Arsenal are marching forward in their journey to a Premier League title but that hasn't stopped internal frustrations within the squad
Mikel Arteta may be pleased with recent results at Arsenal, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming frustrated with one summer signing. The Gunners have been on a great run of form as of late, recently toppling Chelsea for the third time under Liam Rosenior this season to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal are still involved in four competitions this season, including the Champions League, FA Cup and the upcoming Carabao Cup final against title rivals Manchester City. Boss Arteta will hope his squad has what it takes to push for multiple trophies this year.
Regarding their FA Cup campaign and other silverware dreams, he said: "We want that one for sure (the FA Cup) and all the big ones. And that’s what we are chasing and that’s the purpose of this team.
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"At the end, we get judged for what we do today. Last week is not important. We will get judged for what we are able to do at the end of the season.
“One thing is the trophies for our football clubs and many other things that you have to do in a football club, especially in the situation we are in. I don’t expect that. I’m really happy where I am with the people that I work with and hopefully at least they know that we will give our very best to try to win as much as possible."
Here, Mirror Football has a look at the latest coming out of the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta's frustration with Eze
Eberechi Eze has been the latest to fall to Arteta's frustration following his lacklustre performance against Chelsea. The returning former academy star signed for Arsenal last summer from Crystal Palace and has made 13 goal contributions so far.
This has included five goals against north London rivals Tottenham, endearing him to fans as the derby hero. However, with just 17 accurate passes out of 22 and two shots on Sunday, Arteta's annoyance could be seen from the dugout at the Emirates Stadium.
The Spaniard could be seen growing increasingly agitated on the touchline and looked visibly frustrated with the England international's poor touches on numerous occasions. Former Manchester United hero Wayne Rooney previously criticised the Arsenal struggler and claimed he should be making it "impossible" for Arteta to drop him.
Speaking on the Wayne Rooney show, the ex-United man said: "I don’t think he’s been good enough this season. The two Tottenham games have shined a big light on him but in other games I’ve watched him and not thought he’s been good enough.
"I think a lot of that is probably through not playing consistently, I get that, but when you talk about mentality and character, if I was him I would be trying to make it very difficult for the manager to leave me out, both with your performances and in training. Clearly he’s not doing enough to warrant a place in the team consistently.
"I get that Martin Odegaard is the captain but you’ve got to make it almost impossible for Mikel Arteta to leave you out. After the first Tottenham game I don’t think he did enough to stay in the team so you just hope now for him he plays better consistently to stay in the game. I think he needs to perform a little bit better than he has so far this season."
Calafiori reveals transfer dream
Riccardo Calafiori has admitted he dreams of returning to Roma in the future as his impact at Arsenal continues to dwindle. The 23-year-old has lost his place in the starting XI following an injury in December.
Since returning, the Italian has only started one Premier League match after being replaced by loan star Piero Hincapie during his injury absence. Calafiori joined Arsenal in July 2024 for a fee worth up to £42million and has made 54 appearances so far, with nine goal contributions.
Hincapie has impressed in the Italy international's absence, with Arteta hinting that he wants to sign him permanently for £45m. These comments from the Arsenal boss have coincidentally coincided with Calafiori's revelation that he'd love to return to Roma.
He spent 12 years at the Italian outfit before heading to Basel and returning to Serie A with Bologna, where Arteta swiped him from in 2024. As per Corriere dello Sport, Calafiori said: "I'd like to return to Roma sooner or later. We can't plan it, of course, but yes, I want to return."
The young defender senses that he left the club with something to prove, adding: "I left something unfinished. It all started very well, with a goal. I played a lot for the first six months with Mourinho, even providing a few assists. Then came Bodo Glimt-Roma and from that moment on, I didn't play again.
"I went to Genoa on loan, but I didn't play there either - only three appearances. In the meantime, Roma won the Conference [League]. There was no more room for me."
While this transfer hint may worry fans, Calafiori is clearly happy in north London and recently told Sky Sports how much he loves working with Arteta. The 23-year-old said: "Obviously, he's a really demanding guy, but I like it.
"It's always better when your coach is asking you things in a good way, in a bad way, but it's always nice to learn and it's crazy how much effort he puts every time, every day. And especially for me - I can speak about me - he wants me to improve as much as I can."
Secenprtu
0
ZZubimendi and handicapi should be eliminilatwled from the squad
cikbeirtuz
0
Eze is just another Ozil, some time he is the number one, some time he is invisible 🫥
true, the only advantage with ozil is the passing range and accuracy which is terribly lacking in Eze
Fubbdeoprt
1
i think Eze is lazy like an ozil he really never seems to want to make an effert when he looses the ball to get it back but otherwise he is a good player
Fubbdeoprt
0
Eze is just another Ozil, some time he is the number one, some time he is invisible 🫥
that is true he's like an Ozil some good and a next time lazy that id the mentallity he needs to get rid of
resabekpst
0
true man only LBs and LWs are being rotated while the mid is usually occupied by Zubi, Orde and Rice as CB by Gabriel and Saliba, RB by Timber, RW by Saka the star who has deeped in form, CF is understood that other CFs were injured till now and they've all gotten mins at least
He may have to change our 6 or 8 if Rice isn’t fit and Zubimendi looks knackered. Calafiori is ready for a game plus Norgaard, Mosquero M.L.S., Jesus and Havertz. He has numerous options available. But does he trust them?
bwalyaalfred024
0
True for both aren’t good enough to be starters, we will surely purchase a L/W in the summer. We have 3 L/Bs and 2 players for each position at least, he should have rotated from the start of the season. We are too predictable.
true man only LBs and LWs are being rotated while the mid is usually occupied by Zubi, Orde and Rice as CB by Gabriel and Saliba, RB by Timber, RW by Saka the star who has deeped in form, CF is understood that other CFs were injured till now and they've all gotten mins at least
resabekpst
1
Trossard has always been good as super sub buh since Martinelli started to fumble as starter there's been rotation tho he doesn't wanna do the same for the others
True for both aren’t good enough to be starters, we will surely purchase a L/W in the summer. We have 3 L/Bs and 2 players for each position at least, he should have rotated from the start of the season. We are too predictable.
bwalyaalfred024
0
Spot on mate, players like Trossaud should never start games for Arsenal, he has been a joke this season. It’s favouritism from Arteta, and it could easily cost Arsenal and Arteta from disaster :- No trophies and the sack.
Trossard has always been good as super sub buh since Martinelli started to fumble as starter there's been rotation tho he doesn't wanna do the same for the others
resabekpst
1
most coaches have trusted senior players whom they'll choose to play even when they are not performing. That's what I think is happening to Eze, Norgaard and co
You’ve nailed it mate, we should definitely have used our squad to keep players fresh and up to pace. Arteta plays them till they are knackered and even then he’s reluctant to rotate. We rotate for early rounds of the domestic cups. He doesn’t seem to trust his players but why?
danoni31
1
Spot on mate, players like Trossaud should never start games for Arsenal, he has been a joke this season. It’s favouritism from Arteta, and it could easily cost Arsenal and Arteta from disaster :- No trophies and the sack.
most coaches have trusted senior players whom they'll choose to play even when they are not performing. That's what I think is happening to Eze, Norgaard and co
resabekpst
1
Eze needs more time to settle and being on the bench for weeks won't help me settle in well so Arteta quit the favoritism act and give game time to the bench players too
Spot on mate, players like Trossaud should never start games for Arsenal, he has been a joke this season. It’s favouritism from Arteta, and it could easily cost Arsenal and Arteta from disaster :- No trophies and the sack.
whycumonme
1
eze starts every match, not everyday the entirety of players shine... he missed 1 chance complain about that otherwise he can't be judged unless he gets a nice run of about 5 games 70 mins top each ... sub him for havertz, then add jesus in the 80 min
tedaikruy
2
Eze is just another Ozil, some time he is the number one, some time he is invisible 🫥
Hizblnprsz
0
I doubt Arteta dare to drop Eze .
Paobcimoyz
2
Eze isn’t good enough for Arsenal. He can fit in good for small teams
EmieGold
5
Eze sometimes flatters to deceive. Last Sunday instead of pressing from the frontline he was just walking around in the middle of the park. Was it laziness or just being laid-back.... It's difficult to explain when you see 10 men dominating 11 men at the Emirates stadium... it was a bad sight...
Oliveroliver
0
shouldn't be Eze but Hinicape.
jayaeortz
0
nonsense
bwalyaalfred024
3
Eze needs more time to settle and being on the bench for weeks won't help me settle in well so Arteta quit the favoritism act and give game time to the bench players too