Arsenal

Arsenal are interested in Bayern Munich and Germany winger Leroy Sane but the 28-year-old is unlikely to make the move this summer. (Sky Germany), external

Arsenal remain interested in 25-year-old Napoli and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian), external

Arsenal are struggling to negotiate a transfer of English striker Eddie Nketiah, 25, to Marseille, with the French side not meeting the Gunners' valuation. (Caughtoffside), external

The Gunners could strengthen their midfield with the signing of Real Sociedad's Spain midfielder Mikel Merino, 28. (football.london), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Watch as new Arsenal signing Riccardo Calafiori joins his team-mates for training in America.

The defender met up immediately with Mikel Arteta's squad on their US pre-season tour, before the Gunners face Premier League rivals Liverpool on Wednesday.

He can also be seen having a chat with his new manager as open training gets under way.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal have signed "a big personality and character" in Riccardo Calafiori, says manager Mikel Arteta.

The 22-year-old defender has joined on a five-year-deal for a fee of up to £42m including add-ons.

Able to play as a central defender or at left-back, Calafiori was a key figure in Bologna securing Champions League qualification last season with his 30 appearances, scoring two goals and providing five assists.

"We welcome Riccardo and his family to Arsenal," Arteta said. "He is a great signing and gives us huge strength to reinforce our defence.

"Riccardo is a big personality and character, with specific skills, which will make us stronger as we push to win major trophies. He has already shown great development in recent seasons with his performances for both Bologna and Italy, with his progression and development in the past year being really impressive.

The Italy international has joined up with his new team-mates in Philadelphia, where the Gunners are on a pre-season tour in preparation for the new campaign.

Sporting director Edu added: "It has been a great team effort in completing this transfer and we welcome Riccardo to the family.

"We identified Riccardo as part of our strategy to sign players who fit our profile and will reinforce our squad to compete at the highest level. He is 22 but brings quality and experience..

"Riccardo has consistently shown his quality for club and country. He was one of the best players in Serie A last season, and gave strong performances for Italy in the Euros this summer."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal have completed the signing of defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.

The 22-year-old joins the Gunners on a long-term deal believed to be for a fee of up to £42m including add-ons.

Calafiori has joined his new team-mates in America for the remainder of Arsenal's pre-season US tour.

What does he bring to the side?

Where does he fit in?

And who should Mikel Arteta target next?

Let us know, external

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's friendly game between Arsenal and Manchester United.

Here are some of your comments:

Dougie: Always a treat to turn over the Salford bigheads. We were fluid, fit and fighting. The young pups showed up well. Looking good for us.

Annelise: I think we were undoubtedly solid and it was brilliant to see a return from Martinelli and Jesus. It was interesting to see Trossard and Martinelli in the same team which could be a solution for the 'Saka backup'. Also really good to see Timber back in action and youngsters like Heaven and Hein proving their ability.

Syed: Ethan Nwaneri is the breakout star of this pre-season tour and if he continues in this fashion he will undoubtedly play plenty of minutes this season. Neat and tidy in small spaces, great passing range and robust physically for such a young lad. The way Arteta speaks about him is the most revealing. He looks like the real deal.

Arsenal are in pole position to sign Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon, with Liverpool not prepared to submit a bid for the 26-year-old. (Team talk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter in Los Angeles

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes striker Gabriel Jesus will have a more sustained impact on his team if he motivates himself rather than feed his drive from others.

Jesus struggled at times last season.

Injuries played a part but the Brazilian scored only four Premier League goals last season, and none in 13 matches in all competitions after netting at Nottingham Forest on 30 January.

The 27-year-old was omitted from his country's Copa America squad, a blow considering he had been part of the Brazil side at the previous four major tournaments, in addition to winning the Olympics in 2016.

Jesus caught the eye with a goalscoring contribution to Arsenal's 2-1 pre-season win over Manchester United in Los Angeles.

It suggested he has a burning desire to prove his doubters wrong.

If so, Arteta feels Jesus would be using the wrong motivational tool

"The motivation has to come from within himself, with his self-demands and how much better he is able to make the team," said the Gunners chief. "He has shown it. He transformed the energy and the belief of that team and he has got it there.

"If he is waiting for something external to motivate him, it is going to be for a really short period.

"If it is something internally that is happening, that is going to last longer and it is going to be consistent."

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter in Los Angeles

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal midfielder Jorginho believes the determination of the Gunners to fight for the Premier League title again will prove how much they want it.

Mikel Arteta's side have finished the past two campaigns empty handed, despite putting together their most consistent form for almost two decades.

The frustration has been that, on both occasions, Arsenal have found Manchester City too good.

Now, they have to go again.

Jorginho, who signed a short-term contract extension this summer, is up for the challenge.

"The key is how much do you want it?" said the 32-year-old. "When you want so much, you are going to do it again.

"We know it is really hard but we are trying to improve every single day and push as much as we can."

Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund and £52m new signing Leny Yoro both suffered first-half injuries as the Red Devils lost their opening US tour game against Premier League rivals Arsenal 2-1 in Los Angeles.

Hojlund had given his side a 10th-minute lead before seeming to experience a muscle injury after 15 minutes.

Gunners forward Gabriel Jesus levelled with a close range finish after 25 minutes, before substitute Gabriel Martinelli cut inside 17-year-old rookie full-back James Scanlon to score the winner.

United did triumph in a pre-arranged penalty shoot-out that followed, with Jadon Sancho scoring the decisive spot-kick to seal a 4-3 win.

Arsenal fans, let us know your thoughts, external

What did you make of the display, United fans?, external

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

Image source, Getty Images

Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

Arsenal are holding out for a fee of at least 50m euro (£42m) for their England forward Eddie Nketiah, 25, who has attracted interest from Marseille. (La Provence - in French), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Saturday's full gossip column here

Image source, Getty Images

Thomas Partey says Arsenal "are there to compete with the best" and the Gunners have the competition necessary in their squad to achieve what they want.

The Ghana international said: "I think confidence is always there. We are there to compete with the best - we know we need to get the best out of ourselves to be able to compete.

"We have to compete against each other and then at the end of the day we will be able to compete against the other teams."

The 31-year-old only played 14 games last season because of injury problems but said: "I am doing my best to be more consistent and stay fit. It is an everyday job - I cannot give up and need to keep going.

"Every time I fall I have to get up and fight back - that is the mentality I have."

Partey said it is not important about who plays, adding: "It all comes down to the team mentality because we train together. Jorgi [Jorginho] and Dec [Declan Rice] have had a lot of results and want to be at the top."

Arsenal are in the United States on their pre-season tour and face Manchester United in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time.

Arsenal have opened talks with Paris St-Germain about Spain midfielder Fabian Ruiz, 28, but a move would require the Gunners to offload a player. (Football Transfers), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter in Los Angeles

Image source, Getty Images

Although he spoke about Emile Smith Rowe after Arsenal's game against Bournemouth, manager Mikel Arteta was less keen to discuss the attempt to sign Riccardo Calafiori.

The Gunners are hoping to get the Italy defender's move from Bologna tied up in time for Calafiori to join them for the last leg of their US tour in Philadelphia, where they play Liverpool (kick-off 00:30 BST on 1 August).

Not that you would know it by listening to Arteta inside LA Galaxy's stadium.

"There is no update," he said. "As soon as we have something to say, we will be the first one to say.

"You know I don't like talking about external players, but this is the situation at the moment."

Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has been telling BBC Sport about the effect high price tags can have on players.

The 29-year-old - once the club's record signing when he joined for £72m in 2019 - joined Turkish side Trabzonspor on a free transfer in September 2023.

It brought to an end a disappointing four-year spell at Emirates Stadium for the Ivory Coast international, having scored 27 goals in 112 games.

He has also spoken of the good relationship he had with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, despite the Spaniard not having "full confidence" in him.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter in Los Angeles

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed "things are happening in the background" around playmaker Emile Smith Rowe.

Smith Rowe was the only senior squad player not to feature in Arsenal's pre-season game against Bournemouth, which the Gunners won 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.

Fulham are keen on 23-year-old Smith Rowe, who remained on the bench throughout.

"Things are happening in the background and we decided the best thing to do was leave him out," said Arteta.