Here is a roundup of the top Arsenal headlines from icfootballnews.com over the past week.

Reports have claimed Mikel Arteta is hoping to make Napoli star Dries Mertens his first signing at the Arsenal.

Despite spending some serious money during the summer transfer window, Ex Gunners boss Unai Emery has come under intense criticism for his transfer decisions and lack of results at the Emirates.

That meant that the Gunners made the decision to get rid of the Spanish boss just last month and replace him with Arteta, who has been working with Pep Guardiola for the last few season with Manchester City.

Napoli are well off the pace for the Seria A title after a poor start to the new season and could be forced to sell their players as a result, and Italian news outlet Calciomercato argue Napoli could be forced to sell their players for less than their asking prices after such a poor start.

And the report goes on to say that Mertens will be allowed to negotiate with clubs in January over a potential free move in the summer, with Arsenal ready to try and nail down a transfer deal for a small fee.

Look, it is the same thing every season, Arsenal have been linked with some of the games best players, there is alot of speculation, maybe even talks, but in the end the Gunners hierarchy decide to move on as they want to save a bit of money.

Should Mikel Arteta sell Mesut Ozil after being told to get rid of the Arsenal flop.

After months and months and months of speculation in the media, the Gunners finally decided to ditch the idea that Unai Emery is the man to lead the club into a new era and finally decided to let the Spaniard leave just a few weeks ago.

And that has led to the appointment of Arteta, the club legend that has been working next to the best boss in the game right now, Pep Guardiola, who is not happy about losing his right-hand man to the Gunners this week.

It was no secret that Ozil was almost out-of-contract before Arsenal gave in and offered him a massive £350,000-a-week deal, especially as they literally just let Alexis Sanchez leave for Manchester United and did not want to lose another big named player.

And that has led to a lot of transfer speculation in the media that he could be leaving the club and heading to either the Turkish League or Chinese League, as there is a lot of interest in the German despite his poor performances under ex boss Unai Emery.

But he is expected to stay at the club in January and fight for his chance to prove that he is still a top-class player, as he wants to stay at the Arsenal and continue collecting that £350,000-a-week wages that he reportedly gets.

But for Former West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hisop has opened up and told Arteta that he needs to get rid of the stroppy German, telling the Daily Express website: “I don’t feel like in tough games, physical games, Mesut Ozil gives you enough.

“I also understand the other side of that argument, in that as a creator, he’s got talent.

“Arsenal don’t have anyone better [in terms of creating opportunities].

“In trying to attract anyone with that sort of talent, they’re going to ask for Mesut Ozil money.

“Everybody will be absolutely right in their approach to ask for Mesut Ozil money.

“Until Ozil goes, I don’t think you get any real world-class talent in at Arsenal.”

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Tony Cascarino has hailed Mikel Arteta as a world-class coach and believes the newly-appointed Arsenal manager can bring the Barcelona back to the Emirates.

Arteta watched on from the stands as Everton and Arsenal fought out a dreary 0-0 stalemate at Goodison Park, and the Spaniard was powerless to inspire any creativity from his new players in a match where you could count the number of clean cut openings on one hand.

And Cascarino believes the management and playing style Arteta will try to breed at Arsenal will reflect his football upbringing.

Speaking on Saturday’s Weekend Sports Breakfast, the former Chelsea striker said: “I’m very pro-Arteta. I’m a big fan.”

“He will know the type of player he wants that will improve Arsenal, they’ve got to be good technically, with great energy, despite and a great approach mentally to football.

“That was the big stand-out feature at Barcelona. We talk about Barcelona over the last two decades, the mentality of their great sides was being proud of the club, all on the same hymn sheet, all working in the same direction for everyone to pull together.”

“In all my time as a player, I can’t remember Arsenal having a very average team,” he added.

“You could argue Bruce Rioch’s team didn’t do that well, but that wasn’t an average team, they had a lot of good players.

“But this is a very average team, and I think Arteta will get a lot more from them.

“His reputation in the game is second to none as a coach and these arsenal players need a coach.

“It’s evident Matteo Guendouzi is a good player, Lucas Torreira is a good player, Nicolas Pepe is a good player, Ainsley Maitland-Niles had huge potential, but they all need coaching.

“The same way Leroy Sane needed coaching, Raheem Sterling needed coaching and Gabriel Jesus, and Arteta was part of that at Manchester City.

“I think they’ve made a big decision to give him his first job, but there are no guarantees with any manager and the way he talks is exactly what Arsenal need.

“He needs to get rid of this soft image and set them up right – that’s not what we’ve seen over the last few years.

“Arteta has got a lot of challenges, whether it’s David Luiz, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shkodran Mustafi, he’s got a number of issues around the park.

“But he’s also got some very talented young players. Gabriel Martinelli is a talent, Joe Willock, will he become a talent? Arsenal have got five or six youngsters who need to be coached, and Arteta can do that.”

Young Arsenal midfielder Catalin Cirjan has signed his first professional contract with the club.

Arsenal have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past few months as there has been a lot of speculation about whom could be coming and going in the next few transfer windows.

The Gunners are in the midst of a crisis, they are in need of adding a new manager to the side and is also in need of adding some big time players to the squad, especially if they want to get back challenging for titles.

But away from all the drama of the first team issues, the Gunners still have one of the best acadamies in the game and they have broken some good news for many Gunners fans, as Cirjan has signed his first contract with the Arsenal.

The 17-year-old playmaker joined our academy as a scholar from Romanian side Viitorul Domnesti in July 2019, and impressed heavily on his debut in the U-18 Premier League, providing two assists in a 5-1 win against Aston Villa.

A club statement on the website said: “Everyone at the club would like to congratulate Cirjan on his first professional contract and we look forward to seeing him progress.

‘The contract is subject to the completion of regulatory processes.’

The young man took to Twitter and Tweeted: ‘I am happy to announce you that I have signed my first professional contract with Arsenal. I am so proud to be part of this wonderful family, it’s the place where I have always wanted to be !’

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