Daily Cannon

Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for securing Champions League football and a likely second-place finish, firing a subtle shot at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the process.

Arsenal mathematically secured Champions League football with a win over Newcastle United on Sunday, with a four-point gap to third place with only one match remaining.

The Gunners haven’t mathematically finished second yet, as sixth-place Manchester City have a game in hand. Should they win their final two fixtures, they could match Arsenal’s current tally of 71 points.

But Arsenal have a 10-goal advantage in goal difference and would likely need to lose heavily to relegated Southampton to finish below City on the final day. Realistically, a second-place finish is extremely probable.

Reflecting on the season, Mikel Arteta insisted his team deserve his praise for maintaining high standards and not dropping down the table despite their injuries and issues with red cards in 2024/25.

“Make sure, as I said, that it doesn’t get blurry, and it doesn’t get recognised what we’ve done,” Arteta said. “Any other team, I’ve seen it with one injury to finishing eighth, fifth, 16th, 17th.

“What this team has done, in my opinion, to sustain the level throughout the season with everything that happened is incredible.

“We don’t want anybody to value [it], but me as a manager, I have to value what these guys have done.”

The references to clubs dropping to 16th or 17th feel a little pointed, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur occupying those two positions with one game of the season remaining.

One of the two clubs will sneak into the Champions League with Europa League success later this week, but even that team will have a huge job on their hands to completely reverse their domestic form next year.

As for the team that loses, it will arguably be their worst season in many, many years.

Even with all of the obstacles Arsenal have faced this season, they’re not even close to dropping to that level. Arteta is right to highlight it.

Ange Postecoglou has suggested he was asked to lose Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Manchester City last season, to deny Arsenal the Premier League title.

With Tottenham Hotspur sitting 16th in the Premier League table with five games to go, Ange Postecoglou is coming under a lot of pressure from inside and outside of the club at the moment.

The manager’s one saving grace at the moment is that Spurs remain in the Europa League, and winning the competition would mean qualifying for next season’s Champions League despite their domestic struggles.

All the same, Postecoglou clearly felt the need to defend himself in a press conference this week.

“I love the frenzy around finishing fifth this year, they’re all brilliant, aren’t they,” Postecoglou asked sarcastically. “We finished fifth last year, why is it such a disaster that we finished fifth?

“Around this time last year, I was asked to lose a game, and I was wrong for wanting to win it.

“But it’s not a good story. A better story is that my tenure’s been a disaster and it continues to be.”

Postecoglou is seemingly referring to the conversations around Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Manchester City towards the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Spurs had the opportunity to give local rivals Arsenal a boost by taking points off City, with many of the fans hoping that the team would lose instead.

Postecoglou grew frustrated with the suggestion that he would throw the game to spite Arsenal, but Spurs lost anyway. If they’d won, they would have ultimately finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League.

Instead, their defeat condemned them to Europa League qualification, and Postecoglou clearly hasn’t forgotten that this is the fate the fans demanded.

Arsenal have confirmed plans to hold a north London derby match in Hong Kong this summer, as part of the club’s 2025/26 pre-season plans.

Arsenal have officially confirmed leaks that they intend to hold a north London derby pre-season match this summer, facing Tottenham Hotspur at the newly-opened Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong.

It will be the first north London derby held outside of the United Kingdom, with the game scheduled for July 31st at 19:30 local time, 11:30 BST.

Arsenal managing director Richard Garlick said: “Everyone at Arsenal is excited to be visiting Hong Kong in July. It’s great to be back with our men’s first team squad after 13 years, and gives us the opportunity to meet so many of our fantastic supporters in the region again.

“As well as training hard and playing the match, we cannot wait to connect with our Hong Kong supporters in this wonderful part of the world.

“Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.”

Arsenal are seemingly set for a tour of Asia, with Arsenal Fixture News reporting that they expect two more games outside of Hong Kong but still on the same continent. Both are expected to take place before the Hong Kong match.

Arsenal’s 2024/25 campaign will come to an end in May, whether that’s the final game of the Premier League season on May 25th or the Champions League final on May 31st.

The Gunners are seemingly set for around a month and a half off after that, with pre-season starting at some point in mid-July. The new season will then kick off on August 16th.

The Premier League have recently confirmed that the summer transfer window will open briefly between June 1st and June 10th (due to the Club World Cup) before opening properly on June 16th and closing on September 1st.

Arsenal should therefore have over a month to complete any transfers before the pre-season tour kicks off. Ideally, a few new signings will be involved by the time the team reaches Hong Kong.

There have indeed been talks over a pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but the game isn’t currently confirmed, according to a report.

Following rumours over the last seven days, Sami Mokbel reports for the Daily Mail that there have been talks over a north London friendly between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during Spurs’ planned trip to Asia this summer.

Spurs intend to hold a summer training camp in the Far East, and they’ve discussed the prospect of playing a game in Hong Kong against the Gunners.

There was plenty of buzz around the potential fixture last week, with a supposed “leaked” graphic showing plans for two games at the new Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong.

The rumoured matches were Liverpool vs AC Milan on July 26th, and Arsenal vs Spurs on July 31st.

But subsequent reports played down the leaks, with Hong Kong outlet SportsRoad claiming that the two friendlies haven’t been officially confirmed, and British journalist Charles Watts writing that the fixture is yet to be finalised.

Yet it seems the Gunners are at least considering the prospect. As well as Watts and Mokbel confirming that the Hong Kong fixture is a possibility, Arsenal Fixture News writes that there’s also talk of an Arsenal game in Singapore.

Arsenal have spent the last couple of pre-seasons on tour in the USA, so it would make a change to travel to the other side of the world in 2025.

Arsenal are seemingly set to face Tottenham Hotspur in a pre-season fixture in July, according to rumours circulating online.

In the last 24 hours, reports have been growing that Arsenal are set to play a pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur at the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.

The above graphic is reportedly a leak from the promotional materials for the game, as well as Liverpool’s friendly fixture against AC Milan. According to the graphic, Arsenal will play Spurs on July 31st, 2025.

Hong Kong outlet SportsRoad report that the two friendlies haven’t been officially confirmed, but the rumours fit with earlier claims about the summer plans for the new stadium. British journalist Charles Watts shared the graphic in an apparent confirmation.

Arsenal Fixture News report that as well as playing in Hong Kong, there’s also talk of an Arsenal game in Singapore. So all the signs point towards a tour of Asia for the Gunners this summer.

Arsenal have spent the last couple of pre-seasons on tour in the USA, so it will make a change to travel to the other side of the world in 2025.

Yet whilst local fans will likely be delighted to see a north London derby in their home country, other fans might be disappointed to see another pre-season friendly match against a bitter rival.

Friendlies are primarily about building fitness, but these derby games often end up bringing an unnecessary level of aggression and injury risk.

But these are the games that make the most money. Now that they’ve become a common feature of every pre-season tour, we’re only likely to get more of them.

Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur signings Alvaro Morata and Mathys Tel were both open to joining Arsenal in January, but the Gunners opted against both transfers.

Sami Mokbel reports for the Daily Mail that whilst Alvaro Morata and Mathys Tel ended up joining Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, both would have given serious consideration to joining Arsenal in the January transfer window.

The reason neither had to make that decision was that after discussing each move internally, Arsenal decided not to make offers. The club felt that neither would provide sufficient impact in the second half of the season.

Simon Collings reported on deadline day that whilst Arsenal did hold exploratory conversations over a move for Tel, they decided not to advance it beyond that.

The Gunners’ hestiance to do a deal for the teenager was likely partly related to the significant finances involved. Spurs are paying a loan fee of up to €10m (£8.3m), and they’re also paying Tel’s salary in full.

After that, Spurs will have a €60m (£50m) purchase option, taking the total potential cost of the signing up to more than £58m. That’s significantly more than Arsenal were willing to pay for a proven striker in Ollie Watkins, and Spurs are investing it on a player with no club goals this season.

As for Morata, it’s clear that Galatasaray were just a lot more keen to get a deal done. The Turkish club ultimately signed the striker on loan with an option to buy.

Arsenal are clearly an attractive destination to strikers at the moment, but the Gunners are evidently hoping to leverage that fact to sign one of their priority targets. Morata and Tel didn’t fit that description.

Arsenal’s pursuit of an emerging Irish star has ended in disappointment as their North London rivals secured a long-term deal for one of Europe’s most promising young forwards.

Tottenham Hotspur have secured the signing of Mason Melia, beating Arsenal to the highly-rated Irish forward in what is now a record-breaking transfer for a League of Ireland player, believed to be around €2m.

St Patrick’s Athletic confirmed the deal, which will see the 17-year-old remain in Ireland for the 2025 season before officially joining Spurs on January 1, 2026 as he doesn’t turn 18 until after the summer window closes.

A product of St Patrick’s youth system, Melia has already made waves in Irish football, becoming the club’s youngest-ever senior goalscorer at just 15. His performances at domestic level quickly earned him international recognition, representing Ireland at multiple youth levels, including the 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He received his first call-up to the Ireland Under-21 squad in October 2024.

Since making his senior debut in May 2023, he has made 54 appearances and scored 10 goals.

Valued at just €125,000, Spurs have paid much more but Melia still represents a low-risk, high-reward investment for the club, particularly in a market where emerging strikers often command exorbitant fees.

A clinical finisher with an instinctive understanding of space, he is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most promising forwards in recent years.

Arsenal held initial conversations about a potential move for Tottenham Hotspur signing Mathys Tel, but decided against going ahead with a deal.

On transfer deadline day, Tottenham Hotspur completed the signing of Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on an initial loan with an option to buy.

Arsenal had been linked with the player earlier in the window, and appeared to be one of the final teams remaining in the race after Tel rejected Spurs’ initial approach.

But Simon Collings reported on deadline day that whilst Arsenal held exploratory conversations over a move for Tel, they decided not to advance it beyond that.

Arsenal’s hesitance to do a deal for the teenager likely stemmed from the significant finances involved.

A conversation with Ange Postecoglou ultimately convinced Tel to sign for Spurs, and Christian Falk reports that they’re paying a loan fee of up to €10m (£8.3m). The club are also paying Tel’s salary in full.

After that, Spurs will have a €60m (£49.9m) purchase option, taking the total potential cost of the signing up to more than £58m. That’s significantly more than Arsenal were willing to pay for a proven striker in Ollie Watkins, and Spurs are investing it on a player with no club goals this season.

Spurs were desperate, given Dominic Solanke’s injury absence and the team’s current position at 14th in the table. If they don’t start winning games immediately, the prospect of European football next season will evaporate.

Arsenal are in a much stronger starting position. Whilst that has led many to suggest that they need to invest and capitalise while they have the chance to win trophies, it also means the club hierarchy keep opting to stay patient until their top targets become available.

Tel was clearly never a priority for Arsenal, and we’ll see whether that turns out to be a good thing or not.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer targets Mathys Tel and Fikayo Tomori are causing problems by preferring no transfer at all to joining Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel has been linked with plenty of Premier League clubs lately, with Arsenal reportedly among those interested in a late move for him. But Tottenham Hotspur were certainly in the lead until Friday, with Daniel Levy flying to Germany to try and get the deal done.

Bayern had reportedly reached a £50m verbal agreement for a permanent transfer for the striker, yet it all fell apart when Tel himself had to decide whether to move to Spurs.

Sky Germany report that Tel wasn’t convinced by Spurs’ project, and he didn’t feel it was the right step for him. Tel has been keen on a January move, but he told Bayern that if his only two options were to sign for Spurs or stay at Bayern, he’d rather not make a transfer at all.

Spurs moved on to Fikayo Tomori, given they also have a pressing need for defensive reinforcements, but again they’re facing difficulties.

Fabrizio Romano reports that AC Milan are pushing to seal Tomori’s sale to Spurs, but it’s evidently Tomori they need to convince. Luca Bendoni and Gianluca Di Marzio report that the player wants to stay, isn’t open to a transfer to Spurs, and is focused on Milan’s next game.

Arsenal have no direct stake in the Tomori deal, but they might raise their eyebrows at Tel rejecting Spurs. Given the Gunners’ need for a forward addition before Monday’s deadline, a move for the Bayern man could make sense.

That move would require Tel to reject a few other options though, given Chelsea, Manchester United, and Aston Villa have also been linked with interest. It looks like this one is going down to the wire.

As well as playing at centre-forward, Tel can also operate on the wings, so he’d make a versatile addition if Arsenal can get it done.

Arsenal’s gripping 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby has reignited debates surrounding VAR, particularly after former referee Keith Hackett criticised the decision to award Arsenal a corner that led to their equaliser.

Hackett’s suggestion that VAR should be expanded to review corner-kick decisions has sparked backlash, with Arsenal fans expressing their frustration over what they see as selective outrage whenever the Gunners benefit from contentious calls.

Hackett argued that the current VAR remit—limited to goals, penalties, direct red cards, and mistaken identity—should include the ability to correct incorrect corner-kick decisions. “An unofficial whisper in the ear from VAR, which might have assisted Hooper on this occasion,” Hackett wrote, referencing replays that showed Leandro Trossard had the final touch before the ball went out of play.

Arsenal supporters, however, were quick to lampoon the idea, pointing out the glaring inconsistency in how scrutiny is applied to their matches.

On social media, fans sarcastically proposed increasingly absurd rule changes. “I’m just waiting for them to make scoring from corners illegal,” posted Brian Poplar, while Danny quipped, “Round pitches it is next year then—no more corners, Arsenal are too good at them.”

Another fan, @ArseVengers, mocked the logistical chaos of Hackett’s suggestion: “Guess we’re all waiting patiently for that PGMOL announcement that VAR are going to analyse every corner and throw-in from now on. 120-minute football games YAY.”

The controversy also evoked memories of a similar incident during Arsenal’s match against Newcastle last season, where debates raged over whether the ball had crossed the byline before a decisive goal. “Remember last year in Newcastle where the media spent weeks forensically examining the ball shape and the line using AI and graphics?” wrote @gooner63. “Can’t make this sh*te up.”

Fans such as @Goonernation expressed the broader sentiment: “Change the rules because of something that happened, that happens a lot but may have benefited Arsenal this time and should now be seen as a huge issue.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta declined to comment on the controversy, instead focusing on his team’s performance. “ I’m very proud of the team, I think we were sensational. I think it was a good test to see after two big performances and not getting rewarded in two different competitions.

“You have to play the biggest game of the season for our people in those conditions, and it’s a test of attitude. You know what we are made of, the courage that we have, how much we really care only about a result or the performance and how much we can do in terms of what is required in the game to be better than the opposition.

” I think we played from the minute one to hurt them with or without the ball. I think we fully deserve to win the game. I think we made a lot of people very happy, but especially very proud to see a team that behaves in the manner that they have played to it again.

While Hackett’s proposal may not gain traction, the heated responses highlight a recurring theme: when Arsenal succeed, it often becomes a flashpoint for scrutiny and calls for change.

For Arteta and his squad, however, the focus remains firmly on sustaining their title challenge, regardless of the noise surrounding their victories.