Jonathan Kaney takes a flick through the tabloids this Monday afternoon and brings the latest gossip concerning Arsenal- alongside his view on the claims!
Vieira to replace Wenger in 2019 (Daily Star)
Arsene Wenger looks set to commit to Arsenal until 2019, with the club rumoured to want Patrick Vieira to come in as his assistant and be groomed to take over the reins.
The speculation that Arsene could step down in 2017 with Pep Guardiola taking over has blown up this week, and fan opinion will be divided on the possibility of Vieira taking over with his lack of experience in management.
Many would prefer a proven trophy winner, but the Gunners hierarchy may be concerned at the slump Manchester United had under David Moyes and Ryan Giggs when Fergie retired, and the difficulties a club can have adapting to a new man when a long management regime comes to an end.
In a situation that would be similar to Ryan Giggs working under Louis Van Gaal at United, Vieira would be reunited with his former manager and certainly has all the characteristics to be successful. The Frenchman has some experience of coaching with Man City’s reserves has been linked with the Villa, Newcastle and Sunderland jobs over the past year.
He is likely to be given an opportunity somewhere sooner rather than later, but I would only expect him to end up at the Gunners as an assistant if Wenger does stay on until 2019 and he wants to bypass making a name for himself with a smaller club.
Arsenal monitor highly-rated Anderlecht striker (Metro)
The Metro are reporting that the Gunners are watching highly-rated 17-year-old Anderlect striker Aaron Leya Iseka.
Leya Iseka is the younger brother of other reported Gunners target Marseille star Michy Batshuayi and has caught the attention of clubs across Europe after assured performances in his nine league appearances for Anderlecht this season.
Arsene Wenger has a fantastic track record of identifying young players, particularly from France and Belgium and moulding them in to superstars and I fully trust any move he makes for young talents. With the Gunners world class academy and reputation for giving opportunities to young players, a move for Leya Iseka who has shown he has something at his very young age would be a good thing for all parties.
Gunners scouting exceptional Schalke star (Mirror)
The Mirror is reporting that Arsenal ¬scouts were watching one of the Bundeliga’s hottest prospects, Schalke teenager Leroy Sane in the Europa League last week.
The 19-year-old German has put clubs across Europe on alert after scoring his seventh goal in nine games for club and country, coming off the bench to rescue a 2-2 draw for Schalke against Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
The 6 foot winger has picked up this season from his excellent performances in his appearances last season, notably when he came off to the bench to score for the German giants in their 4-3 over Real Madrid at Bernabeua.
He recently agreed a new five-year deal with the German giants but with him making a name for himself in Germany, performing well in and tipped to be close to breaking in to Joachim Low’s senior side, Sane looks like he would be a great signing for the future.
Krychowiak rumours pick-up once again (Metro)
Arsenal are being heavily linked with Sevilla’s Grzegorz Krychowiak in January, according to reports from Spain.
This is a signing I would definitely like to see happen. Krychowiak is a powerful defensive midfielder with height, strength and pace and provides a different option in the first team to the classy Cazorla and combative Coquelin and is a big improvement on the other central cover we have.
He was linked with us all summer, and at 25 and proven on the European stage, this would be a great signing to provide world class competition in the centre of the pitch throughout a long season at the Emirates.