Mikel Arteta says he is hopeful that Arsenal can convince Bukayo Saka to stay at the club even if they fail to finish in the Premier League's top four this season.
Saka's current deal at the Emirates Stadium reportedly expires in 2024, with the club eager for him to sign a new one.
However, reports have linked the 20-year-old with a move to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, and the player himself has expressed his desire to play in the Champions League.
Saka recently told Sky Sports: "I think the Champions League creates so many special nights and it’s a dream for me still to experience one of them and hopefully many more of them."
At a media conference ahead of Thursday's trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, when asked if the club needed Champions League football to keep hold of their star youngster, Arteta replied: "I don’t know. It’s a conversation we’re going to have with the player internally and then with his environment, his agent, his family, who are going to be extremely important, so everybody is on board.
"Obviously, our desire is to keep Bukayo as long as possible because we are really happy, he’s part of our club, he’s our DNA, he’s growing, he’s maturing, his importance in the team is unquestionable and we want to keep our best talent at the club, that’s for sure."
Arsenal currently sit sixth in the Premier League, four points behind fourth-placed West Ham but with three games in hand.
Saka has emerged as a key player for the Gunners, having played the most games in all competitions at the club so far this season (26), while only Emile Smith Rowe (nine) has scored more than his seven goals.
No-one has created more than the England international's 40 chances, and he has created eight big chances, whereby a team-mate would be expected to score, which is three more than the next highest (Martin Odegaard, five).
Arteta also outlined the balance Arsenal must find between allowing opportunities for their best young talents, while also strengthening the team with big signings.
"Here there are two things. It’s trying to build a squad that you have room for those players to develop, and the other one is to have those players developing when we are extremely competitive," he added.
"Because if you sign three top players, and then those kids start not playing, what happens? You cannot have it both ways. If you sign big players, with big money, the money has to be on the pitch – which means that these players are not going to be on the pitch.
"So we need to find the balance, but with the standards that this club requires, which is to be the best. This is what we are trying to do, but without killing what is growing."
Everyone wants to beat Leverkusen, says Alonso ahead of Frankfurt clash
Bayer Leverkusen continue to edge towards a remarkable unbeaten season and Xabi Alonso acknowledged every club wants to put that run to an end.
The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions moved a step closer to a treble after beating Roma 2-0 away in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Alonso's side have also reached the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern as their extraordinary 47-game unbeaten run continues across all competitions.
Leverkusen, who ended Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title to secure their first trophy since 1993, travel to sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
"We want to stay unbeaten and we know every week it gets tougher. Everyone wants to beat us," Alonso told reporters.
"It hasn't been easy in Frankfurt in recent years, they've always a tough opponent with a flexible system of play. We don't have much time to prepare."
The 42-year-old Spaniard will be watching the Frankfurt game from the stands after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season during his side's 2-2 home draw with Stuttgart last week.
"You can see the game better from the stands and I can communicate with the bench," he said.
"I will miss the direct contact with the team during the game but the players are intelligent enough to decide situations individually on the pitch."
Guardiola says Man City must prove themselves all over again in title race
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City's players cannot dine out on their past achievements and must prove themselves all over again in their last four games of the Premier League season, starting against Wolves on Saturday.
The title race remains in City's hands despite Arsenal leading the way by a single point, with Guardiola's men possessing a game in hand as they chase a fourth successive crown.
After welcoming Wolves to the Etihad Stadium, they face back-to-back trips to London to take on Fulham and Tottenham, then host West Ham on the final day.
Guardiola says City – who should have Ederson, Ruben Dias and Phil Foden back on Saturday – cannot assume this title rice will go the same way as others.
"We have to prove it tomorrow against Wolves and then in the next games," Guardiola said.
"We know we have to win and get all 12 points, otherwise it will be difficult because Arsenal are so strong and so consistent. It's difficult to drop points.
"It depends on us. It's just tomorrow and then three games in one week, no more complicated than that to analyse.
"I would love to say what we have done in the past is going to happen this season, but nobody knows."
Wolves, meanwhile, are still eyeing a top-half finish after halting a six-game winless run by beating struggling Luton Town 2-1 at Molineux last week, with goals from Hwang Hee-chan and Toti Gomes.
A spate of injuries saw their European hopes slip away, but with Pedro Neto back in full training alongside Hwang and Matheus Cunha, they could start with their first-choice front three for the first time since October.
Boss Gary O'Neil, who will serve a one-match touchline ban on Saturday, said: "To have all the senior players back and the group starting to look stronger again takes me back to October and how we felt at that moment.
"So we're looking forward to seeing them all back together."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne has started six Premier League matches against Wolves, recording five goals and five assists against them, though nine of those involvements came at Molineux (five goals, four assists).
The Belgian also laid on two assists against Nottingham Forest last week to move to 110 overall in the Premier League – just one behind second-placed Cesc Fabregas in the all-time rankings.
Wolves – Hwang Hee-chan
Hwang scored 10 Premier League goals before the turn of the year, then went exactly four months without a goal due to international duty and injuries before netting against Luton last week.
Both he and Cunha have 11 Premier League goals this season, and there have only been three previous instances of a player netting more for the club in a single campaign – Steven Fletcher in 2011-12 (12) and Raul Jimenez in both 2018-19 (13) and 2019-20 (17).
MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN
Wolves inflicted City's first defeat of the Premier League season back in September, and they now have the chance to complete just their second top-flight double over them since 1960-61, having previously achieved the feat in 2019-20.
However, City are in ominous form, going unbeaten through their last 19 Premier League games (15 wins, four draws).
They have already enjoyed four unbeaten runs of 20 or more matches in the competition – three of them under Guardiola – and could become just the second team to achieve the feat five times (Manchester United have done so seven times).
All five of Wolves' away Premier League wins this term have either been against either teams starting the day in the relegation zone (two) or versus London clubs (three).
They have lost 18 of their 20 Premier League away games against sides starting the day inside the top two, winning the others at Tottenham (in December 2018) and City (October 2019). The champions have no margin for error, and a slip-up from them looks unlikely at this stage.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester City – 71.2%
Wolves – 9.6%
Draw – 19.2%
Wolves make Doyle move permanent as midfielder leaves Man City
Wolves have taken up their option to sign Tommy Doyle from Manchester City on a permanent deal.
The 22-year-old midfielder has made 30 appearances in all competitions for Wolves after joining the club on loan this season.
Wolves have now exercised their option to make the move permanent, which will take effect on July 1, for a reported fee of just under £5 million.
Doyle has signed a four-year contract with Wolves, with an option for two further years, tying him to the Molineux club until at least 2028.
He previously spent loan spells with Hamburg and Cardiff City, before helping Sheffield United win promotion from the Championship last season.
The Man City academy product also made seven appearances for Pep Guardiola's side.
"We’ve never seen Tommy as a player on loan, and he hasn’t acted like one," said Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs after the deal was confirmed on Friday.
"He’s gradually earned more minutes and become more important, which I think is an ideal first year. What he offers to our midfield is something different to the others, so there was a huge amount of inevitability to this.
"He buys into who we are as a club and what we’re trying to create culturally within the group. He’s a great player to have for what we’re trying to achieve off the pitch and he gives us so much on the pitch, so he’s the exact type of player I think Wolves should be signing."
Hobbs is confident that Doyle has a bright future in the game, adding: "If you look at the type of players we like to sign as a football club, they generally haven’t reached their ceiling yet and have loads more to come.
"Tommy is a fraction of the player he will become, with the more he gets used to the league and the greater his understanding gets.
"I’m really excited for now but also his future at Wolves."
Man City play Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday, but Doyle is ineligible to take part.
As well as expressing his excitement at joining Wolves, he reflected on his City exit, saying: "I’ve had many, many years as a City player, coming through the academy and eventually playing for the first-team, and I take great pride in what I’ve done for that club..
"It’s nice to close that chapter and open up the new one with Wolves and try to progress as much as I can and keep enjoying it.
"I wanted to have somewhere where I’m stable, essentially somewhere I enjoy, and I enjoy it here. It’ll be good to do it all again next season.
"It’s amazing. I’m really happy. I found out not too long ago what’s going to happen and it’s obviously very exciting for me, having enjoyed this season so far, and I’m looking forward to trying to better what we’ve done next season.
"I’ve known for a little while that there were talks, and the other day it was more official. I’ve enjoyed it here, everyone’s been really great with me, the manager, the staff and especially the lads. It’ll be good to battle in the league again with them next season."
Wolves are 11th in the Premier League with three games to play in Gary O'Neil's first season in charge.
"You can see the way we’ve played this season, some of our football’s been really good," added Doyle, who has played for England up to Under-21 level.
"We’ve been very unlucky with injuries, and it’s died out a bit the last couple of games which has been frustrating, but that’s something we’ll learn from.
"The club said they were happy with what I’ve done this season and, for me, I feel there’s a lot more I can give. We’re going in the right direction as a club, we’re progressing, so it’s exciting to be part of that journey."
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