A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp gives his honest thoughts on William Saliba and one Gunners star is now considering leaving the club.
Thierry Henry names six Arsenal legends who were ‘not there to be nice’
Record Arsenal goalscorer Thierry Henry has listed Martin Keown and David Seaman among the players who were ‘not there to be nice’ upon his move to Highbury. The France hero has opened up on his start at the Gunners and says they soon let him know what was expected.
Henry moved to Arsenal from Juventus in August 1999 as Arsene Wenger took advantage of him falling out of favour. The transfer brought one of the greatest Arsenal legends to date to north London, too. The 1998 World Cup winner went on to score 228 goals in 377 matches.
Wenger turned a winger who needed a new home into one of the best strikers the Premier League has seen. He also named Henry as Arsenal’s captain to replace Patrick Vieira in July 2005. It was a role that Henry saw as a ‘natural’ duty thanks to those who forged his path.
Henry told the official Arsenal website: “I just saw it as a natural thing to do, exactly as the old guard had done for me when I arrived. Sometimes we were a bit rough with them – in training or when we were talking. If they didn’t do their job, we let them know!
“Maybe it was a different time and that sort of stuff isn’t said in the dressing room now but I’m talking about back then. When I first arrived, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon, Martin Keown, Tony Adams, David Seaman, Ray Parlour – they were not there to be nice to you!
“It was never going to be just a jog in the park. No, no, no. The cannon means something, Arsenal means something and that’s what they let me know. I took that and passed it on. Sometimes you’ve got to be the guy’s best friend and, at times, you’ve got to be hard.”
Read more about what Henry has had to say about his start at Arsenal, here.
Jorginho may be tempted to turn down a new contract at Arsenal
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho will be out of contract this summer and he may now be tempted to leave north London. That is according to the Evening Standard, which reports that the 32-year-old has held talks with the Emirates Stadium giants. But he is considering a move away.
Jorginho joined the Gunners on an initial 18-month contract to make a transfer from Chelsea in January 2023. His terms include the option for a further 12 months, too. But clubs in Italy are showing an interest in signing Jorginho as he may now consider heading back to Serie A.
The Imbituba, Brazil-born technician will consider his future at Arsenal across the remaining weeks of the season. He is under contract in north London until the end of June and is a key part of Mikel Arteta’s side. But Jorginho has only started 19 of his 35 outings so far this term.
Read more about Jorginho’s latest stance on a transfer away from Arsenal, here.
Jurgen Klopp feels Gabriel and William Saliba give Arsenal an advantage over Liverpool
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba give Arsenal an advantage in the Premier League title race. The German rued the Reds’ inability to field a consistent backline this term after Everton took a 2-0 win at Goodison Park this Wednesday.
Saliba is the only player to start all 34 of Arsenal’s league games so far this season and has played all 3,060 minutes. Gabriel is fourth at Emirates Stadium for minutes on 2,715 from 32 games, of which he has started 30, after Declan Rice (2,872) and Martin Odegaard (2,745).
Virgil van Dijk (2,818) has played the most minutes by a Liverpool star in the Premier League this term. He has also started 32 of their 34 fixtures, with no other player starting more than 28. Ibrahima Konate has started 17 of his 22 games as the Reds’ next-most used centre-half.
So, Klopp says Arsenal have had an advantage on Liverpool in the Premier League title race with Mikel Arteta able to regularly rely on Saliba and Gabriel. Klopp has also used Joel Matip (nine starts from his 10 games), Jarell Quansah (9/12) and Joe Gomez (1/2) at centre-back.
Klopp explained in his post-Merseyside derby press conference: “Players who played all the games are not that fresh but that is the same for other teams. I don’t want to use that as an excuse, really. As long as the boys are fit [and] not injured, that helps.
“Let me say, Gabriel and Saliba played all the games for Arsenal. Did they play a little bit less than us? I don’t even know 100 per cent. But they played a lot of games.”
Read more about what Liverpool boss Klopp has said about Gabriel and Saliba, here.