News and gossip from Arsenal FC in the past 24 hours.
Arsenal will potentially welcome Bacary Sagna back to the first team for the game with QPR after recovering from a broken leg. Jack Wilshere is also likely to feature in the game however Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain faces a late fitness test. Theo Walcott, Wojciech Szczesny, Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky will all miss the tie.
Arsene Wenger has demanded a response from his faltering Arsenal side ahead of their upcoming fixture with QPR this weekend. The Gunners have struggled with back-to-back defeats against Norwich City and Schalke 04 in the past week. He feels the players hit the wall after the international break but did want the Schalke game put into context considering the current form of the Bundesliga side who defeated Borussia Dortmund at the weekend.
As previously reported here at HITC Arsenal are on the verge of dropping Nike for Adidas as their main kit manufacturer. Simon Lilley their new head of retail has a strong link with the German company and a deal is likely to start in 2014 when the current 18-year-association with Nike comes to an end.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes Serge Gnabry has a huge future with the North London club. The 17-year-old German winger has been touted as having the talent and personality to make it in professional football. He has already made three appearances for the first team this season.
Arsenal are in a battle to sign Partizan Belgrade’s Serbian talent Lazar Markovic. The attacking midfielder was destined for a move to Chelsea last summer but a change of management has seen that position change. Arsenal will do battle with Sevilla, Roma, Barcelona and Fiorentina, who have a good record of buying players from the Serbian side, but talkSPORT believe that Arsenal are the favourites to bring him in.
Arsenal were defeated in their most recent NextGen Series matchup when they conceded a very late goal in the Stade Marcel Cerdan against Marseille. Arsenal conceded the goal with one of the final kicks of the game when Antoine Kisaku fired home past Dejan Alliev to leave the Nicolas Yennaris skippered side trailing in third place of Group 6.
And finally Arsene Wenger believes that there should be no introduction of quotas for black managers in the Premier League. There has been talk of introducing something similar to the ‘Rooney Rule’ of the NFL in the English football system but Wenger warned that positive discrimination is in itself a form of racism.
What are your thoughts on everything and anything happening at Arsenal FC in the past 24 hours?
images: © Ronnie Macdonald, © Ronnie Macdonald
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
