A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Manchester City star Kyle Walker and James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur both reveal their honest feelings about the Gunners.
Arsenal learn a ‘necessary’ step for Benjamin Sesko’s transfer
Arsenal are interested in agreeing the summer transfer of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. Sporting director Edu has also now learned a ‘necessary’ step the north London outfit must make. Mikel Arteta likes the 20-year-old after Seko scored 18 goals in 42 games this season.
Sesko even recorded 11 of his goals in 2024 alone and scored once in each of his final seven Bundesliga appearances. Now, Dean Jones reports Arsenal could turn Sesko’s head by eying his transfer from RB Leipzig. But Edu must move as soon as the window opens to get a deal.
Arsenal were not looking to finalise any deals early in the window given the timings of Euro 2024 and Copa America. But it would be ‘necessary’ to move early for Sesko’s transfer, even though he is one of the strikers named in Slovenia’s squad for the European Championship.
Read more about Arsenal’s interest in Sesko’s transfer from RB Leipzig, here.
Man City captain Kyle admits he’s scared of Arsenal
Kyle Walker admits he would have been scared if Manchester City had to play Arsenal in the Champions League. The England right-back has now revealed that he was hoping for Bayern Munich to beat the Gunners in the quarter-finals. Yet Real Madrid also beat his Citizens side.
UEFA drew a possible all-English semi-final but neither Premier League title rival reached the final four. Arsenal lost 3-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich after their 1-0 defeat in Bavaria in the second leg. Real Madrid beat Manchester City 4-3 on penalties following their 4-4 draw.
Arsenal had already beaten Manchester City on penalties in the Community Shield and 1-0 at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta also held Pep Guardiola to a 0-0 draw at Etihad Stadium. So, Walker was rooting for Bayern Munich given the threat Arsenal pose.
Walker said on his podcast for BBC Sounds: “I’m thinking that if we would have got through the Real Madrid tie, I would have preferred Bayern than Arsenal because I think Arsenal are a really good team at the minute.”
Read more about what Manchester City captain Walker has said about Arsenal, here.
James Maddison does not ‘have hatred for Arsenal’ in his heart
Tottenham Hotspur maestro James Maddison does not hold ‘hatred’ for Arsenal in his heart. But the England midfielder understands why some Spurs fans wanted their own side to lose to Manchester City in order to put a dent in the Gunners’ 2023/24 Premier League title bid.
Arsenal needed a favour from Fulham, Tottenham or West Ham United in Manchester City’s final three fixtures to win the title. A 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa saw the Gunners give up control of their destiny. But the Citizens finished the season on a nine-game winning run.
Pep Guardiola got a 2-0 win at Spurs in Manchester City’s penultimate game this term, too. Son Heung-Min also missed a glaring chance to score for Spurs, whose fans cheered as the Citizens netted. But Maddison gets why Spurs’ fans did not want Arsenal to be champions.
Maddison told talkSPORT (28/05, 17:15): “All the build-up that you lot [in the media] do, we probably don’t notice [it] as much as you think or don’t fully understand the fans’ feelings.
“I am not a Tottenham fan. Deep down in my heart, I don’t have the hatred for Arsenal that Tottenham fans have. But on the same page, I completely understand.
“I completely get it. But I am not sure, it’s not really a thing when you are a professional and a player. You just play the game normally and kind of ignore the outside noise.”
Read more about what Maddison said about Arsenal and Tottenham’s rivalry, here.