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Arsenal are gearing up for some great weeks in the Premier League after making a good start to Mikel Arteta’s first full season in charge.
The London club is currently fourth in the league, with nine points out of 12 possible, and is in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
They have a series of challenging games ahead of them, with Manchester City, Leicester City and Manchester United as their next three opponents, but they will enter those games after closing a deal for Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey, one of several new additions to a growing team.
We have the latest on a couple of the other players who were unable to complete moves to Emirates Stadium despite strong ties, as well as an update on a team member tied to a loan outing ahead of the national deadline on 16 October.
Aouar sheds light on how close he came to Arsenal’s move
Arsenal agreed to a deal for one of their transfer goals on the day of the deadline, choosing Thomas Partey, but fellow midfielder Houssem Aouar stayed in Lyon.
The Frenchman made his full international debut on Wednesday, playing 59 minutes with Les Bleus in their 7-1 win over Ukraine, and spoke to the media about Arsenal’s interest.
“I am happy to stay in Lyon,” Aouar told TF1.
“It’s my city, it’s my club. I’m very proud to represent Lyon.
“It wasn’t really Arsenal or anything else, although in the end it was close to that. Really, a decision had to be made and I’m happy to stay here.
The 22-year-old has played four times for Lyon in Ligue 1 this season, scoring in a 1-1 draw with Marseille, and has spoken of his “great pride” in continuing to work with Lyon’s sporting director and former playmaker Juninho.
Saliba’s loan exit is no longer expected
William Saliba came close to leaving Arsenal on loan on the European transfer deadline, but a temporary return to former club Saint-Etienne could not be completed in time.
This sparked suggestions that the young Frenchman could be allowed to gain championship club experience, with his path to the Gunners first team currently blocked.
However, Athletic informs that this is no longer likely, revealing that ‘except for a late change of plan it is understood that he will be with Arsenal until at least the January window’.
Saliba, who signed £ 25 million in the summer of 2019, spent last season on loan at Saint-Etienne but saw his playing time limited by a combination of injury and the premature suspension of the Ligue 1 season.
The teen was an unused replacement for Community Shield, but has yet to make his competitive debut for the Gunners, with the arrival of Gabriel de Lille pushing him down the pecking order.
Coutinho reveals Barcelona’s ambitions behind Arsenal links
Philippe Coutinho was strongly linked to a summer signing by Arsenal, but several changes at Barcelona have seen the Brazilian rejoin the first team at Camp Nou.
Ronald Koeman has replaced Quique Setien as the Catalan club’s coach, while high-earners like Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal have left.
This has brought new opportunities for Coutinho upon his return from a loan at Bayern Munich, and the Brazilian scored his first goal of the season against Sevilla just before the international break.
He is now in international service and told the media that he is “having a great time” since returning to his parent club.
“I have returned to Spain with a lot of desire for things to go well and it is also what I want in the national team, in every opportunity I have I want to play great games giving my best for the team,” the former Liverpool player said .
Coutinho has started three times in La Liga with Koeman, after Bayern chose not to take the option of signing him permanently.
The 28-year-old scored 11 times for Bayern in all competitions last season, including two goals in the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona, and an exit to Arsenal or elsewhere seems unlikely. at this time.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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