Arsenal star Granit Xhaka is in advanced talks to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window. Arsenal are in advanced talks with the German side over a deal that could be worth in the region of around £13 million for Xhaka. 
The 30-year-old Swiss footballer has only one year remaining on his current Arsenal contract and there is no expectation that the club will look to extend that deal. There is, however, an option of an extra year, which will help to protect the midfielder’s transfer value this summer. Xhaka who has been at Arsenal since 2016, has scored seven goals and grabbed seven assists from 45 appearances in all competitions this season. Remaining at Emirates Stadium beyond the summer would have seen him enter the final 12 months of his contract, with the club also holding an option to extend that by another 12 months. The Swiss football star has endured some turbulent times during his career at Arsenal, most notably in 2019 when he was stripped of the captaincy following an outburst at fans when substituted during a game against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium. 
The midfielder was ready to leave during that January transfer window and had agreed terms with Hertha Berlin. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who enjoys a good relationship with Xhaka, persuaded him to stay after showdown talks. Roma were also interested in Xhaka last summer. The Gunners are planning to revamp their midfield in the coming months due to lack of depth, and they are targeting two new signings. West Ham captain Declan Rice is their No1 target, but Arsenal are also fans of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
Manchester City are close to retaining the Premier League title following a 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Everton on Sunday, May 14. Everton defended stoutly for the majority of the first half and threatened City periodically on the break. 
But the league leaders made the breakthrough in the 37th minute with a moment of real quality from Ilkay Gundogan, who controlled a ball into the box from Riyad Mahrez before flicking the ball beyond Jordan Pickford with the outside of his boot and while facing the wrong way. Gundogan then helped to double their lead less than two minutes later. His clipped cross from the left picked out the head of Erling Haaland who didn’t make any mistake in finding the net. It was Haaland’s 36th Premier League goal of the season and 52nd in all competitions. It took City less than six minutes into the second half to make it 3-0. James Garner fouled Phil Foden just outside the penalty area and Gundogan stepped up to nonchalantly plant his second of the game into the top corner. 
Manchester City have now moved four points clear of title rivals, Arsenal, ahead of the Gunners’ clash with Brighton later on Sunday. Everton remain 17th, just one point above the relegation zone, with two games left. Pep Guardiola’s treble chasers will now switch focus to the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at home to Real Madrid on Wednesday night. 
Arsenal showed no sign of raising the white flag in the Premier League title race with a 2-0 victory at Newcastle United on Sunday, May 7, to close the gap on leaders Manchester City to one point. City have a game in hand on top of their slender lead, but the Gunners are refusing to give up the fight in their hunt for a first league title in 19 years. A defeat would have left Arsenal’s hopes of a first title since 2004 hanging by a thread but Martin Odegaard’s brilliant strike and a Fabian Schar own goal gave the Gunners the vital victory. 
Newcastle’s second home defeat of the season slows the Magpies’ charge towards UEFA Champions League football next season as their lead over fifth-placed Liverpool remains three points. Eddie Howe’s men likely need just six points from their final four games to guarantee Champions League football for the first time in 20 years. However, they could slip to fourth later on Sunday if Manchester United win at West Ham. 
Arsenal found themselves 2-0 down in the first 15 minutes of the match, but they got a draw in the match following late goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka earned a point for the home team. Shutting down claims of his players lacking confidence, Arteta stated that they should know they can’t give away goals again. He said; “The concern is turning around those moments, especially if the players in some moments are in doubt. In football you go through moments when you make errors and are not in a good moment, but you have to come away from that. 
“I don’t see a lack of confidence. When a team does that normally players start to hide. I didn’t see a single player do that. They were all willing to take risks and initiative. That’s why we got back from 3-1 to 3-3 and should have won the game. The confidence is there. It’s just those moments. At this level you cannot give the goals away that we did. Simple as that.” Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, but their closest challengers Manchester City have two games in hands and the draw last night means the London club might have handed the title to Pep Guardiola’s team. 
Saka had a chance to hand Arsenal a 3-1 lead early in the second half of his side’s clash with West Ham at the London Stadium, but he sent the ball well wide of the post. The match eventually ended 2-2 and gave Arsenal’s rivals Manchester City another push in the race for the trophy. 
Hours after the match was concluded, Saka sent out an apology to Arsenal’s fans. He wrote; “Regardless of the outcome, I’ll always accept my responsibility. Apologies Gunners, I’ll do everything I can to make it right” 
Manchester City defeated Arsenal during their meeting on Wednesday, February 15, and the 3-1 win pushed them to the top of the table. Both teams have now been charged over their conduct during the match. They were accused of surrounding referee Anthony Taylor at different points throughout the game. Arsenal was charged for protesting when Erling Haaland was awarded a penalty, which was later overturned by VAR. Manchester City was charged for having multiple players argue against the penalty against Ederson, as well as complaining about a further foul which saw Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah booked for a challenge on Ruben Dias. Both clubs have until Tuesday, February 21, to respond to the charges. 
The statement read; “It’s alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, with Arsenal’s players surrounding the match official during the 56th minute, and Manchester City’s doing so during the 42nd and 64th minutes.” This is the fourth time this season that Arsenal have been charged. The London-based club has already picked up fines for incidents against Leeds United, Newcastle, and Oxford. 
Speaking ahead of a top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal, Guardiola revealed that Zinchenko was told his minutes would be reduced after a poor run in the 2019-20 season. He disclosed that the Ukrainian defender decided to stay and fight for his place rather than accept an exit at the time. Guardiola said; 
“Everybody is in love [with him] at City. He was an important figure in our club. What I like most about Alex is in the first years, we maybe wanted to move him from here because we thought he wasn’t going to play much. He said, ‘No, I want to fight for my position!’ I said, ‘Alex, it’s difficult, I have many players in your position.’ He said, ‘No, I’m going to play here.’ He trained really well, never had a bad face, aspiring when he plays, always had good behaviour. “Normally when you don’t play, you don’t say you’re going to play and say, ‘Ah I don’t want to do it’. He was completely the opposite, seeing him in the gym working extra-time.” 
Grimandi who worked as an Arsenal scout for 13 years, said they held talks with Mbappe before losing him to Monaco. He told The Sun; “The job of scouting is about finding but also missing players. For me, it is Kylian Mbappe. We just could not convince him. 
“He was out of contract in June 2013 and we met him in February. If we could have convinced him to join, he would have changed the club — but he then decided on Monaco. “Arsenal were not always playing their best so it was quite complicated. At first it was easy, as soon as we talked to a player he wanted to sign it. However, if you are not getting results it is difficult to bring top players to help the team. That’s why it is important to stay at the top for as long as possible. It is so much easier. Yet the likes of Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah, who I watched develop, prove you should never forget the talent you have inside your club, even in difficult times.” 
There’s a growing concern about Arsenal losing their star midfielder, Thomas Partey, to injury after he was forced off at half-time during Friday night’s FA Cup defeat against Manchester City. 
The Ghanaian footballer took a knock to his ribs during the first 45 minutes of the match which ended 1-0 in favour of Manchester City. Addressing reporters after the game, Arteta revealed that Partey had been playing through the pain before eventually having to be replaced at the break. The footballer will now undergo an MRI scan to know the severity of the injury. 
He said; “He had some discomfort and it was getting worse and worse. He could not continue. No initial diagnosis. Tomorrow, or the day after it will have to be an MRI scan and we’ll see what he has.”