ARSENAL know the exact date they will return to Premier League action, with a trip up the M6 to champions Man City scheduled for June 17.
And on the transfer front, the Gunners are reportedly hoping to replace Atletico Madrid target Alexandre Lacazette with Lyon's Moussa Dembele.
Get the latest news, gossip and updates from the Emirates here…
TURN OF FRASE
Ryan Fraser’s move to Arsenal has moved a step closer after he signed up with Mikel Arteta’s agent, according to the Mirror.
The Bournemouth winger has left long-term representative Jon McLeish as he gets set to become a free agent.
Arsenal are confident of landing the left winger, 26, on a Bosman – not bad for a club who are experiencing a headache over cash.
The Scotland international had 15 assists and eight goals last season, but as Bournemouth have struggled this term, he has just the one goal and four assists.
HOOPLESS WITHOUT IT
Tony Cascarino reckons Arsenal need a Michael Jordan-type character to get the best out of Mesut Ozil.
He said on TalkSPORT: “You have to be real on this, because when you pay someone a huge indifferent salary compared to everyone else at a football club, he has to make the difference on the field.
“So that’s going to come with criticism, as much as you might think it’s unfair and some people think it’s bullying, it carries a price.
“When you watch The Last Dance and you see how Michael Jordan got more out of a player, you sort of think you wish Arsenal had that type of player to get more out of Mesut Ozil.
“Not just the manager, but a player sitting next to him in the dressing room who might be thinking you’re not doing enough.”
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Former Arsenal and Spurs playmaker David Bentley was wide-eyed during a row between two Gunners team-mates.
He said: “I remember Pascal Cygan and Kolo Toure having a row.
“It was hard splitting them two up, I tell you!
“There was about 15 blokes trying to separate them, I wouldn’t get in the ring with them!”
NOT LUIZ CHANGE
David Luiz has reportedly cost Arsenal as much as £24MILLION after just a single season at the Premier League club.
Only signed to a one-year deal on deadline day last August, the Brazilian is reportedly heading for the exit door at the end of the campaign.
Chelsea were paid £8m as the Gunners secured a ready-made replacement for Laurent Koscielny. According to The Athletic, the imminent deadline and relatively cheap fee for such an experienced player led to Arsenal agreeing to pay £6m in agent fees.
The club see their relationship with Luiz's advisor Kia Joorabchian as a huge positive and reportedly believed the signing was a bit of a coup so late in the window. However the costs continued to mount with the centre-back put on an initial £125,000-a-week contract that is said to have earned him £10m when accounting for bonuses.
That adds up to a considerable £24m outlay on a player who has played 32 times so far this season, and must agree to a temporary contract extension by June 23 if he is to see out the extended campaign.
Luiz's overall fee for one season's work follows an expensive theme also seen in the deal to sign Dani Ceballos on loan.
JU KNOW WHO
Hector Bellerin is unlikely to leave Arsenal this summer but reports suggest the club must improve to guarantee his long-term commitment.
Serie A sides Inter Milan and Juventus are said to be interested in the right-back amid the Gunners' financial uncertainty.
After three straight seasons in the Europa League, Arsenal may not even qualify for Europe this season as Mikel Arteta wrestles with the club's slide.
And ESPN eport that Bellerin believes in his compatriot's ability to turn things around.
However it is added that rumblings of a move away will grow serious if the Gunners remain in the doldrums.
MORNING ARSENAL FANS
The Gunners are reportedly still the side “most interested” in signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey but the transfer has been delayed by coronavirus.
Partey has been repeatedly linked with a move to North London but talks surrounding a deal appear to have been pushed back by the outbreak of Covid-19.
Spanish media outlet AS suggest that before the coronavirus crisis, the Gunners and boss Mikel Arteta were ready to stump up the money for the 26-year-old's release clause.
In other news, Barcelona want just £9million to take Philippe Coutinho on loan.
According to Mundo Deportivo, there is an acceptance within Barcelona that they are unlikely to get the full £71m they want for him.
Meanwhile, Alexandre Lacazette is reportedly not interested in joining Antonio Conte's Inter Milan as a replacement for Lautaro Martinez.
The French forward's Arsenal deal runs until 2022 but he has not always been a regular starter under Arteta.
Conte's Inter had hoped to lure the former Lyon man to Serie A to replace outgoing striker Martinez.
According to L'Equipe, Lacazette has declined to make the move to the San Siro to play for Inter.
And finally, Lucas Torreira has revealed his burning passion to play for Boca Juniors – and it doesn't sound like he just wants to retire there.
He told Fox Sports Argentina: “I imagine a Copa Libertadores night at the Bombonera wearing Boca’s shirt, of course.
“Right now my head is in Europe and I was to stay for a while, but I have that desire and dream to go [to Boca] – and not just to retire, but to compete and feel what the Boca world is.
DAVE KIDD
They have bent over backwards to make Project Restart a reality and ensure that Liverpool claim the title they so richly deserve.
Despite the quite reasonable fears of many players, managers and others in wider society, the Premier League’s clubs have shown unity and decisiveness by agreeing to restart the season on June 17.
There will be no nulling and voiding and, assuming all is safe and well, no asterisk to denote a curtailed season against the Reds’ first title in 30 years.
So there should be no squabbling over whether Liverpool are allowed to play on Merseyside until they have been confirmed as champions — or even if they are forced away from Anfield for the remainder of this season.
With Jurgen Klopp’s men a staggering 25 points clear, there is no doubt they will be crowned champions. Their season to date has been the most dominant league campaign in the history of the English top flight, with 27 wins from 29 matches.
And so there can be no reasonable argument about a lack of ‘sporting integrity’ in them being asked to play their remaining home matches at neutral venues, as well as their next fixture, the Merseyside derby scheduled for Goodison Park.
HOW ARSENAL COULD LINE-UP FOR PREM RETURN
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta can now start ponderinghis line-up when Premier League football resumes on June 17 with a trip to his old club Manchester City.
Arteta has vastly improved, if not quite transformed the Gunners since taking over last December after being Etihad No2 to Pep Guardiola
Calum Chambers is training after surgery on knee ligament damage initially expected to keep him out until September.
It remains unlikely that he will play much this season however, but the versatile defender confirmed recently that his operation “went well”.
January loan signing Cedric Soares has joined his new teammates for the resumption of training as he pushes for a first appearance for the club.
In midfield, a question mark hangs over Lucas Torreira's availability also after the Uruguayan suffered an ankle injury in March.
DAN THE MAN
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FOUL!
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has shared a funny Instagram exchange with Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
The pair appear to be rowing over how their inter-squad games are reffed.
ZERO COVID CASES
The Prem have confirmed that after the fourth round of testing for coronavirus, they've had NO new positive results… so on we march to June 17!
A statement said: “The Premier League can today confirm that on Thursday 28 May and Friday 29 May, 1,130 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.
“Of these, zero have tested positive.
“The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.
“No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public after each round of testing.”
WOULD HAVE BEEN ROUD NOT TO
Olivier Giroud has admitted he had a point to prove against Arsenal when the Blues thumped his former team 4-1 in last year’s Europa League final.
The Frenchman said: “It was a very special moment but it was like extra motivation for me because I wanted to show them that I still had some energy in me and some good years left in me.
“I scored, I got an assist and I won the penalty so quite a lot of good things happened there for me because I was involved in three goals out of the four that we scored.
“It was like in a dream because I couldn’t have imagined that it would go so well, so perfectly for us.
“I wanted to win things at Chelsea – that’s why I was even more motivated that night – but winning against your old club like that.”
DIS-CONTE-NT
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette is reportedly not interested in joining Antonio Conte's Inter Milan as a replacement for Lautaro Martinez.
The French forward's Arsenal deal runs until 2022 but he has not always been a regular starter under Mikel Arteta.
Conte's Inter had hoped to lure the former Lyon man to Serie A to replace outgoing striker Martinez.
Argentine Martinez is thought to be on the verge of a move to Barcelona after Inter confirmed he will be allowed to leave if the Catalan giants can cough up his £100million release clause.
According to French outlet L'Equipe, Lacazette has declined to make the move to the San Siro to play for Inter.
After bagging nine goals and three assists in 26 games this season the French ace did enough to convince Inter he was a worthy replacement for 22-year-old Martinez but is not keen on the transfer
PARTEY TRICK
Arsenal are still the side “most interested” in signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey but the transfer has been delayed by coronavirus, according to reports.
The Ghana ace has been repeatedly linked with a move to North London but talks surrounding a deal appear to have been pushed back by the outbreak of Covid-19.
Reports from Spanish media outlet AS state that Arsenal are “the club most interested in signing Partey”.
They suggest that before the coronavirus crisis, the Gunners and Mikel Arteta were ready to stump up the money for the 26-year-old's release clause.
The clause stands at around £43.5million for Partey, who has bagged 15 goals and 12 assists in 174 games for Atleti.
But the financial implications of the virus and impact on the market mean it is unclear whether the Gunners are still willing to fork out the amount required.
I WON'T DEFEND THEM
Arsenal legend Martin Keown has had his say on the state of the Gunners' defence…and he is not convinced by all those at the Emirates.
Former centre-back Keown expressed concern over a few of the North London club's defensive stars including David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi.
He said of the Brazilian: “David Luiz concerns me because if you're going to pay £8million for him and give him £5m wages and he's only going to be there for one season, I'm not sure about the wisdom of that.
“Is he a proper defender? Can he play in a back four? His best defending came when he was in a back three at Chelsea when they won the Premier League [in 2016-17].
“It's the most crucial area which he [Arteta] has to get right.
“Holding's been injured, it's hard to judge him, he probably deserves another opportunity. I think that Sokratis could be a useful defender but I can understand the uncertainty of giving David Luiz a new deal.”
MASTERS OF NONE
Richard Masters says there is still work to do as the government gives its thumbs up to the return of sport, after nearly two months of negotiations.
The Prem chief exec said: “All major sports, including the Premier League, have been working together with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to produce this Stage Three protocol.
“We could not have reached this point without the full support of the Government, especially DCMS, Public Health England and the Chief Medical Officer’s team.
“We have provisionally planned to restart the Premier League on 17 June, but there is still much work to be done to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“This includes consulting with our clubs, players and managers – along with all our other stakeholders – as the health and welfare of our participants and supporters is our priority.
“If all goes well, we will be thrilled to resume the 2019/20 season in just over two weeks’ time.”
WELCOME TO MY CRIB
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has given fans a sneak preview into what MTV Cribs with footballers at home looks like.
The Arsenal striker and Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard shared footage of their home tours.
Aubameyang does the iconic open-door welcome to the viewer and then plays football with his kids.
BOBBY JOBBY
Confusion surrounds the need to use neutral venues for Premier League games after statements from two key police forces on Friday.
They come after UK's football policing lead, Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts of South Yorkshire Police, had earlier suggested games would be moved at local forces' request.
At least five top-flight matches have been earmarked to be played at neutral venues, plus any further games where Liverpool could win the title.
Among the games picked out were the Merseyside derby, Liverpool's clash away to Manchester City and Manchester United's home match against Sheffield United.
Merseyside Police later said there were no objections from the force to holding games at Goodison Park or Anfield in relation to crime and disorder, while Greater Manchester Police said a decision on moving high-risk games has yet to be taken.
TO THE NINES
Barcelona want jus £9million to take Philippe Coutinho on loan, according to reports.
The 27-year-old has had a nightmare since signing for Barcelona in January 2018, and has spent this term on loan at Bayern Munich.
He has attracted interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.
According to Mundo Deportivo, there is an acceptance within Barcelona that they are unlikely to get the full £71m they want for him.
'WE TIRED'
Ian Wright has written of how he was left “tired” and “drained” by the death of George Floyd that has sparked protests across the United States.
Video footage of the incident showed Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee against the neck of Floyd, 46, for several minutes while he was pinned to the ground.
After viewing the upsetting clip online, former Arsenal and England star Wright, 56, said he was thinking of taking a break from social media amid the racism storm surrounding the incident.
He tweeted: “I’m tired. We tired.
“The comments, the replies, every day explaining ourselves.
“That video. Just drained. Maybe time for a bit of break.”
ARRIVA-DESCHI
Federico Bernardeschi could be primed for a move to the Premier League this summer, according to reports in Italy.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are thought to have the winger on their radar ahead of a crucial couple of months in his Juventus career.
Since Maurizio Sarri's arrival at the start of the season, Bernardeschi has featured less prominently than under former boss Massimiliano Allegri.
And he may soon find himself surplus to requirements – particularly with promising midfielder Dejan Kulusevski arriving from Parma.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Bernardeschi will want a move to England if he leaves Juventus.
The 26-year-old reportedly feels ready to test himself in a new country and Premier League clubs are lining up to make an offer.
AD-IEU
Arsenal target Adil Aouchiche has undergone a medical at Saint-Etienne, according to reports.
The Gunners are trying to reshape their squad in boss Mikel Arteta's image this summer, albeit on a tight budget.
And with Aouchiche, 17, having not tied his future to Paris Saint-Germain by penning a professional contract, he had appeared to fit the bill.
But Arsenal's chances of signing the highly-rated teenager have been dealt a potentially fatal blow today, with Goal reporting that he has undergone a medical at PSG's Ligue 1 rivals Saint-Etienne.
Despite his tender years, Aouchiche has been exposed to first-team football this year, with PSG thinking very highly of their academy product.
A technically gifted attacking midfielder, he was handed his senior debut by boss Thomas Tuchel back in August, when the French champions travelled to Metz.
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?
Leicester and Chelsea are favourites to clinch Premier League top four spots.
Leicester (1-7) and Chelsea (8-13) are odds on to clinch top four spots, with Manchester United (7-4), Wolves (7-1), Tottenham (10-1), Sheffield United (12-1) and Arsenal (14-1) in the chasing pack, according to Coral.
Norwich (1-20), Aston Villa (2-5) and Bournemouth (4-5) are all odds on to be relegated from the Premier League this season.
BOCA CALLING
Lucas Torreira has revealed his burning passion to play for Boca Juniors – and it doesn't sound like he just wants to retire there.
He told Fox Sports Argentina: “I imagine a Copa Libertadores night at the Bombonera wearing Boca’s shirt, of course.
“Right now my head is in Europe and I was to stay for a while, but I have that desire and dream to go [to Boca] – and not just to retire, but to compete and feel what the Boca world is.
“My family is big soccer fans and we Uruguayans watch a lot of Argentine football. It is one of the most important in South America, very passionate, so from a very young age this affection, this ‘I had to go to the Madrid final [where River Plate beat Boca] and when the game ended I thought I wasn’t going to be so mad but I was very sad, for the defeat and for how the game had been.
“It was the time I got to see Boca as a fan. It is true that I have great affection for the club and hopefully it will be forever. In Fray Bentos, I have many friends who are fans of Boca.”
MORE ON GEORGE LEWIS DEAL
Arsenal's latest signing George Lewis is 19 years old, was born in Rwanda but is also eligible to represent Norway at international level.
The Gunners appear to have held an interest for a while, with the player's agent having posted on Instagram from the Emirates in early March.
Arsenal youth blogger Jeorge Bird also reported in April that the player confirmed on an Instagram Live that the move would be going ahead.
The pursuit came as a shock to many in Norway, with Lewis having been plying his trade in their third-tier prior to his dream Arsenal transfer.
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