Arsenal

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We asked you who would be the best fit for Arsenal out of Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah and Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa, with the Gunners linked to both centre-backs in recent days.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Neil: Quansah is the obvious choice over Konsa, because he is essentially a like-for-like replacement for William Saliba rather than a quick fix. He is the same height as Saliba, giving him that same aerial presence and comfort bringing the ball out under pressure - both are things Arsenal's set-up depends on. Konsa, at 28 years old and costing £60m, doesn't offer much beyond the short-term. Quansah, at 23 years old, has the upside to fill the gap immediately and still be a top-tier squad option for years to come.

Ian: If at all possible, get them both in! They are very accomplished defenders who can play anywhere across the back four. If it's doable, then it's a no-brainer for me!

Saleem: I would go for Quansah. He is younger, cheaper, still has Premier League experience and he can develop and improve further. But I would also be happy with Konsa.

Owen: Quansah is potentially less reliable than Konsa, but I would definitely rather have him because of his potential. I don't want a signing until January, but Quansah provides more versatility and future prospects.

Rico: I'd prefer Barcelona's Jules Kounde to Konsa. Kounde is a natural right-back as well as a centre-back, so when Saliba is out he can cover there and when Jurrien Timber is out he can cover there as well.

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

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Mikel Arteta has said that Jurrien Timber is progressing well as the defender works towards a return for Arsenal.

Timber was out for about two months with a groin injury but returned for the Champions League final defeat before he had to withdraw from the Netherlands' World Cup squad.

The 25-year-old has not featured for the Gunners during pre-season but Arteta has given an update on his condition.

"He is progressing really well - he is on the pitch. We are ramping up certain actions in volume and the load," he said.

The Gunners boss was then asked if Timber could be back before the first international break.

"I don't know. We have to wait and see," the Spaniard replied.

"He needs to start to train with the group in the next week or so, hopefully, and then see how he progresses from there.

"It's been a long-term issue right now and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one."

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Mikel Arteta says he wants to keep Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal but the club must do "what is best for the player".

BBC Sport revealed in April that winger Nwaneri was among the players Arsenal would listen to offers for this summer, and invited offers from Galatasaray for him earlier this week.

The 19-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Marseille, where he only started four games.

However, Arteta praised Nwaneri for his performances in pre-season after Wednesday's draw against Como, saying the youngster "looked different" and "more mature".

Asked in his news conference before Sunday's Community Shield whether there has been a change in his plans for Nwaneri this season, Arteta said: "I don't know on the plans but certainly it opens your eyes in terms of how much a young player can evolve in such a short period. That work and experience abroad - we set some difficulties and challenges - and what you can really get out of that.

"He's done it in a brilliant way. I think he's unquestionable - the talent, the desire, the love and the passion he has for the game. It's something that I always loved about Ethan. And then I think he had some great games and he's shown everybody that he has the ability to be here."

Pushed on whether he wants Nwaneri to stay beyond the end of the transfer window, Arteta added: "I want him to be at the club, but something in the medium-long term is what is the best for the player as well. And Ethan needs to play football.

"If he stays here it's because we can guarantee him that he can have those minutes, otherwise it's just something that is not good for anybody, I think."

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Community Shield match against Manchester City at Principality Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Arteta confirmed Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are set to be fit to feature on Sunday: "They will be available, they trained with us today. They will train tomorrow and if they are in a condition we expect them to be, they will be involved."

• He also provided an update on Jurrien Timber's recovery: "Jurrien is progressing really well. He is on the pitch, we are ramping up now - the volume and the load. I think he is in a good trajectory but there are still a few weeks to go."

• Asked whether the full-back will return before the season's first international break, Arteta said: "I don't know, we will have to see. He needs to start to train with the group - in the next week or so, hopefully - and see how he progresses from there. It has been a long-term issue and right now we want to make sure every step we take is the right one. It feels right to do that - he is such an important player for us."

• On William Saliba: "William, as we know, is a more long-term injury."

• Arteta was asked about reported interest in England defenders Ezri Konsa and Jarrel Quansah: "I cannot comment. We want to improve the squad and we have detected areas that we can strengthen and we hope we can do it."

• On potential incomings in the rest of the transfer window: "I am not going to talk about an individual but what I can obviously tell you is [about] the ambition of the club. It is big that we want to improve the squad, we want to evolve the squad, in order to achieve. We have detected some areas that they can be a strength in - that is what we are trying to do."

• More on the transfer window: "It's a very exciting part of the season as well. When a lot of things happen, it creates excitement. There is an opportunity as well to evolve. It is always the case, there is an opportunity to go both ways. We have to see how the market responds and what, as a club, we can do."

• Asked if the Community Shield is a friendly: "It is a trophy that we can have. We won [a trophy] last year through the Premier League. You can tell how hungry the players are, which is a good sign."

• On how his players have returned before the new season: "I love the way the players have come back, most of them earlier than expected, really fit. We have done all the testing and they all seem in great condition. And the moment they start to look at each other, I said look at the squad that we have and what we are building. There is a lot of excitement around them."

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Andrea Berta, Arsenal's sporting director, has been tasked with ensuring the club are active sellers this summer in addition to strengthening the squad.

The Italian - and his assistant Maurizio Michele - have strong relationships in Turkey and are using those connections to deliver sales this summer.

Forward Leandro Trossard left for Besiktas in a deal worth up to £17m.

So far, Arsenal are set to raise in the region of £45m for the sales of Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Christian Norgaard and Karl Hein.

Arsenal are currently in talks with West Ham over selling winger Reiss Nelson, which could net the Gunners about £3m if he leaves on a permanent deal.

Striker Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira can also leave the club, while fellow midfielder Martin Zubimendi is attracting interest from Spain.

Read more here on Arsenal's transfer plans here, including inviting offers for Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri

Arsenal are in the market for a central defender and have reignited their interest in Aston Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa.

The Gunners value him at about £30m but have signalled an intention to improve their initial proposal. However, Villa believe the 28-year-old England international is worth £60m and are unwilling to lower that figure as things stand.

Now, Arsenal have also expressed an interest in signing Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah.

BBC Sport understands talks are at an exploratory stage at the moment, but sources suggest a deal for the 23-year-old centre-back is possible.

Quansah would fit the profile of player that the Gunners are looking for, as he can play both centre-back and right-back.

But it remains to be seen if their interest in the former Liverpool defender is a tactic by the club in their pursuit of England team-mate Konsa.

Which centre-back would be best for the Gunners? Given the age profile, is there more room for growth with Quansah or should Arsenal increase their bid for Konsa instead?

Get in touch with your views here

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Intriguingly, during talks between Arsenal and Galatasaray during this transfer window, the future of the Turkish side's Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen is understood to have been discussed.

Wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri are among the players the Gunners are understood to have invited offers for.

Martinelli is subject of a verbal offer worth 45m euros (£38.5m) - but according to sources there is reluctance from the 25-year-old forward to move to Turkey.

Martinelli had tentative interest from Paris St-Germain in recent weeks but the French side have moved on to other targets.

BBC Sport revealed in April that Nwaneri was among the players Arsenal would listen to offers for this summer.

The 19-year-old has interest across Europe, with AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Fulham among the clubs keen on signing him.

Read more about the Gunners' transfer plans here

Arsenal made a move for Spain defender Marc Pubill but were told by Atletico Madrid that the 23-year-old is not for sale. (AS - in Spanish), external

Meanwhile, Napoli must decide on the future of Italy striker Lorenzo Lucca before opening talks with the Gunners over Gabriel Jesus. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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On Sunday, the first piece of silverware of the season will be contested for in Cardiff as Premier League champions Arsenal face FA Cup winners Manchester City in the Community Shield.

The omens look good for Arsenal. Only Manchester United (21) have won the Community Shield more often than they have (17, including shared), with the Gunners winning each of their past five.

Arsenal have also won all three matches when competing as reigning Premier League champions (1998, 2002, 2004).

Manchester City did win their last appearance in the Community Shield, beating rivals Manchester United on penalties in 2024. However, they have been runners-up in the match nine times, with only United doing so more (10).

Arsenal have won all three of their Community Shield matches against City, beating them 4-0 in 1934, 3-0 in 2014 and, most recently, 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 2023.

However, Enzo Maresca, who will become to the first City boss to compete in the Community Shield in his first competitive match in charge, can draw some hope in the fact that in the past 10 occasions the game has been between the league champions and the FA Cup winners, the FA Cup holders have won eight times.

The two teams will compete at Millennium Stadium - a ground where Arsenal played more games than any other team during the period it was first used between 2001 and 2007 (10) and won four Community Shields in that time.

In contrast, this is just City's second ever match at the Welsh stadium, with the other coming in a Uefa Cup qualifying match against TNS in August 2003 (a 2-0 win).

Mikel Arteta won both of his Community Shield matches as a player (2014, 2015), and has won both so far as a manager (2020, 2023), while it is Maresca's first taste of the season curtain-raiser.

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

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Mikel Arteta would not be drawn on the speculation around Myles Lewis-Skelly's future.

The 19-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Gunners in the last couple of days with Manchester United and Chelsea two of the sides reported to have been offered the midfielder.

Lewis-Skelly opened the scoring in the 1-1 draw with Como at Emirates Stadium and made a heart gesture towards all sides of the crowd.

"He's a very emotional player." Arteta said when asked about the celebration.

"Remember when he did all the gestures on the pitch?

"I am not going to talk about any speculation. If there is any speculation about our players it is a good sign, it means we attract attention and they are doing a good job."

The Gunners boss was then asked about the bond between supporters and players who come through the club's academy.

"Well its a natural thing to happen - we have seen it with many other players here," Arteta said.

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Arsenal drew 1-1 with Serie A side Como in their final pre-season friendly before winning 4-3 in a pre-agreed penalty shootout.

Manager Mikel Arteta described the match as "a really good test" before facing Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.

Arteta said: "I think what we generated in the game, probably the scoreline should have been different, and that's the part that, in my opinion, we have to improve, because otherwise I think there were a lot of positives to take from the game."

The Arsenal manager was full of praise for winger Ethan Nwaneri who has performed well in pre-season after spending the last campaign on loan at Marseille.

"He's been really good. Probably what happened on the field, on his loan in Marseille, wasn't what was expected. There was a lot of noise and change around the club," said the Spaniard.

"But he looks different. He looks more mature. He's incredible at that. It's what six months can do to you.

"It's a different experience on board to be on your own, to go through tough times and just to witness that there's another part of football that you have to be good enough to cope with. I'm very happy with what he's done in pre-season."

New signing Bruno Guimaraes made his debut for the Gunners and Arteta was asked whether the Brazilian midfielder could start at the weekend.

"He only had three training sessions, but he looked good," said Arteta. "He was really pushing to play some minutes today.

"I think he wanted to get his debut and the feeling of playing in front of our fans immediately. And, yes, you sense immediately, I believe, a strong connection at play that is going to make us better."

Galatasaray have submitted a 45m euros bid (£38.4m) to Arsenal for Brazil forward Gabriel Martinelli. (Florian Plettenberg), external

The Gunners are open to selling Martin Zubimendi for at least £77m, with Chelsea a strong contender to sign the Spain midfielder. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.

In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.

In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.

Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.

Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.

Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.

An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.

Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.

Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Arsenal are reigniting their interest in Aston Villa central defender Ezri Konsa.

Konsa, 28, is still on holiday after the World Cup and is not with the Villa squad for Wednesday's Super Cup game against Paris St-Germain.

The Gunners' initial summer move for Konsa did not materialise, with the London club only willing to pay in the region of £30m for the England international who is valued at £60m by Villa.

Konsa played 48 games in all competitions last season for Aston Villa, winning the Europa League.

Arsenal accept they will need to significantly improve their original offer if they are to be successful in their efforts to land Konsa but whether Villa are willing to let the defender leave for a fee under their valuation remains to be seen.

Multiple sources have told BBC Sport the Gunners have also held exploratory talks with Tottenham over a potential move for their club captain Cristian Romero.

Spurs are thought to have no intention of selling the 28-year-old to Arsenal given the intense rivalry between the two north London clubs.

But that has not prevented Arsenal from making enquiries into what would be one of the most surprising transfers of the summer window.

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Ex-Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey thinks turbulence in the Premier League can prove significant in the Gunners competing to defend their title next season.

Mikel Arteta's side have enjoyed relative stability off the field and have added a key player in Bruno Guimaraes in a bid to bolster their midfield.

But widespread managerial changes - including at their traditional competitors - are on show elsewhere, introducing a degree of uncertainty for clubs.

Speaking to a news conference as part of his new role as Oxford United head coach, Ramsey said: "It's absolutely brilliant that Arsenal have gone on to win the Premier League. I think what Mikel Arteta has done over the last few years has been remarkable.

"You can see that building, that confidence. The team looked ready last year to take that final step. It was a brilliant season for them and going so deep in the other competitions as well sets them up nicely now to really attack not just next season but the next few years. I think they have that stability there as well, where there's been so much change in the Premier League at this moment in time.

"So yes, I think that'll add to them and be a strength for them to go on and compete definitely this season."

Chelsea and Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign England midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly as Arsenal could be tempted into selling the 19-year-old after the arrival of Brazil international Bruno Guimaraes, 28, from Newcastle. (Football London, external)

Napoli are exploring a deal for Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus but Arsenal will only consider selling the 29-year-old if offers begin at 20m euros. (Caught Offside), external

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