Approaching Hazard, no Mata

A painful weekend for Arsenal saw our inexperienced squad exposed and an ideal replacement for Cesc Fabregas all but sign for one of our rivals.

Juan Mata captained the Spanish U21 team to victory and was also a part of their World Cup squad, he is a great talent and looks like he will complete a move to Chelsea for £23 million, less than what we will receive for Samir Nasri. Wenger’s decision not to make a bid for him is as concerning as his apparent refusal to consider Jose Enrique as a very affordable replacement for Gael Clichy.

As the pressure for Wenger to add to his squad mounts, rumours linking us with Eden Hazard have once again resurfaced and they could be the reason for Wenger not attempting to sign Juan Mata. Hazard has reportedly been a long term target for us and could fill the creative hole that caused our attack to be isolated for long periods against Liverpool.

Despite the ongoing rumours, however busy we are in the transfer window will have no bearing on the most important game of the season, Wednesday’s qualifier in Udinese. If we do not get the right result then Wenger may struggle to persuade anyone to sign for us. He has to work with what he has and rumours that Jack Wilshere may make his first appearance of the season are just the boost that we need. As domestic suspensions do not apply our squad should be in half decent shape even if Wilshere doesn’t recover in time and if we show the heart that we saw on Sunday, we should be capable of securing qualification in Italy.

For the latest Arsenal news follow @the_arse

What to read next:

Leeds heading for the play-offs after shocker at QPR
Just when we thought we’d turned the corner with that win at Boro, we slipped back into the desperate form of the post-international break period, losing heavily to Queens Park Rangers in this critical game.

Queens Park Rangers 4 - 0 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.

QPR Awaydaze
Our trip to Queens Park Rangers is at 8pm on Friday, thanks once again to our very good friends at Sky Sports. We’re not famous any more!

Crisis, what Crisis?
As Mark Twain might have said, rumours of the death of our promotion hopes have been greatly exaggerated. Last night’s win at Middlesbrough was a hard watch towards the end, but the vital three points has got our campaign back on track.

Middlesbrough 3 - 4 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.

Middlesbrough Awaydaze
Our visit to Middlesbrough kicks off at 8pm tomorrow night, once again thanks to our very good friends at Sky TV. We’re not famous any more!

Leeds promotion hopes damaged by first home defeat of the season
Once again the chance to go back to the top of the table was handed to us on a plate, but we dropped the plate. This week’s frustration-fest was at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.

Leeds United 0 - 1 Blackburn Rovers - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.

Annual accounts show that the club will have to sell players if we don't go up
The club released the annual accounts for the 2022/3 season this week, and despite the headline figure of an overall loss of £33.7 million, we’re not in danger of any points deduction for now. But the accumulated losses mean that player sales will be inevitable in the summer if we remain in the Championship.

Stuart Dallas thanks the fans as tributes pour in
Stuart Dallas battled hard for two years to return to the game after his serious injury, but has now had to accept that he can no longer get back to the level of fitness needed to play the game at the top level. Club Chairman Paraag Marathe led the tributes, and the player has sent an emotional open letter to all the Leeds United fans.