'He'll Not Play our Remaining Games" - ANGRY Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal star will not play for the club's next 3 games in the US
Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal star will not play for the club’s next 3 games in the US, He’s Not Allowed to Train with the First Team as Aaron Ramsdale’s Embarrassing Error Cost Gunners Victory over Man Utd.
Manchester United capitalised on a pair of Arsenal errors as newly-appointed captain Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho got their US tour off to a winning start.
Erik ten Hag’s side finished third last season and took on the Premier League runners-up on Saturday evening at a sold-out MetLife Stadium – potential host of the 2026 World Cup final.
United emerged victorious from the sides’ first meeting on American soil, Fernandes and Sancho striking in a 2-0 friendly win against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Gunners goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was at fault for the opener as Fernandes all too easily beat him from distance, fresh from being named Harry Maguire’s successor as captain.
An air kick by Gabriel led to Sancho’s sublime second, the forward racing through to thrash home at the near post in front of 82,262 spectators in New Jersey.
Some of those had gone home by the time a pre-arranged penalty shoot-out took place after the final whistle.
Both teams wanted to take the opportunity to practise spot-kicks in front of a large crowd, United winning that too as Fabio Vieira blazed over in a 5-3 victory.
MOVING ON TO THE NEWS OF THE DAY:
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed why he decided not to include Nicolas Pepe in his squad for the club’s pre-season tour of America.
Pepe joined the Gunners for a then-club-record fee of £72million four years ago but the Ivory Coast international failed to live up to his price tag, struggling for consistency in the Premier League. Eventually, he fell out of favour in north London before being sent on loan last season to Ligue 1 side Nice.
The 28-year-old missed the final part of the campaign through injury, which Arteta has claimed is the reason he isn’t on tour with the rest of his teammates. “At the moment he’s recovering from an injury”, the Spaniard replied when asked about Pepe’s future.
“That’s why he’s not here. He had a spell on loan and we wanted to get more from that loan spell. We’ll have to see when he comes back.
“Have a chat with him. Understand what he plans are and make a decision.”
Pepe is no longer a part of Arteta’s plans after falling down the pecking order in the squad towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Arsenal are keen to receive a fee for him, but football.london understands plans have been made for the termination of his contract if required.
Arteta has already recruited three players during the summer transfer window, spending in excess of £200million to sign Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice. But the Gunners manager has admitted that he could dip into the market again before it slams shut.
When asked if Arsenal could make any more signings this summer, he said: “I don’t know. There will be movement still. There will be a lot of ins and outs.