Arsenal got back to winning ways at the weekend as they managed to beat Burnley 3-1 in what was at times a very frustrating game for Unai Emery’s side. 

The Gunners aren’t quite back to their best but with Chelsea losing to Leicester City, the win now sees Arsenal sit level on points with the west London side. Following their losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton last weekend, it was essential that Arsenal got back to winning ways.

With the number of injuries that have occurred at the club, Emery will need to add some reinforcements next month in order to fill the void in defence left by Rob Holding. He will also need to add numbers up front as the Gunners lack depth on the wing. However, the club will also need to bring in another midfielder as according to reports, Aaron Ramsey is set to leave the club on a free next summer.

The Breakdown

The midfielder’s future at the club is completely up in the air after Arsenal withdrew their contract offer. It was thought that the club was nearing a deal for the midfielder who’s current contract runs out next summer but following the first few games of the season, it seemed as though he wouldn’t have a place in Emery’s side.

Recently, however, he has shown patches of good form and has scored one goal and also grabbed two assists over the last four games. With Mesut Ozil seemingly out of favour, Arsenal will need to add a midfielder next month.

Thoughts Arsenal fans? 

According to The Times, Fulham may opt to sell Aboubakar Kamara following his actions regarding a penalty in the Cottagers’ most recent Premier League fixture.

When Fulham were awarded a spot kick against Huddersfield last time out, Kamara argued with the club’s regular penalty taker, Aleksandar Mitrovic, demanding to be able to take the penalty himself. Kamara won the argument, but then proceeded to miss from the spot.

What’s the word?

After the match, Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri pulled no punches in expressing his thoughts on Kamara’s actions. Ranieri said that the 23-year-old “did not respect me, the club, team-mates and crowd. I spoke with him, it is not right.”

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It now seems that Ranieri may have lost patience with the powerful Frenchman, and is considering allowing him to leave the club in the upcoming January transfer window.

This state of affairs ought to have alerted other clubs to Kamara’s potential availability. Should Fulham really be open to offers, then Aston Villa would be wise to ensure that they win the race to the forward’s signature.

Competition, depth and quality

The Villans have been revitalised somewhat since the appointment of Dean Smith as manager. However, if the club are to kick on from here and realise their ambitions then they must add additional depth and quality to their squad.

Kamara would bring Premier League experience to Villa Park, and would also provide competition for places to the likes of Yannick Bolasie, Anwar El Ghazi, Albert Adomah, Scott Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia.

If Fulham are willing to let the attacker go, then the door is open for Villa to land a top January signing.

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react following the news that Arsenal’s out-of-contract midfielder Aaron Ramsey would prefer a move to Anfield if he were to stay in England, as reported by the BBC.

The Welsh international is reportedly close to signing for Italian giants Juventus, amid interest from a whole host of top European clubs such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

However, as aforementioned, if the 28-year-old were to stay in England, his move of choice would be one to Anfield to team up with Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League leaders, which would come as a huge shock given his years of loyal service to the Gunners after over 10 years at the club.

It would also be a major shock due to how far advanced talks appear to be with the reigning Serie A champions, and would be a hugely embarrassing blow to Unai Emery and Arsenal.

Let’s take a look at how Liverpool fans reacted to the rumours…

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Tottenham should sign Sunderland star Josh Maja to signal a change in their approach to sign striking competition for Harry Kane, following the disappointing captures of Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen who have failed to impress.

What’s the word, then? 

As reported by the Express, Spurs are lining up a summer move for the 20-year-old who has been in scintillating form so far this season for the Wearside-based club. Maja has hit 14 goals in League One for the Black Cats as they target an immediate return to the Championship, which has attracted interest from the Premier League.

Maja recently rejected an offer from the club to extend his stay at the Stadium of Light, with his contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign. If he were to team up with Mauricio Pochettino at the new White Hart Lane, it would be a huge move for the north Londoners who have failed time and time again to find a competent back-up striker to Kane.

Why would Maja be a good signing?

At just 20, and with England international and World Cup Golden Boot winner Kane the undisputed star at Tottenham, it is unlikely that Maja would go straight into the first-team.

However, he would still be an excellent signing as he would be able to grow and improve as a player under Pochettino’s guidance, all whilst being on hand to step in for Kane and do a good job if the main man were to pick up an injury.

The Argentinian boss can be credited with overseeing a huge improvement in the likes of Kane and Dele Alli, and was also responsible for the rise of Luke Shaw at Southampton in his former role on the South Coast – he is an excellent tutor for young players, and Maja would benefit significantly from his guidance.

Spurs have attempted to sign cover for Kane in the past with the captures of Janssen and Llorente, both of whom cost the club almost £30m in total – they should both be sold whilst they still carry a bit of value.

The duo were huge flops, and represented the wrong approach when looking for a player who was always going to be a plan B option – in Maja’s case, he would be happy to bide his time having made such a huge leap from League One to the top-flight, whereas Janssen and Llorente were first-choice options at both AZ Alkmaar and Swansea respectively and wanted more game time.

Declan Rice marked West Ham’s 50th appearance at the London Stadium with a magnificent goal to secure victory against Arsenal.

The youngster, who committed his long-term future to the club last week, celebrated his new contract by scoring the only goal of the game against the Gunners. Samir Nasri, playing his first Premier League game since August 2016, teed up the youngster who left Bernd Leno no chance with his ferocious drive. The Hammers held on for all three points at the Emirates to boost their chances of finishing in the European places.

Their start to life under Manuel Pellegrini has been impressive but the club could be handed a massive blow if Marko Arnautovic leaves the club. The Austrian has been a key player this season but is subject of interest from China with bids of around £35m rumoured (via BBC Sport) to be in the offing. Michail Antonio admitted on Goals on Sunday (via the Sun) that the former Stoke man wants to leave the club and everyone knows it.

To replace him, the Hammers should make a move for Copenhagen wonderkid – Robert Skov. Valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old joined the club in January last year and has established himself as one of the league’s best players. Skov has been one of the most in-form players in world football during the current campaign, helping his side to the top of the standings in Denmark.

Skov has been scoring for fun in the Superligaen, finding the back of the net an incredible 18 times in just 20 appearances. The youngster can play right across the forward line, making him a useful option for Pellegrini to have at his disposal if Arnautovic departs. Not only does the winger possess excellent finishing ability, but he is also a set-piece specialist, scoring five free-kicks already this season; he would add another string to the Hammers’ bow.

Still developing and improving, landing Skov’s signature could prove to be an astute piece of business.

West Ham fans, thoughts?

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Newcastle United are interested in signing Atletico Madrid winger Gelson Martins on loan, per AS.

The report claims that the Magpies are attempting to secure the 23-year-old until the end of the season.

The news comes on the back of a Telegraph report claiming that manager Rafa Benitez will leave St. James’ Park at the end of the season if the club fail to make two signings in this transfer window.

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Gelson has struggled for game time in Spain and has yet to complete 90 minutes in La Liga this season, despite making eight appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

AS report that Arsenal and Monaco have also expressed their interest in the Portugal international, leaving Newcastle in a battle to secure his signature.

Nevertheless, the club’s fans are already getting excited over the prospect of seeing the talented forward in a black and white shirt.

Here’s a quick look at how Newcastle fans are reacting to the Martins rumours on Twitter…

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Tottenham Hotspur have refused to follow up on interest in Hull City midfielder Jarrod Bowen, according to Football.London’s Alasdair Gold (4.19pm).

Gold claims that Spurs decided at an internal meeting not to pursue a deal for the 22-year-old. He added that the club watched him in every game he played over the past month, as Spurs look to return to a transfer model of signing English players.

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Bowen has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Hull, per Transfermarkt, scoring 14 goals and providing three assists in 29 Championship appearances thus far this season.

Tottenham appear set, however, to again fail to make a signing in this transfer window.

Chairman Daniel Levy also failed to sign a single player in the summer, leaving Lucas Moura as the last player to move to Spurs, when he joined from PSG in January 2018.

And Spurs fans have been left fuming as they face up to another transfer window of disappointment.

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West Ham have renamed the London Stadium’s East Stand in honour of legendary Hammer Billy Bonds, who holds the record of appearances for the club with an incredible 793 games under his belt and also lifted the FA Cup twice (1975 and 1980).

Bonds will join Bobby Moore and Sir Trevor Brooking, who have both been immortalised at the former Olympic stadium in a similar way. The 72-year-old will be in attendance for the stand’s unveiling via ceremony on 2nd March, prior to the Premier League clash with Newcastle.

Speaking about the decision to whufc.com, joint-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan said: “This is a proud and historical moment for West Ham United, as we honour one of the very greatest players ever to pull on the famous Claret and Blue shirt.

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“To West Ham United supporters, Billy Bonds epitomises the very heart and soul of our Football Club. A man who gave blood, sweat and tears during the course of a 21-year playing career and led the Club with dignity and pride as a manager between 1990 and 1994.”

The honour is surely one that Hammers fans feel has been a long-time coming and it is undoubtedly deserved – you can find the best of the reaction on Twitter below…

Newcastle’s summer signing of Jetro Willems on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt is looking like some very impressive business, and it could be about to get even better. The Northern Echo reported the Magpies could opt to trigger the clause to make his move permanent as early as next month.

They wouldn’t have to wait until next season, and that would mean they could plan for the future knowing the Dutchman won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. He’s impressed since arriving in the North East, appearing in 13 of their 16 league games so far this term. The left-back has even scored two and assisted two this season, putting him behind only Jonjo Shelvey with regards to direct goal contributions.

When the news was passed onto Twitter by Newcastle news aggregator NUFC 360, loads of fans were quick to express how pleased they’d be if the deal to keep Willems could be sorted in January rather than the summer. They think it’d be a great idea and want to get the deal over the line as soon as possible.

You can see some of their reactions to the tweet below:

Newcastle fans, who do you think Steve Bruce should bring in during the January transfer window?

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to UOL, Liverpool are ready to listen to offers for on-loan Fluminense midfielder Allan.

What’s the story?

The 22-year-old signed for the Reds in 2015 for £500,000 from Internacional. But, after failing to secure a work permit, he is yet to feature for the Anfield outfit.

As such, it is being reported that the Merseyside club’s hierarchy are ready to listen to offers as his contract runs out at the end of this campaign. Sao Paulo are one of the clubs that are in interested in the former Eintracht Frankfurt loanee.

No loss

Of course, there will be some frustration on Liverpool’s part. It must be difficult to move a player on without him having played for the club, especially due to such a thing as a work permit. As such, they will never know how he would have slotted into the side.

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However, looking at his form so far this season, it is hard to imagine him fitting into Jurgen Klopp’s team. He has picked up a WhoScored rating of just 6.78 from 28 starts in the Brasileirao, and has managed just one assist during that time – he has failed to score on even one occasion. In the 2019 campaign, he flitted between defensive, central, and attacking midfield roles, with him mostly playing in the deepest of those three positions. Whilst he did manage 1.2 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per match, he gave away two fouls per game.

He is at least comfortable on the ball – he had a 90.4% passing accuracy and has averaged 1.7 dribbles per match – but it still isn’t really enough to make Klopp stand up and take notice. The Reds have won 24 of their last 25 matches in the Premier League and lead the table by eight points – it would take something very special to break into the Liverpool side. Whilst his work permit issues have stopped him from proving that, Marko Grujic, with three goals and one assist in 13 Bundesliga matches, would surely be higher up the pecking order than the Brazil U20 international.

Currently valued at £1.8m by Transfermarkt, the Reds will not receive a huge fee for Allan, but considering they only paid £500,000, there is still a possibility to make a profit. It is one of those transfers that hasn’t worked out – and not just because of the work permit. Quite frankly, he just doesn’t look good enough.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to one club’s interest in Sadio Mane.