Arsenal ‘Toxic’ Wardrobe Revealed, Mikel Arteta To Be Endorsed In Transfer Window – Paper Round

Arsenal’s troubles this season have gone from bad to worse as the Mirror reveals the club’s “toxic” dressing room. The Gunners have had their worst start to the season in the Premier League and are currently ranked 15th, with just 14 points from 14 games. The Mirror believes that one of the factors behind Arsenal’s relegation form is the divided locker room. Some members of the team are unhappy with the treatment received by exiled couple Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The duo are described as “great characters and personalities”, but both were omitted from the Premier League and Europa League teams for the current campaign by coach Mikel Arteta.

Paper Round’s opinion: You can’t please every player on your team, but it was a bold decision to leave Ozil out of the teams for the season. Sokratis may be a “great character”, but clearly he’s not good enough to make a difference, even in this underperforming Arsenal. However, Ozil definitely would. The Gunners are clearly lacking in creativity right now and Arteta has done herself no favors by neglecting one of the most creative footballers of her generation. There is no easy way to fix the problems at Arsenal, but the Premier League team definitely needs to dive into the transfer market and add a creative midfielder to their squad in the January window.

The Mail reports that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be backed in the January transfer window. The Gunners are underperforming this season and the board really fears now that the club is being dragged into a battle for relegation from the Premier League. A creative midfielder has become a ‘priority’ for the winter window, and the North London team have only managed to score 12 goals in their 14 league games so far this season.

Paper Round’s opinion: Arteta needs the backing of the board … but how much money are they willing to give him? The Arsenal manager was forced to choose between Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar at the end of the summer transfer window and it is now clear that the Gunners needed both. Will the board give Arteta the funds to complete a late deal for Aouar in January? Otherwise, they could end up with another short-term borrower as we’ve seen in the past with the likes of Denis Suarez and Kim Kallstrom. The January window may be worthless, but Arsenal’s board made its own bed after failing to adequately back its coach in the summer.

Manchester City are set to reward central defender John Stones with a new contract after his recent form, according to a Telegraph report. The 26-year-old had fallen out of favor at the Eithad, featuring just 16 times in the Premier League last season, but vowed to stay and fight for his place in the squad in the summer. Stones started the season as a fifth-pick center-back under Pep Guardiola, but has now formed an unstoppable defensive partnership with new signing Ruben Dias. The English international has 18 months remaining on his current contract, but will be offered a new contract to extend his stay at City.

Paper Round’s opinion: It is a really inspiring story. Stones sat behind Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Eric Garcia in the pecking order before the start of the season, but he retired to fight for first-team football and now proved his skeptics wrong. The Three Lions defender seized his opportunity with both hands and has kept a clean sheet in each of his last nine appearances for his club this season. Managing to keep Laporte out of the City side is a feat and the next Stones will be looking for a return to the England configuration ahead of this summer’s European Championships.

Liverpool are ready to block the loan of central defender Rhys Williams after a series of impressive performances so far this season. The Sun claims the 19-year-old was wanted by numerous clubs in the Championship, including Middlesbrough, but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp wants Williams to stay at Anfield. Liverpool are currently facing a defensive crisis due to long-term injuries to first-choice center-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. Williams made his Premier League debut for the defending champions in a clash against title rival Tottenham last week, a match Klopp’s team won 2-1.

Paper Round’s opinion: Sometimes being close to the first team, training and being part of the match day squads can be more beneficial than being loaned. Yes, Liverpool probably need Williams to stay at the club in case they need to call him back, but Klopp probably thinks it will help their long-term development as well. The youngster has played nine games so far this season with a club that has won the Champions League and the Premier League in recent seasons. Don’t be offended, but it’s a different experience than playing in the Championship. It could be a great season for Williams and now he has a chance to fight for his shot at Liverpool.