Your Arsenal morning digest on Friday, November 11.
Martinelli's World Cup call-up slammed
Former Brazil star Neto has labelled the inclusion of Gabriel Martinelli in his nation's World Cup squad as a 'joke'. Selecao boss Tite named his 26-man roster for the upcoming tournament in Qatar earlier this week, with Arsenal teammate Gabriel Jesus among those also selected.
"This is a shame, a joke," he said, as quoted by the Mirror. "I feel ashamed! Not because of Dani Alves' story. What is Martinelli's story? 33 career goals. This is a shame, a lack of respect for football. Doing this with football shows that you don't deserve the position you are in.
"Calling up Martinelli and not calling up Gabigol is a lack of respect. The biggest shame of all the call-ups. Calling up Martinelli shows that you, Tite, shouldn't hold the position you do, because you're not fair to Gabigol.
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"The guy [Martinelli] who scores five goals in the season, who walks around the mall here, nobody knows who he is," Neto added. "And not taking Gabigol, the guy who scored the goal of the Libertadores title, who scored 29 goals in the season.
"What has Martinelli done in European football? Arsenal are not even in the Champions League. This is a calamity!"
Arteta eyes Bundesliga star
Mikel Arteta looks to have begun plotting Arsenal's perfect January transfer window amid the uncertain futures of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. The duo have been heavily linked with exits from the Emirates Stadium since entering the final two-years of their respective contracts.
According to Milan Live, the Gunners have been named as one of the several clubs interested in signing Bundesliga star Marcus Thuram. The 25-year-old forward has featured 16 times for Borussia Monchengladbach this season, directly contributing towards 16 goals.
While his impressive displays are yet to translate into points on the table for the German side, he's courted great interest in his services. The report adds that the Frenchman has been on Arsenal's radar for 'some time now', and he's quickly becoming an increasingly attractive option.
Thuram, who sees his deal at Borussia Park expire in the summer, is believed to be of interest to AC Milan, who make for tough competition, having won the Serie A last term. However, Milan Live state that the Rossoneri are looking to acquire the forward once his deal is up at the end of the season, whereas Arteta is looking to bolster his squad in January.
Brutally honest review of Vieira
Mikel Arteta has insisted that Arsenal must remain patient with Fabio Vieira amid the midfielder's turbulent start to life at the Emirates Stadium. The 22-year-old, who joined the Gunners from Porto in the summer for a fee in the region of £34million, initially impressed upon his arrival, but he's since struggled to recapture such form.
Following the clash, the Arsenal boss was quizzed on the Portuguese star's development and whether supporters should begin to worry about the new signing's form. Arteta said: "I think in front of goal he's been unlucky because in the past two games, he could have scored a few goals.
"But every player needs time to adapt, obviously. When he played against Brentford away from home, and he's surrounded with players he's more familiar with, it's a bit easier.
"We've asked him to play lots of different positions as well because of the needs that we have in the squad," the Spaniard added. "But I'm not worried at all."
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