A versatile young player is set to make the move to north London, with Arsenal shaking hands on a deal and the player ready to pack his bags, according to a report.
Arsenal preparing to host West Ham in the Premier League
Despite being bereft of attacking options, manager Mikel Arteta is sensing a potential opportunity to claw his way back into the Premier League title race.
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Liverpool dropped points again on Wednesday, with Arsenal’s former manager Unai Emery doing them a big favour by guiding his Aston Villa side to a 2-2 draw against the Reds at Villa Park.
Arsenal are now eight points behind Liverpool, having played a game less, and there is a real chance to put pressure on Arne Slot with victory over West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
West Ham (home)
February 22nd
Nottingham Forest (away)
February 26th
Man Utd (away)
March 9th
Chelsea (home)
March 16th
Fulham (home)
April 1st
However, nothing but a win will do for Arteta as he attempts to reduce the gap to five points. The Spaniard has a major selection headache on his hands, with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all unavailable through injury.
It is highly likely that Arsenal will go with the same front three that started their 2-0 win at Leicester City, even if Mikel Merino was needed as an emergency striker off the bench to secure a vital three points for the north Londoners last weekend.
However, critics like Paul Merson believe Arsenal have a mountain to climb.
“Arsenal were poor in the first 70 minutes against Leicester,” wrote Merson in a column for Sportskeeda.
“The football wasn’t free-flowing at all. I was gutted for Raheem Sterling because for some reason he just can’t seem to get going at Arsenal. Despite his goal in the last game, I think Merino will be left on the bench here. I expect Mikel Arteta to use the same front three he used against Leicester. If it doesn’t work out, he can always bring Merino on and hope for the same result.
“West Ham will come out and frustrate Arsenal in this game, plus the Hammers have the firepower in the form of players who can pick you off. They are also a better team in games they are forced to rely on [the] counter-attack. Arsenal have a tricky run of fixtures after this game. This is a must-win clash and they must look at one game at a time rather than getting too ahead of themselves. The title is still well out of their hands though.”
Arsenal agree deal to sign Callan Hamill from St Johnstone
In the background, Arsenal are identifying targets for the summer window, and it is believed they’ve just agreed a move to sign one highly-rated Scottish wonderkid in St Johnstone’s Callan Hamill.
According to The Athletic and reporter Jordan Campbell, Arsenal have agreed a six-figure deal for Hamill, who is “set to officially join” the Gunners on July 1. The versatile teenager can play both as a defender and midfielder, with Hamill believed to have turned down Celtic and Rangers in favour of a move down south.
Academy manager Per Mertesacker appears set to benefit from Hamill’s arrival very soon, as Arsenal build for the future.