.

Henry reached out to Klopp via CBS Sports: "Good for you.

"Pep was at Barcelona, took a sabbatical year. Klopp is at Liverpool, is stopping. Xavi is at Barcelona, he is also stopping. Three great clubs.

“That’s a dream job normally and they are stopping. That tells you a story. The pressure, everybody has a voice, social media and whatnot.

"It is tough to be a manager and no one cares about you. You’re going to have to take care of yourself at one point."

Henry added: "He was missing his family, he was missing his own time, he was missing his sanity. So good for him. When I got the news, I was like: ‘Good for you'.”

'Strange' to see Rice NOT celebrate

Arsenal legend David Seaman found it "strange" that Declan Rice declined to celebrate his wonder goal in the Gunners' 6-0 defeat of his old club West Ham.

Seaman hailed Mikel Arteta's men for a "brilliant performance" in cementing third spot in the Prem.

The ex-England keeper told his -sponsored podcast Seaman Says: “What a goal it was not to celebrate!”

“To see him not celebrate was strange for me, because it was just such a good goal and the icing on the cake on an incredible day for him and the club.

“I was so happy for Declan because he was getting a lot of stick from West Ham fans.

"He got a lot of stick at the Emirates recently when they beat Arsenal, so I was so happy for him for turning it around on Sunday.”