Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Gunners ‘willing to pay £128m for Martinez’, HUGE Sane blow, Nwaneri contract talks

Saka 'capable of playing for Real'

Former Arsenal player Emmanuel Petit believes Bukayo Saka is capable of playing for Real Madrid.

He said: "Saka could easily be playing for Real Madrid. He’s one of the best players in the world in his position, even at this early stage of his career.

"It’s incredibly rare to see someone return from injury and consistently perform at such a high level, as he did on Tuesday night.

“His contributions in terms of goals and assists are elite. Just look at his performance against Madrid — he was absolutely crucial for Arsenal.

"One-on-one, down the flank, he’s a nightmare to defend. If Madrid were to make a move for him, I’m sure their fans would be more than delighted.”

Wright stunned by Arsenal ace

The superlative for Mikel Merino continue with Ian Wright the latest to sing him praises.

He told the Wrighty's House podcast: “Yes, this is the best, one of the best finishes you’ll ever see how in the box from a player that’s supposedly not a centre forward,” said Wright.

“Everything what he’d done about that goal was extreme quality.

“The thing with it is that, once it came into him and again, what you have to appreciate is the weight of the pass into him by Miles Lewis-Skelly is perfect.

“Obviously Merino’s coming backwards knowing that the ball’s coming with the right amount of pace. The goalkeeper has to because the ball’s coming across. He has to go into the middle of his goal.

“So to catch it going backwards so cleanly and putting it back where it’s come from into the side netting with a goalkeeper the size of Courtois, honestly…

“This is why I was so pleased (Alan) Shearer was on last night because Shearer was saying that is an unbelievable finish.

“You know, it’s an unbelievable finish. The way he executed that, it was so good.”

Even better than Rice

Thierry Henry was in awe of Bukayo Saka's display against Real Madrid so soon after his injury return.

He told CBS Sports: “Declan Rice came big on the two free-kicks but ultimately, for me, as I said, Bukayo Saka created everything, the two fouls were on him.

“Every time, taking the ball, running past one to two to three to four players to go inside and get the free-kicks.

“To come back in the time he has is unbelievable, he’s unreal.”

“He’s a top guy, we need to be ready next week because the Bernabeu, we know what it’s like to play there, he [Mikel Merino] can obviously tell you what it’s like.”

Anne Hathaway shows true colours

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway shared a rendition of North London Forever after her beloved Arsenal thrashed Real Madrid.

Star's dad always had belief

Goal hero Mikel Merino's father Angel Miguel believes his son was always capable of producing the finish which saw him score Arsenal's third goal against Real Madrid.

Merino Sr told El Larguero: "He had it in him, it was a matter of bringing it out and putting him in that position.

"It's not where he feels most comfortable because he likes to touch the ball more often, but when he has to finish, he's always been a player who can score. He's a good finisher and he's proving it."

Merson sings praises of Arsenal star

Former Gunners ace Paul Merson was full of praise for unsung hero Mikel Merino.

“I couldn’t call this game,” Merson said on Soccer Special.

“It’s probably the greatest night at the Emirates, it has to be. These are the champions of Europe and Arsenal destroyed them.

“Three phenomenal goals. I didn’t think people could bend balls like that!

“Two phenomenal free-kicks and Merino; if Erling Haaland, Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappe scored that, we’d be talking about it for years.

“I would say the greatest night at the Emirates. They have to get through the first 20 minutes at the Bernabeu now, if they score early, you never know.

“It’s Real Madrid. The first 20 minutes will be important, that place will be rocking.”

Arsenal in talks over contracts

Fabrizio Romano has stated that talks are underway over new contracts for Arsenal duo Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The two rising Arsenal stars have enjoyed breakout seasons and Arsenal are keen to tie them down long-term.

Romano tweeted: “New contract proposals ready and talks underway since February for both Ethan Nwaneri & Myles Lewis-Skelly. Arsenal are working on it.”

Fabregas singles out star for praise

Cesc Fabregas singled out Bukayo Saka for praise after Arsenal's win over Real Madrid.

Saka won the two free-kicks Rice scored from and was a thorn in the opposition's side throughout.

Fabregas said of his display: “For me, Bukayo Saka, special mention because in football you see games all of the time and it’s the same thing and the same thing.

"When you see a special talent like that, in the short space of time since he came back, to do what he did tonight against a top team like Real Madrid, hats off to him, hopefully he will be a top player for the future of Arsenal."

Arsenal tie down important figures

Arsenal have tied down manager Mikel Arteta’s backroom staff to new contracts.

Arteta has developed a core coaching group during his time at the club, which includes assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Carlos Cuesta, first-team coach Miguel Molina, goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana and set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover.

The quintet are now understood to have all penned new contracts, though, which brings them in line with the length of Arteta’s contract.

Van Basten makes Champions League pick

Marco van Basten believes Paris Saint-Germain are still the team to beat in the Champions League this year following Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid.

He said: "I saw PSG play against Liverpool. That was special. I hope they continue in that vein.

"They are capable of beating Arsenal. Then you get the final PSG against Barcelona.

"Then I’ll go for Paris for the fun of it, who can finally win the Champions League.

"They’ve been investing and hoping for about fifteen years. Manchester City, a comparable team, has managed it.

"But PSG has nothing yet. Sooner or later it has to happen. They now have a team that plays spectacular football."

Real Madrid wait on duo's fitness

Real Madrid are sweating over the fitness of David Alaba and Federico Valverde ahead of next week's Champions League quarter-final second-leg with Arsenal.

According to Gullermo Rai, Alaba and Valverde suffered discomfort in the 3-0 loss in north London. It's claimed neither problems look serious but more tests are set to follow on Wednesday.

Alaba played left-back for Madrid and struggled to contain Bukayo Saka throughout the contest. Valverde, usually a midfielder, played the role as a makeshift right-back with Carvajal out injured.

Arsenal star compared to Bergkamp

Owen Hargreaves was blown away by Mikel Merino's finish last night and compared him to the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.

He said: “Amazing. The finish is, I mean, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry… they’d be proud of that. The finish is amazing.

“I think even the football is really good, But I think Merino drops off and he gets into a pocket where he has a picture of what he wants.

This is lovely, it really is. The patience of it back to (Myles( Lewis-Skelly, watch him there, just sit back into that pocket.

“He shouldn’t score from there against a keeper of this quality, but he passes it round the defender into the corner.

“It is so perfect, the finish, it’s almost as good as Dec’s free kicks!”

Premier League boost

The Premier League will officially have five teams in bext season's Champions League.

Arsenal secured the extra place with a huge 3-0 victory in the quarter-finals over reigning European Champions Real Madrid on Tuesday at the Emirates.

It took England's points coefficient total up to 24.535 - leaving the nation top of the Uefa table.

Both Spain and Italy are now battling it out for second, with the former on 21.678 points and the latter on 20.187 points.

Henry's statement to Mbappe

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry had a blunt message for Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe before Tuesday's quarter-final in the Champions League.

Henry bumped into Mbappe on the side of the Emirates pitch during the warm-ups.

The French stars shared a warm embrace and had a brief chat before the pundit let the forward go.

But Arsenal's record goalscorer revealed his short and sharp cheeky final comment to the France international:

It's always massive respect when I see Kylian Mbappe.

"We both went to Clairefontaine [French football centre of excellence].

Tonight he's playing against the team that I love the most in the world.

Look I don't wish anything bad on him. But tonight, I said to him, 'Please I don't want to see you'.

Thierry HenryCBS

Mbappe's Rice nod

Eagle-eyed Arsenal fans spotted Real madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe’s “nice” reaction to one of Declan Rice’s free-kick goals on Tuesday.

Rice struck from two set-pieces as his side beat Real 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates.

Mbappe caught fans off-guard as he reacted to the second of the England international's free-kick goals.

Sneijder on Rice

Real Madrid hero Wesley Sneijder was surprisingly not impressed with Arsenal star Declan Rice's free-kicks on Tuesday in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Rice scored two worldies for the Gunners but Sneijder didn't think they were particularly special.

I don’t think the free-kicks were that impressive.

This may sound strange but it’s extremely easy to curve a ball like that as long as you know how to take a shot, and I know all about this. The wall was at fault here.

The same for the second free-kick. You saw [Thibaut] Courtois moving to his right just before Rice took it. A mistake by the goalkeeper.

Wesley SneijderZiggo Sport

Leroy Sane interest

Arsenal are still interested in signing Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane ahead of the summer transfer window.

According to transfer insider Florian Plettenberg, the Gunners have held fresh talks over signing Sane.

However Bayern are interested in offering the winger a new contract.

And the ex-Manchester City star is reportedly keen to sign fresh terms.

Arteta on Rice

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed Declan Rice was "determined" to end the club's free-kick hoodoo against Real Madrid.

Declan’s been very determined because we have said in the last few months that we have not scored a direct free-kick in three-and-half years.

So, to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude and of that quality from the same player, a player that has never scored a free-kick before in his career, what are the odds?

This night was all about two factors; one is the atmosphere that we created 15 minutes before kick-off with something I haven’t seen before.

And then the magic, the individual moments that decide all matches. And the first two goals from Declan sums up the night.

Mikel Arteta

Declan Rice's free-kick admission

Arsenal star Declan Rice revealed his stunning free-kicks against Real Madrid were not part of the plan after he defied set-piece coach Nicolas Jover.

Bukayo [Saka] said, the actual words were, 'If you feel it, go for it'.

I looked at the wall and looked at the keeper and thought I could bend it and that’s what happened.

I don’t know if it will ever sink in. I fancied both [free-kicks] and to have the confidence, I am a bit speechless.

Martin [Odegaard] was saying to cross, I said it doesn’t make sense to chip it like that.

We practice them all the time, Jover is telling me to cross and it didn’t make sense.

Declan Rice

Alexander Isak move off

Arsenal are ready to end their pursuit of Newcastle star Alexander Isak ahead of the summer transfer window.

According to Chronicle Live, the Gunners are moving on from Isak because they have identified another star striker.

And that is none other than Sporting Lisbon hitman Viktor Gyokeres.

With questions over the North Londoners' spending pot, the signing of Isak's Sweden team-mate Gyokeres would cost significantly less.

The Sporting star is said to cost £58.5million, which is about £25m less than the Newcastle hitman.

Gyokeres cut price

There is an inevitability around Viktor Gyokeres’ departure from Sporting Lisbon this summer as Arsenal and Manchester United keep tabs on him.

Gyokeres was eyeing a move during the past two windows, but a gentleman’s agreement with Sporting has seen him stay put during this season.

And the striker is now focusing on delivering one last league title for Sporting this term in a nail-biting finale with Benfica.

As a thank you, the Portuguese giants are willing to let the Sweden international - who has 43 goals in 43 games across all competitions - leave for significantly less than his £85million release clause.

Sporting are hoping to recoup between £55m and £70m, a welcome sum given their 24/25 financial reports showed a net transfer loss of around £15m.

Matheus Cunha interest

Manchester United are tipped to open talks over recruiting Wolves star Matheus Cunha.

According to Give Me Sport, United are close to launching negotiations with Cunha’s representatives.

Until now, the Gunners have been rated as the versatile forward’s biggest admirers but Man Utd are also in contention.

Therefore, a transfer war looks very likely between the two Premier League giants.

Triple transfer swoop

Arsenal are working on a sensational £200million triple transfer spree ahead of the summer market.

The Gunners are confident of landing Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi for around £50m.

And Sporting Lisbon hitman Viktor Gyokeres as well as Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams pose as top targets for new sporting director Andrea Berta.

The North Londoners' chances depend in part on whether Sporting and Bilbao hold out for release clauses for Gyokeres and Williams, believed to be £83.6m and £49m respectively.

Victor Osimhen price

Napoli star Victor Osimhen, who currently plays on loan at Galatasaray, is again being linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.

And it’s suggested Osimhen will leave the Partenopei this summer with Galata thought to be out of the running for a permanent deal.

And the Italian giants are hoping to receive around £55million for the striker.

It’s also claimed the Nigeria international has already decided he wants to join a Prem team next season.