Your Arsenal morning digest on Thursday, January 19.
Man United fitness boost vs Arsenal
Ahead of Sunday's match vs Arsenal, Manchester United have reportedly been given a key fitness boost. Jadon Sancho looks set to return for Erik ten Hag’s side after returning to training.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta can get Arsenal's immediate Mykhailo Mudryk revenge on Chelsea with £100m transfer
According to British journalist Andy Mitten, the coaching staff feel he's making positive progress on his bid to regain fitness after the World Cup. The 22-year-old was sent to Holland by United manager Ten Hag in November 2022 amid concerns over his physical and mental readiness to play for United.
Sancho was also left off the club's mid-World Cup training camp to Spain, with Ten Hag explaining that he was not in the right frame of mind or fitness to play. The Englishman had not played for the club in over 10 weeks, with his last minutes coming in October's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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Arsenal to sign the new Zinchenko
Ivan Fresneda is the man in question. The Real Valladolid right-back is just 18 years of age which immediately draws a question of what that means for Gunners youth prospects Brooke Norton-Cuffy or Reuell Walters.
Norton-Cuffy, despite his public claim of loving defending, is very much an offensive full-back with traits similar to that of Tierney. Walters is more inverted and can even play centre-half but lacks the obvious traits of Fresneda that Arteta perhaps likes in Zinchenko.
Speaking privately to an obsessive La Liga watcher, Fresneda was described as a midfielder masquerading as a right-back. Immediately you can therefore see why Arteta might appreciate his profile.
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Arsenal can steal Guardiola's star
The end of the winter transfer window is fast approaching and teams will frantically try to strengthen their squad before the market closes to have a strong end to the season. While Arsenal do not need to panic as the season has started off very well, there is still work that can be done to improve the squad.
Two positions seem to be the main targets for the Gunners, as Edu has reportedly been chasing players in the midfield and wing areas. However, it seems as though Arsenal will wait until the summer to strengthen in the middle of the park.
The Gunners have been linked to Premier League midfielders such as Declan Rice and Youri Tielemans. This was also backed up by Ilkay Gundogan, but if Edu targets the German international he will have to battle with Barcelona.
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