Arsenal FC - Transfer news, results, fixtures, video & audio (2024)

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

"Versatile" Riccardo Calafiori is a player who could "slot in very well" to Arsenal's side, says Italian football journalist Daniele Verri.

The Gunners are believed to be closing in on a deal with Serie A's Bologna for the 22-year-old defender.

Calafiori progressed into senior football from the Roma academy and went on to join Swiss side Basel in 2022.

He spent just one campaign in Switzerland's top flight before moving to Bologna for 4m euros (£3.3m) and was a key player in helping them to an unlikely Champions League spot last season.

Verri told BBC Sport: "He can play on the left wing or the left side of the defence. He can also play as centre-back, where he has improved a lot over the last season at Bologna.

"He is physically strong, but he is not a typical Italian defender like a [Giorgio] Chiellini, so a very man-marking defender. He is technically very gifted and is a player who can build up the play from the back.

"In a situation of ball possession, Calafiori tends to work up the pitch and become a sort of midfielder. That is going to be very helpful for Arsenal who like to have more stations when they build up their play with short passes. He will slot in very well to that."

His versatility means he could be competing with Gabriel in central defence or with Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, both of whom he topped in key stats such as dribbles and interceptions per 90 minutes last season.

Moving into a midfield position is a real possibility, having previously said himself that Manchester City's John Stones "is my reference" and "his style of play is closest to mine".

"Calafiori brings his technical quality, his understanding of the game, his capacity to build up the game and look for the right move and situation when building the game from back," Verri added.

"He will be helpful in playing the long ball or the short ball to the midfielder, and creating an extra man in midfield when they are in possession."

Simon Stone in Los Angeles
Chief football news reporter

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber is determined to take the positives out of his injury-wrecked debut campaign for the Gunners.

The 23-year-old Netherlands international was one of the stars of last pre-season for Arsenal, when he looked to have been earmarked for the inverted right-back role by manager Mikel Arteta.

But those hopes collapsed when Timber ruptured his cruciate ligaments in the opening Premier League game of the season.

Timber did not return until the final match against Everton, when he came on for the last 21 minutes.

The £34m signing from Ajax did have some low moments, but he is refusing to dwell on them as he approaches his second campaign as an Arsenal player.

"It was a big blow, and at the start it was huge," said Timber, speaking at the start of the Gunners' three-game pre-season tour of the United States.

"It's never fun to be injured but I tried to look at it in a positive way. Time goes quickly. I worked with some fantastic physios and have good people around me who made me feel great and in the end I came out well."

Rather than beat himself up by the thought he was stuck in the gym doing recovery work while his team-mates were trying to wrestle the Premier League title away from Manchester City, Timber used it as motivation.

"It's not that hard when you see how they were performing last year," he said. "It gets you motivated to join them and to help them."

Arsenal play Bournemouth at LA Galaxy's 27,000-capacity stadium at 03:30 BST on Thursday.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta understandably had mixed feelings when it came to the Euro 2024 final.

As a proud Spaniard, he was naturally delighted at the outcome of the game in Berlin. But he also felt sad for Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale, who were part of the defeated England squad.

"It was a great moment for us to win it again with this generation," he said.

"They really had to earn it in the past few years, to get that belief.

"But at the same time I was also sad, because you love your players. You want the best for them and it was a tough moment."

Simon Stone in Los Angeles
Chief football news reporter

Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is a major doubt for the start of the season.

The 25-year-old Japan international was due to be part of the Gunners squad that travelled to the United States for their three-match tour.

Sadly, he suffered a knee injury just before departure.

Arsenal are still waiting to discover the full extent of the problem but sources have indicated Tomiyasu will not be fit for the opening Premier League game at home to Wolves on 17 August.

"It's unbelievable," said Arteta. "It happened this week.

"The kid works so hard but he had an incident in training.

"We don't know the extent yet but we kept him there for precaution and we'll see what happens."

Arsenal are prepared to offer English forward Eddie Nketiah, 25, as part of a swap deal with Crystal Palace for 24-year-old England defender Marc Guehi. (Metro), external

French club Marseille have agreed personal terms with Nketiah and are confident of completing a deal for the striker. (L'Equipe - in French), external

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

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club are trying to strengthen "certain positions" as they close in on the signing of Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori.

Speaking in Los Angeles at the start of Arsenal's three-match tour of the United States, Arteta told reporters there was "no update" on a deal for the 22-year-old Bologna man, who is valued at about £34m.

However, sources have said talks are progressing well and are expected to reach a positive conclusion.

Arsenal are also looking to strengthen in central midfield as they try to do better than the past two campaigns, when they have finished second to Manchester City.

"We have to," said the Gunners boss, when asked if his side have to improve despite two almost flawless seasons. "When you are so close you want to grab it.

"Perfection in this league requires different standards when you relate that word to winning the Premier League and that is what we have to do.

"There is still a lot of time left in the window and while that is more a question for the board, obviously we know there are certain positions that we want to improve and give the squad better resources in terms of numbers but the main thing is to focus on falling in love with the players we have."

Arsenal’s players are returning for pre-season in stages.

They will have returned to London after matches against Bournemouth, Manchester United and Liverpool before others, including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, link up given their Euro 2024 campaign with England did not end until 14 July.

One of the tournament’s abiding memories was Saka scoring in the penalty shootout victory over Switzerland in the quarter-finals, banishing the memories of his failure in the previous tournament’s final defeat by Italy.

"I was very nervous," said Arteta. "What happened a few years ago plays back in your mind but he showed a lot of guts and determination and composure to take it the way he did.

"Bukayo’s role is constantly growing and evolving, he is a super important player for us and one of the main players for the national team."

Simon Stone in Los Angeles
Chief football news reporter

Arsenal arrived at their plush pre-season base in California on Sunday.

There is not much settling in time for Mikel Arteta's men though.

They will be training at a site used by the LA Rams - whose owner Stan Kroenke also owns Arsenal - at 11:00 local time (19:00 BST).

That will be followed by a briefing from Arteta, who may well be asked about the futures of Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, all of whom have been named in the Gunners squad for this trip.

Arsenal play Bournemouth at LA Galaxy's stadium on Wednesday, followed by matches against Manchester United and Liverpool.

Arsenal's preparations for the new campaign have begun in earnest after travelling over the weekend for their pre-season tour of the USA.

Mikel Arteta named an initial 26-man squad for the trip, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz joining the squad from Thursday, 25 July due to their national teams' progression in Copa America and Euro 2024.

Players involved in the semi-finals of the Euros - Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka, David Raya and William Saliba - will link up with their team-mates after the tour.

While in the US, the Gunners will play three fixtures against Premier League opposition:

Arsenal v Bournemouth - Thursday, 25 July (03:30 BST)

Arsenal v Manchester United - Sunday, 28 July (01:00 BST)

Liverpool v Arsenal - Thursday, 1 August (00:30 BST)

Arsenal are close to agreeing a deal with Bologna worth a combined £42.1m for 22-year-old Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori. (Sky Sports), external

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

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Arsenal defender Ben White is one of 13 senior players named in Mikel Arteta's squad for the three-match tour of the United States.

White made himself unavailable for England duty during the latter part of Gareth Southgate's time in charge.

It remains to be seen whether the 26-year-old reverses that decision when Southgate's successor is named.

Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah have all been included, despite being linked with moves elsewhere.

Arteta has picked internationals knocked out by the last-16 stage of Euro 2024, such as Leandro Trossard, whose last game for Belgium was on 1 July.

Also included is England youth goalkeeper Tommy Setford, whose move from Ajax was completed on Sunday.

Arsenal open their tour against Bournemouth at LA Galaxy's stadium on 24 July.

They face Manchester United at the SoFi Stadium on 27 July before heading east to take on Liverpool in Philadelphia on 31 July.

Arsenal have signed goalkeeper Tommy Setford from Dutch giants Ajax.

The 18-year-old England youth international will initially go into the under-21 squad.

Setford told the Gunners' official website, external: "I can't wait to hit the ground running.

"I'm looking forward to learning new things next season and pushing myself to another level."

Arsenal academy manager Per Mertesacker added: "He is a young goalkeeper with big potential.

"The first step on Tommy's development pathway with us will be to integrate into our under-21s academy group and train regularly with our first-team goalkeeping group."

Arsenal are set to sign 18-year-old goalkeeper Tommy Setford from Ajax before their USA tour. (Evening Standard), external

The Gunners have stepped up efforts to sign 22-year-old Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna. (Athletic - subscription required), external

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

Crystal Palace are ready to bid £30m for Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe. (Talksport), external

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

Arsenal revealed their new away kit for the 2024-25 season and we asked you to have your say on the latest strip, which seems to have split opinion.

Here are a selection of your comments:

Naimah: It is an absolutely gorgeous kit. Beautiful representation of the club's African ties, both past and present. This is a must-have for me.

Sarah: I think its disgusting. I understand the thought behind it but we've always been yellow and blue. Too many clubs mess about with the strip these days, even our home shirt strays from red and white.

Ed: I've liked the past three away kits, they've all been unique and different. Celebrating our home and identity is important and everything this club stands for, but as a traditionalist, I'd like to see next season return to yellow and blue.

Ian: Bit of a traditionalist here... too many fond memories of the yellow and blue away kit - Charlie George 1971, Alan Sunderland 1979, Michael Thomas 1989. Plus, not sure an all black away kit is that practical on a gloomy, rainy, January FA Cup third round away tie. Remember Manchester United and the grey?

William: I think it's a beautiful kit. Not only the design but the meaning. Plenty of incredible Arsenal players are African/have African heritage. For example, Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey etc. It's a very good design and I'm glad we are finally giving something back to the African footballers, although it only being an away shirt.

Drew: Looks absolutely awful, a toddler could do better. The training kit looks far better. Lack of effort in the Adidas camp one thinks.

It seems inevitable a host of Premier League managers will point to fixture congestion in the months to come.

When injuries mount, or when time on the training ground is squeezed, coaches often reference the intense nature of the calendar.

But research conducted by the respected CIES Football Observatory has delivered data which shows clubs are - on average - not playing more competitive games than they have in the last couple of decades.

The CIES looked at 677 clubs across 40 leagues. In looking at a period from 2012 to 2024, its findings show in 2023-24, the average club played 42.4 competitive matches. In 2014-15 that figure was 42.6 and in 2020-21 it hit 43.9.

And if focus is placed on sides competing in the Champions League, data gathered between 2000 and 2024 also shows sides are not setting fixture records in the current game, as some managers may like to loosely imply.

In looking at the five major European Leagues, the CIES claim Champions League competitors played an average of 50.8 matches last season.

In 2020-21 they averaged 57.9 and in 2002-03 they contested 55.2.

Manchester United played in 52 competitive games last season, down from highs of 71 in 2020-21 and 66 in 2008-09.

Across all of the clubs analysed, only 4% played more than 60 games last season. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 5.1%.

While clubs may play added friendlies and - it would be fair to say - individual matches tend to be longer given increased injury time in the current game, the data shows that competitive fixture numbers are flat or have in most cases fallen, even if disgruntled managers say otherwise.

The full study is here, external

Arsenal look set to end their interest in England defender Marc Guehi with Crystal Palace demanding more than £70m for the 24-year-old. (Mirror, external)

Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori, 22, has been asked to take part in Bologna's pre-season as Arsenal try to reach an agreement on his valuation. (Evening Standard, external)

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

Arsenal have released their new 2024-25 away kit in collaboration with Adidas and British African heritage brand Labrum London.

The shirt is the traditional pan-African colours of black, red and green and features a white zig-zag graphic designed by Labrum London founder Foday Dumbuya.

The club said: "These colours and cultural cues bind together to create a mural of our past and present connection to the African diaspora in London and beyond – championing the rich cultural heritage within the team and across our supporter base."

Dumbuya added: "As a second-generation immigrant growing up in London, I watched some incredible Arsenal players with African heritage.

"These players were amazing role models to me, playing the game in a beautiful way, but also representing the wider community that I connect with.

"Arsenal, as a club, has such a strong connection to this community, so it is an incredibly proud moment for me to have collaborated on this design with them."

What do you think of the new kit, Gunners fans? Let us know here, external

Arsenal's move for Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori, 22, has been held up because the clubs cannot agree a fee for the Italy international. The Gunners also want Jakub Kiwior as a makeweight in the deal but the defender would prefer to join AC Milan. (Times - subscription required, external)

West Ham are winning the race to sign Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson, who is valued at £25m by his club. (Talksport, external)

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

Arsenal are expecting further bids for Emile Smith Rowe, after rejecting an offer from Fulham for the attacking midfielder, with Crystal Palace also interested. (Evening Standard), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

The football never stops.

Euro 2024 has barely finished but Premier League clubs have already started turning their attention to pre-season friendlies.

The games are spread across the globe, from Tokyo and New York to Sligo and Crawley.

So who will your team face? And when and where are the matches?

Keep across all the fixtures and results here

Arsenal have rejected an offer for 23-year-old England midfielder Emile Smith Rowe from Fulham, who are are weighing up whether to make an improved bid. (Standard), external

The Gunners are planning to make a move for Real Sociedad and Spain international Mikel Merino, who had a spell at Newcastle United before returning to Spain. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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

Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares will spend next season on loan with Italian club Lazio.

The 24-year-old has been with Arsenal since 2021, making 28 appearances for the Gunners.

He spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, playing 12 times.

Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga has joined Spanish club Sevilla on a season-long loan.

The 24-year-old, who has played 39 times for the Gunners since joining in 2021, spent last season on loan at Luton Town.