IN: Lyon are expected to sell Houssem Aouar this summer, according to L'Equipe, with Arsenal reported to be front of the queue for the French schemer's services. Arsenal sports director Edu is said to have had several meetings with his Lyon counterpart Juninho Pernambucano about lowering the French club's €60 million asking price, with the Gunners prepared to throw Matteo Guendouzi in as part of the deal. Reuters
IN: Lyon are expected to sell Houssem Aouar this summer, according to L'Equipe, with Arsenal reported to be front of the queue for the French schemer's services. Arsenal sports director Edu is said to have had several meetings with his Lyon counterpart Juninho Pernambucano about lowering the French club's €60 million asking price, with the Gunners prepared to throw Matteo Guendouzi in as part of the deal. Reuters
OUT: An ugly confrontation with Neal Maupay following defeat to Brighton saw Matteo Guendouzi banished from the squad by manager Mikel Arteta for the run in. French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have been linked with the midfielder but are thought to be put off by Arsenal's £40 million asking price. Reuters
OUT: An ugly confrontation with Neal Maupay following defeat to Brighton saw Matteo Guendouzi banished from the squad by manager Mikel Arteta for the run in. French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have been linked with the midfielder but are thought to be put off by Arsenal's £40 million asking price. Reuters
IN: Unwanted by Barcelona, unlikely to be retained by Bayern Munich, Philippe Coutinho is a player in search of a new home for 2020/21. The Brazilian midfielder emerged as one of the finest attacking talents in Europe during a four-year stint at Liverpool and is well-suited to the Premier League. Reuters
IN: Unwanted by Barcelona, unlikely to be retained by Bayern Munich, Philippe Coutinho is a player in search of a new home for 2020/21. The Brazilian midfielder emerged as one of the finest attacking talents in Europe during a four-year stint at Liverpool and is well-suited to the Premier League. Reuters
OUT: Mesut Ozil failed to make Arsenal’s match day 20 for any of their last 10 games. Despite his manager decrying a lack of creativity in his side, it seems the German World Cup winner does not feature in the Spaniard's plans. But Ozil, 31, is prepared to dig his heels in. The remainder of his contract is worth upwards of £14 million, and he can rightly argue he is within his rights to honour it after all parties entered into the new deal in good faith. Getting him off the wage bill would open up plenty of possibilities for the Gunners, but getting Ozil to budge will be no easy task. AFP
OUT: Mesut Ozil failed to make Arsenal’s match day 20 for any of their last 10 games. Despite his manager decrying a lack of creativity in his side, it seems the German World Cup winner does not feature in the Spaniard's plans. But Ozil, 31, is prepared to dig his heels in. The remainder of his contract is worth upwards of £14 million, and he can rightly argue he is within his rights to honour it after all parties entered into the new deal in good faith. Getting him off the wage bill would open up plenty of possibilities for the Gunners, but getting Ozil to budge will be no easy task. AFP
IN: Played like a player schooled at Real Madrid after lockdown, rather than the one plucked from Lincoln reserves before it. Real are reported to have turned down the Gunners' opening gambit to take midfielder Dani Ceballos back to London on loan for next season, but Arteta will be keen to add the Spaniard's spark to a midfield that lacked it too often last term. AFP
IN: Played like a player schooled at Real Madrid after lockdown, rather than the one plucked from Lincoln reserves before it. Real are reported to have turned down the Gunners' opening gambit to take midfielder Dani Ceballos back to London on loan for next season, but Arteta will be keen to add the Spaniard's spark to a midfield that lacked it too often last term. AFP
OUT: Arsenal ended the season playing with a back three with the experienced Shkodran Mustafi deployed on the right hand side. Failed to dispel the belief that over the course of 90 minutes a multitude of mistakes can be drawn out of the Germany international. Reuters
OUT: Arsenal ended the season playing with a back three with the experienced Shkodran Mustafi deployed on the right hand side. Failed to dispel the belief that over the course of 90 minutes a multitude of mistakes can be drawn out of the Germany international. Reuters
IN: Abdoulaye Doucoure fell well short of his true form as Watford were relegated from the Premier League. The Frenchman is a powerhouse on his day though, and his ability to get box-to-box would add a fresh dimension to Arsenal's engine room. Reuters
IN: Abdoulaye Doucoure fell well short of his true form as Watford were relegated from the Premier League. The Frenchman is a powerhouse on his day though, and his ability to get box-to-box would add a fresh dimension to Arsenal's engine room. Reuters
OUT: A successful loan spell at Besiktas could pave the way for Mohamed Elneny to end his unhappy spell at the club with the Turkish side reportedly ready to meet Arsenal's €10 million asking price for the Egypt midfielder. Getty Images
OUT: A successful loan spell at Besiktas could pave the way for Mohamed Elneny to end his unhappy spell at the club with the Turkish side reportedly ready to meet Arsenal's €10 million asking price for the Egypt midfielder. Getty Images
IN: The London club have been linked with a move for Kalidou Koulibaly since the last days of Arsene Wenger. Liverpool and others have shown that breaking the bank for top talent is a risk worth taking when identifying centre-backs, and Arsenal should be brave in meeting Napoli's €70 million asking price. EPA
IN: The London club have been linked with a move for Kalidou Koulibaly since the last days of Arsene Wenger. Liverpool and others have shown that breaking the bank for top talent is a risk worth taking when identifying centre-backs, and Arsenal should be brave in meeting Napoli's €70 million asking price. EPA
OUT: Sokratis Papastathopoulos has failed to live up to the hype surrounding his move from Borussia Dortmund and was mostly used as a substitute to eat up time during the run in. Reuters
OUT: Sokratis Papastathopoulos has failed to live up to the hype surrounding his move from Borussia Dortmund and was mostly used as a substitute to eat up time during the run in. Reuters

Football

Philippe Coutinho, Mesut Ozil, Matteo Guendouzi: 5 players Arsenal should sign, 5 they should offload this transfer window

Potential recruits on manager Mikel Arteta's transfer list

Steve Luckings
Steve Luckings
Abu Dhabi

August 21, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Arsenal should head into the new season with more optimism than they entered the 2019/20 campaign.

The writing was on the wall for Unai Emery pretty early on, while Freddie Ljungberg just about steadied the ship before Mikel Arteta's December appointment.

Read More

5 players Tottenham should sign, 5 who should leave this transfer window

6 players Manchester United should sign, 6 who should leave this transfer window

Performances remained patchy at best but there were several positives to end the season. Granit Xhaka was successfully reintegrated into the side, David Luiz stood tall when the Gunners needed him most and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang enhanced his reputation as arguably the finest centre forward in the division.

There was also silverware, with Arsenal 2-1 winners over Chelsea in the FA Cup final. But that can't gloss over an eighth-place Premier League finish, with a points tally only two better than Sheffield United and Burnley, and 10 points off fourth-placed Chelsea.

Arteta will know better than anyone the need for reinforcements, but the Spaniard could find himself hamstrung by finances.

Mesut Ozil's insistence on seeing out his contract - the German is the club's top earner on a reported £350,000 per week - means Arteta must decide whether to make use of the German's creative qualities or keep him as the world's most expensive outcast.

Take a look at the potential ins and out at Arsenal in the picture gallery above. To move on to the next image, swipe or click on the arrows.

Red Joan

Director: Trevor Nunn

Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova

Rating: 3/5 stars

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20ASI%20(formerly%20DigestAI)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Quddus%20Pativada%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Artificial%20intelligence%2C%20education%20technology%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GSV%20Ventures%2C%20Character%2C%20Mark%20Cuban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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