Arsenal news: Granit Xhaka sends pointed message to team-mates after Aaron Ramsdale claim
Arsenal are five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and there are question marks over whether Mikel Arteta’s side can handle the pressure
Arsenal are back in the Premier League on Sunday following a 2-2 draw with European rivals Sporting Lisbon two days ago.
The Gunners were saved in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 thanks to goals from Goncalo Inacio and Paulinho. William Saliba opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta’s side in Portugal, while an own goal from Hidemasa Morita equalized.
Ahead of this Thursday’s second leg at the Emirates, Arsenal are set to negotiate a tricky Premier League game against Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Gunners are five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table and don’t want to slip now.
With that in mind, here are the latest headlines from the Emirates…
Fabregas’ Arsenal return clause
Ex-Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has claimed Arsene Wenger refused to re-sign the central midfielder for a second spell at the Emirates.
Fabregas left the Gunners for youth club Barcelona in the summer of 2011 but was ruled out of action three years later. The Spain international then joined Arsenal’s rivals Chelsea in winning two Premier League titles, among others.
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“I really wanted to go back to the Premier League. In the contract when I signed for Barcelona we said Arsenal will have the first option after I left. They had a week to reply,” Fabregas agreed Kammy and Ben’s Proper Soccer Podcast.
“So obviously we approached Arsenal and said: ‘Listen, I’m leaving Barcelona and by law you have a week to decide whether or not you want to take me back’.”
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Xhaka’s “pressure” theory
Granit Xhaka believes Arsenal are learning to live with the “pressures” of being the Premier League leaders after a revealing admission from Aaron Ramsdale.
After the Sporting game, Xhaka said: “You can see that every team plays differently against us. They drop off a lot, sometimes they push us too, but that’s what happens when you’re top of the table.
“The pressure is certainly much greater than before. But overall I think we’re doing well. I think there’s a good mentality in the team and let’s try to keep that.”
Xhaka’s comments come just a week after Ramsdale told reporters: “It’s definitely a pressure that’s so much nicer than the opposition. It’s fun and because not many of us have been here before, we don’t really know how to deal with it.”
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Arteta takes picture of Vieira
Arteta believes Fabio Vieira should play more regularly for Arsenal but the manager is struggling to create space in his starting XI.
Vieira, 22, joined the Gunners from Porto last summer and started the 2-2 draw with Sporting. Still, the Portugal U21 international has only played twice in the Premier League and has fallen further down the pecking order after Jorginho’s arrival in January.
Still, Arteta has high hopes for Vieira. He told reporters, “I’m really happy with him. I think he deserves more minutes than he’s had, especially in the last two months.
“Of course he had a difficult start because he was injured for two months after an operation and he wasn’t at the level we wanted. But you saw tonight that he was probably our most dangerous player. He always made everything possible, a player I absolutely love.”
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