A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Edu makes an enquiry into a £51m transfer and Theo Walcott admits one of the Gunners’ targets ‘reminds me of Thierry Henry’.
Arsenal and Liverpool enquire into the transfer of Willian Pacho
Liverpool and Arsenal have now launched enquiries to explore the transfer of Willian Pacho from Eintracht Frankfurt. That is according to Florian Plettenberg, who reports that the two Premier League title rivals are interested in signing the 22-year-old in the summer window.
Pacho is a vital player at Die Adler and has started in all 39 of the centre-half’s appearances so far this season. He has further helped the Bundesliga club to record 11 clean sheets in all competitions. But Eintracht Frankfurt will not block any transfer for Pacho for the right offer.
Eintracht Frankfurt have slapped a €50-60m (£42.5-51m) asking price on their Ecuador gem for the upcoming market. So, Arsenal and Liverpool are now weighing up submitting bids to bring Pacho to the Premier League with the Emirates Stadium club and Reds long-term fans.
Read more about Arsenal’s interest in Pacho’s transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt, here.
Reiss Nelson opens up on helping Ethan Nwaneri and Arsenal’s academy
Hale End product Reiss Nelson admits he now feels it is his responsibility to help the next set of academy graduates feel at home in the Arsenal first-team. The 24-year-old emerged from the Gunners’ youth squad in August 2017. So, Nelson feels a duty to the talents who follow.
Nelson has told Arsenal’s website how he strives to look out for the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Amario Cozier-Duberry. The Gunners just gave Nwaneri his first pro contract in March and Mikel Arteta has already given the 17-year-old a handful of minutes.
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Nelson said: “I’ve been here so long now that I feel like part of my job is looking out for the younger players. Although I’ve been here a long time, I’m still one of the youngest in the team. But definitely, when players come up from the academy, I always try to help them.
“Players like Ethan, Myles, Amario – I was in their position. So, I try to give them as much information as I can. I try to praise them [and] give them [the] courage to do their thing when they train with us because I know what it’s like to be on that end of it.”
Read more about what Nelson has said about Arsenal’s youth gems like Nwaneri, here.
Arsenal target Ollie Watkins reminds Theo Walcott of Thierry Henry
Arsenal hero Theo Walcott has admitted that Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins ‘reminds me’ of Thierry Henry. It comes amid reports by the Daily Mail that the Gunners’ sporting director Edu has added the 28-year-old to his shortlist of stars who can improve Mikel Arteta’s team.
Edu views Watkins as a potential transfer target for Arsenal after scoring 26 and assisting 10 goals in 45 games. The 11-cap England striker also took his tally of goals to 19 in 32 Premier League games with a delightful chip at Emirates Stadium in the Villans’ 2-0 win last Sunday.
The way that Watkins often drifted wide to support Aston Villa’s efforts on the left wing also sparked Walcott’s comparisons to Arsenal legend Henry. Walcott further thinks it is the ‘best compliment’ he can pay to the Torquay native, whom Aston Villa value at in excess of £70m.
“I feel he is the sort of player that Arsenal would look at,” he shared, via the Metro. “What I really like about Ollie Watkins is that you look at his style and you think he is a winger.
“He reminds me – and it’s one of the best compliments I am going to give him – but he reminds me of Thierry Henry. Against Arsenal, he played out on the left a lot. He wanted to be a forward but drifted out on the left. He’s such a threat on the counter.”
Read more about what Walcott has said about Arsenal transfer target Watkins, here.