ARSENAL are targeting a new name as Mikel Arteta looks to improve the club's defence.

Getage centre-back Djene has been mentioned, while Arteta is also said to be interested in James Maddison to bring creativity to the midfield.

Follow all the latest Arsenal transfer gossip and updates below…

• MUSTAFI CONTINUED

  “I managed to try to block it out a little bit. I was not that active on social media and  wasn't reading comments, I wasn't too concerned about social media, I just wanted to go back on the pitch and give everything because I knew that in this moment I was not playing the football I know I could play. 

  “I was just talking with the closest people around me like my family, my parents, my wife, my kids, and this helped me to forget about everything. In the morning when I was coming to training, I would just focus on the training and then go back home to spend time with my family. I tried not to read too much stuff that people were saying.

  “Did I feel like a target at times? I wouldn't say a target because it's very hard if you say that. I don't think the world turns around me or that I'm the main point of the world. But it was difficult sometimes to understand because even in a few bad games where I wasn't involved, I was the one to blame.

  “It gets a little bit frustrating to read those comments but at the end of the day, you have to be professional and I tried to be as professional as I can. Sometimes you read comments and you really disagree, and you want to say something but then you just leave it because you want to stay professional.”

• MUSTAFI CONTINUED

  “It's something that affected me but I had to deal with it because I didn't want to make the same mistake again, I wanted to come to the training ground and show them that I am going to be there for them, I am going to be there for the team, I am going to be there for the supporters.

  “You’ve also got to deal with social media. On there, it's difficult to handle when things are going well and then when things are not working out it's even tougher.

  “When things are going well, it's easy to read those comments and like what you read. It gives you confidence but you have to be careful not to get carried away because you still have to stay professional. 

  “Then when things aren't going well, obviously you don't like the stuff you read. You don't agree with a lot of comments, so it makes it difficult. It's so much easier when things are going well because when you're reading comments you don't like, you have to go out and play and you've got those comments in your head.”

• MUST HAVE

  Arsenal centre-back Shkodran Mustafi has opened up on what it is like to be abused by fans.

  He said: “When you win all your tackles, when you win everything on the pitch but then make one mistake that you're punished for, it destroys everything that you did before. This is something that makes this position so hard.

  “It affects you, too. After the game of course you're disappointed because nobody is happy making mistakes, but when I made one and we conceded a goal from it, I would go into the dressing room and I'd be disappointed to let my team-mates down. This is the first thing.

  “You look at each of the players and think, 'OK, they worked so hard and one of my mistakes made us lose the game'. You blame yourself a lot. I am quite harsh on myself as well when I make mistakes.

  “This is something you have to learn to deal with because the next day you're straight back in training and you're focusing on not making the same mistake again.”

• TIER WE GO

  Kieran Tierney has been knuckling down in the gym as he continues his recovery from injury.

  The Scottish defender underwent surgery last month after he dislocated his shoulder against West Ham.

  Tierney was forced off the pitch on December 9 with his arm in a makeshift sling.

  The 22-year-old, who completed a £25million move from Celtic on Deadline Day, is expected to be out of action for three months.

  But he has been working up a sweat in the gym in a desperate bid to speed up his recovery.

  

• LOONEY TOON

  Newcastle are reportedly in talks to sign Arsenal youngster Alfie Matthews.

  Football Insider claim that the Magpies have held discussions with the Gunners about the striker – who becomes a free agent in the summer.

  The 18-year-old has netted twice for the U18s this season and has been called up to the U23s on a number of occasions.

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