Could the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga be nearing a conclusion?

Long linked with Real Madrid, Mbappe is out of contract at the end of the season.

Paris Saint-Germain's attempts to re-sign Mbappe have been fruitless up until this point and the Ligue 1 giants are reportedly willing to cash in.

 

TOP STORY – MBAPPE NEARING MADRID?

Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to accept an offer for Kylian Mbappe should one arrive from Real Madrid before the end of the transfer window, according to RMC.

PSG have been fighting to re-sign Mbappe, who is in the final year of his current deal in the French capital.

However, PSG have reportedly accepted defeat in their efforts to retain Mbappe beyond the 2021-22 season as Madrid look to lure the Frenchman to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Premier League pair Manchester United and Liverpool have also been linked.

 

ROUND-UP

- The Mirror writes United are prepared to offer cash plus a player-swap – believed to be Jesse Lingard – to sign West Ham's Declan Rice.

- Atletico Madrid are closing in on a deal to sign Hertha Berlin's Matheus Cunha, says Fabrizio Romano. LaLiga champions Atletico had been linked with Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic – also wanted by the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham, Inter and Arsenal – but have so far failed to reach an agreement.

- The Daily Telegraph reports Tottenham are preparing a £40million bid to reunite Nuno Espirito Santo with Wolves star Adama Traore.

Napoli are eyeing unwanted Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic, per Correire dello Sport. Pjanic had looked set to return to Juventus.

- Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira will move to Fiorentina after turning down Eintracht Frankfurt, according to Romano.

Chelsea are continuing to eye Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, claims Romano. The Frenchman is ready to swap Seville for London after agreeing personal terms on a deal until June 2026.

- Inter are monitoring Torino star Andrea Belotti as they seek to replace Romelu Lukaku, says Calciomercato. The Serie A champions have also been linked to Lazio forward Joaquin Correa.

Michail Antonio became West Ham's all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League as David Moyes' side crushed Leicester City on Monday.

The 31-year-old scored twice in four minutes in the closing stages of the Hammers' 4-1 victory at London Stadium.

Antonio had earlier teed up Said Benrahma to make it 2-0 after Pablo Fornals broke the deadlock prior to Ayoze Perez's red card. Youri Tielemans netted what proved to be a consolation for Leicester.

Antonio now has 49 Premier League goals for West Ham, two more than previous leading scorer Paolo Di Canio.

The former Sheffield Wednesday player has scored four times in nine appearances against Leicester and already has three in England's top flight this season. No player has scored more.

Antonio celebrated his historic double by holding up a cardboard cut-out to a rapturous home crowd.

The Hammers are now on a four-game winning streak, their best Premier League run since winning five consecutive matches from January 14 to February 13, 2006.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has lost five times against Moyes in England's top flight, more than he has against any other manager in the competition.

 

Gary Neville cannot understand why the Manchester United hierarchy are not doing everything to sign prolific striker Harry Kane in order to emerge again as genuine Premier League title contenders.

United have spent in excess of £100million in recent weeks to recruit Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane from Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.

But Neville believes his former club should not rest on their laurels and must now lure Kane north from Tottenham before the transfer window closes on August 31.

Kane, who made his first appearance of the season off the bench in the win over Wolves on Sunday, sparked frenzied speculation around his future when reports emerged in May that he wants to leave Spurs.

Manchester City have been strongly linked, but Neville thinks it is United who need to make a statement signing in order to keep pace with their rivals and back boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

He said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football: "Chelsea, we've seen what they've done with [£97m signing Romelu] Lukaku. We've seen that [Virgil] Van Dijk has come back [from injury] for Liverpool and we know that Man City are in for [Jack] Grealish and Kane. If they get Kane, I think there's a massive problem for United.

"I'm struggling to understand why Manchester United aren't going that extra step this transfer window.

"Sancho for 70-odd million was last year's money and I think with regards to Manchester United they've always gone after the best player in the Premier League, the best English player in the Premier League, or British player historically.

"[Anthony] Martial, [Daniel] James, [Jesse] Lingard – you're talking about potentially offloading a lot of wages there, potentially getting some transfer fees in.

"Why are they not going in for Harry Kane this week?  

"I think if Harry Kane entered Manchester United you could get up to 90-95 points.  

"Without him, they are still going to have to replace [Edinson] Cavani and Martial next summer – Martial is not going to do it, Cavani has only got one year left.  

"They are going to have to buy a centre-forward at some point – why not get the man now and give Ole that impetus?"

Former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has called on the Gunners to "just give me the job" as he highlighted the problems under manager Mikel Arteta.

Sunday's 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea meant Arsenal opened a league season with two losses and no goals scored in two matches for the first time in their history.

It also marked the first occasion they have ended the day in the relegation zone after more than one game of a season had been played since back in August 1992.

Arteta has lost 20 of his 60 league games in charge, as many as Arsene Wenger endured in 116 Premier League matches at the helm, and pressure is beginning to mount on the former Manchester City assistant.

The Gunners face West Brom in an EFL Cup match on Wednesday before taking on champions City in the top flight on Saturday prior to the international break, and further poor results will leave Arteta in a worrying position given he has overseen a reported net spend of over £130million in this transfer window.

Campbell, twice a Premier League winner in his time with Arsenal - including the famous 'Invincibles' season of 2003-04 - said the problems laid bare by the Chelsea defeat were alarmingly simple.

"It's hard watching Arsenal at the moment, it's really hard," the former Macclesfield Town and Southend United boss told talkSPORT.

"It's just the effort and the quality. Yes, we've spent a lot of money, the most in England at the moment, but it's the quality, the consistency, the experience.

"We're always looking for the potential, it's always good to have potential, but sometimes you want that instant guaranteed success. This is a very, very young side, you have to remember that, there is a lack of experience – but it's the basics!

"Some of the players need to do the basics. You can lose, but the way we conceded some goals was too easy. The reaction times of some of the defenders not backing each other up, not assessing danger.

"The first goal has slipped across the six-yard box – get back and defend. Don't just wait! That's simple, that's A, B, C defending. Allow Chelsea to score really good goals, not those simple goals. It's too easy.

"The gulf of talent and experience was on show. You couldn't really miss it. Chelsea had so much time and space. They were a cut above."

He added with a laugh: "I tell you what, I'd help them. Just give me the job and I'll help them out!

"I'll tell you how to get out of a two-man press against Brentford! I mean, what's going on here?

"We go back to that game [a 2-0 defeat on August 15], it's a two-man press, it's quite easy to work out! You go flatter and that pressing midfielder has to run another 10 or 15 yards, which then gives you more space in the middle of the park. That's really simple!"

Liverpool fans enjoyed their return to Anfield for Saturday's 2-0 win over Burnley, and Jurgen Klopp's subsequent comments ensured the focus remained on the Reds.

Discussing Burnley's approach, Klopp said: "Watch wrestling if you like that kind of thing."

Indeed, the Clarets' physicality is "too dangerous", according to the Liverpool manager.

Some of the most intriguing Opta facts from the Premier League weekend emerged from that feisty encounter, while there were predictable developments as Manchester United visited Southampton...

No reds against Reds despite 'wrestling' claims

The clash at Anfield was not quite WWE, but there was also limited football on display. The ball was in play for just 49 minutes and 47 seconds.

That was the second-shortest such length of time for a Liverpool league game under Klopp, longer only than the 48 minutes and 46 seconds against Watford in 2015.

The Hornets won that game 3-0, so it can be an effective stifling tactic, but it did not work on this occasion as Liverpool scored in either half through Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane.

Klopp's men have now won seven consecutive Premier League games while scoring in both halves in each of them. Liverpool's own run of 11 victories with goals before and after half-time in 2014 was the last longer streak.

Burnley are on their own impressive run, though – one at odds with Klopp's frustrations.

Sean Dyche's side are now 95 Premier League matches without a red card since Robbie Brady's late dismissal against Huddersfield Town in January 2019, surpassing the previous competition record that saw Ipswich Town go 94 games without having a player sent off prior to December 1994.

Home comforts at last for City star Laporte

In Manchester City's 5-0 demolition of Norwich City, Aymeric Laporte scored his ninth goal for the club but first at the Etihad Stadium.

Laporte had turned out at City's home stadium 44 times previously without hitting the net, with each of his eight prior strikes coming at different grounds.

The Spain centre-back had goals at the AMEX, Emirates Stadium, Goodison Park, Groupama Stadium, Metalist Stadium, Molineux, Wembley and Vicarage Road before finally celebrating in front of the Etihad supporters.

Another Villa pen makes for Premier League first

Danny Ings' outrageous overhead kick lit up a tight affair between Aston Villa and Newcastle United, but it was a controversial second from the penalty spot that put the game beyond the Magpies.

Ings had scored from 12 yards on his debut against Watford – his volley against Newcastle making him the fourth Villa player to net in each of their first two Premier League games for the club – and so was expected to step up again when Jamaal Lascelles was adjudged to have handled.

Instead, Anwar El Ghazi grabbed Villa's second, maintaining his perfect penalty record in the competition with six from six.

Ings was overlooked despite missing just one of his nine attempts, meaning Villa became the first side in Premier League history to have two different players score spot-kicks in the first two games of a season.

There had been previous examples of two team-mates converting penalties in the same game – Fulham's Louis Saha and Steve Marlet on the opening day in 2002-03, and Southampton pair Dusan Tadic and Charlie Austin on matchday two in 2017-18 – but never in different matches at the start of a campaign.

Dom spot on at Leeds as Gray makes amends

There was a personal penalty first at Elland Road, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin kickstarted Everton's 2-2 draw with Leeds United. It was the England striker's 55th Toffees goal but his first from the spot.

Demarai Gray had Everton in front for a second time in the second half with his maiden strike for the club. Having netted in a 2-0 Leicester City win in 2017, he became the 34th player to score for and against Everton in the Premier League.

That puts Everton fourth in that regard, behind West Ham (46), Aston Villa (42) and Liverpool (39). Villa's Ings and Liverpool's Mane are both included.

Saints brush off Fred the Red's helping hand

It is a fixture best known for a famous grey-clad Manchester United loss, but Southampton's slip-up against a Red Devils side unmistakably dressed in blue and yellow went entirely to script.

Saints led through a Fred own goal, the fourth time United have netted for Southampton in the competition. Only against Newcastle (five) have United scored more own goals.

But Mason Greenwood's equaliser ensured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are now unbeaten in a record-equalling 27 away league fixtures.

For Southampton, this was nowhere near as bad as last season's clash when they collapsed from 2-0 up to lose 3-2 – or, of course, the 9-0 Old Trafford humiliation – but it was still painfully familiar. They have now dropped 42 points from winning positions against United in the Premier League, fewer only than Tottenham's 45 against Arsenal.

Since the start of last season, Saints top the charts for squandering leads, giving up 28 points – three ahead of second-placed Brighton and Hove Albion.

Manchester United defender Brandon Williams has joined Norwich City on a season-long loan.

The versatile full-back becomes Norwich's latest acquisition during a busy transfer window as they look to retain their top-flight status.

The 20-year-old's breakthrough campaign with United came in 2019-20, playing 36 times across all competitions in the absence of the injured Luke Shaw.

Playing three games more than Shaw, Williams produced 194 recoveries in comparison to the England international's total of 131, while also winning 11 more duels than his club colleague.

However, with an upturn in Shaw's form and the arrival of Alex Telles at Old Trafford, the academy product - who signed a new four-year deal last term - has fallen down the pecking order.

Upon completion of his loan move to Norwich, Williams told the club's official website: "It feels very different. It’s the first time I’ve ever played for a different club before but I’m just really excited to get started, meet everybody and get my season going.

"It’s a massive club and I like the way they play. I’ve watched them over the years and seen how they play.

"The club like to play out from the back and play football. That really inspired me to come here, and I think that the head coach can really improve me as a player."

Daniel Farke awaits confirmation over whether Williams can feature against Bournemouth in the EFL Cup, but the Norwich head coach is delighted with the new addition.

"Brandon is a young player full of potential," Farke said on Monday. "He has already proven that he can perform on the top level and that he is capable of playing for Manchester United. He has many good skills and qualities.

"We wanted to bring someone in who was capable of playing in the full-back positions to strengthen our squad.

"Brandon has played a lot at left-back for Manchester United, but we know he is also capable of playing on the right side, too."

Liverpool have refused to release Mohamed Salah to play in Egypt's upcoming World Cup qualifier with Angola because of quarantine restrictions he would face on his return.

The Egyptian Football Association released a statement on Monday announcing that Liverpool had informed the governing body Salah would not be allowed to join his country at their camp for the fixtures with Angola on September 2 and Gabon on September 5.

"The Egyptian Football Association has received a letter from Liverpool FC apologising for the inability of its player, Mohamed Salah, to join the national team in its next camp, which includes facing Angola in Cairo and Gabon in Franceville during the first and second rounds of the African continent's qualifiers for the World Cup," the statement read.

"The English club's letter referred to the precautionary measures applied in England to confront the outbreak of the coronavirus in the world, which puts returnees from some countries in compulsory health isolation for a period of 10 days upon their return to England.

"In this letter, the English club also expressed its hope that the Egyptian Federation would understand that it was forced to do so, in the face of the player being subjected to a quarantine for this period and being affected by this physically, as well as the uncertainty of the conditions determined by the English authorities. It is reported that Liverpool FC took the same position with a number of its foreign players."

As Egypt is on the UK Government's travel red list, Salah would have to quarantine for 10 days upon his return from the camp, meaning he would miss Liverpool's Premier League fixture with Leeds United on September 12.

However, the club are reportedly happy for Salah to travel to Franceville for the game against Gabon, which is on the UK's amber list. Salah would not have to quarantine after visiting the country.

Liverpool and other members of the European Club Association (ECA) are said to have been seeking exemptions to allow their players to avoid quarantine, while the Egyptian FA has asked FIFA to try to resolve the issue.

Without exemptions, Liverpool are also expected to block Brazil internationals Alisson, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho from travelling for the Selecao's next round of qualifiers.

Brazil remains on the UK red list as one of the countries worst affected by the pandemic. Tite's men visit Chile before hosting Argentina on September 5.

Manchester City will unveil statues of former players Vincent Kompany and David Silva ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture against Arsenal with another of Sergio Aguero to follow in 2022.

The trio have been key players during City's emergence as a football superpower and played crucial roles on the pitch.

Kompany, now head coach of Anderlecht, captained City to the Premier League title in 2011-12, their first English league championship in 44 years.

The Belgian won three more in 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19 in addition to two FA Cups and four League Cups.

Aguero, who left City at the end of last season and joined Barcelona, is City's all-time leading goalscorer with 260 goals.

The most famous of the Argentina striker's goals dramatically delivered that first Premier League title with virtually the last kick of the game against QPR.

Spanish midfielder Silva, now at Real Socieded, was also instrumental in City's success and made 436 appearances in all competitions for the club between 2010 and 2020.

Award-winning sculptor Andy Scott was the artist commissioned to create the statues on behalf of City.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the decision to honour the three players was based on their unparalleled contribution to the club's transformation.

He told City's website: "Ultimately, Vincent and David do not need statues to enshrine their achievements at Manchester City over the past decade. They are already revered as icons of their generation.

"But what these artworks give us, and generations to come, is the opportunity to be reminded of, and savour, the truly magical moments created by both men.”

Al Mubarak has since indicated that further work is being undertaken to ensure the legends of earlier eras are appropriately celebrated.

Scott added: "On hearing that I had secured the commission to bring Vincent, David and now Sergio to life in sculpture form, I was absolutely thrilled.

"It's an unbelievable honour to work on something that will be visited by hundreds of thousands of fans as they remember and celebrate the achievement of their footballing heroes."

Harry Kane made his first appearance for Tottenham this season on Sunday amid speculation about his future.

Kane has been linked with a big-money move to Manchester City, having reportedly told Spurs he wanted to leave late last season.

Spurs have postured that they are steadfast in wanting to keep their star forward, though it has been claimed they may be tempted if City up their bid to around £150million.

TOP STORY - CITY TO MAKE FRESH KANE BID THIS WEEK

The Telegraph claims that Manchester City will make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy remains stubborn.

City want to bring in Kane to bolster their attack but have reportedly been unsuccessful with a £100m bid previously.

The report claims City will make a further bid this week for the England captain ahead of the closure of the transfer window at the end of the month.

 

ROUND-UP

Tottenham have reached out to Juventus to discuss a potential deal for United States international Weston McKennie, with Tanguy Ndombele expected to be involved in a player exchange according to Tuttosport.

- Corriere dello Sport claims that Napoli have contacted Barcelona's Miralem Pjanic about a move to Italy. Barca are reportedly hoping to offload several players to ease their financial situation, with midfielder Pjanic among them.

- Sport1 claims that RB Leipzig remain interested in signing Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba and may make a move if Marcel Sabitzer leaves the German club.

- Rennes will permit Eduardo Camavinga to leave for €35m as the closure of the transfer window approaches, reports Fabrizio Romano. Chelsea and Manchester United are among his admirers.

- Romano also reports that Chelsea will sell Davide Zappacosta to Atalanta, with personal terms already agreed.

Burnley will rival Southampton in their interest for Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie, claims the Daily Record. Italian club Sampdoria are also keen on the Scotland international.

After weeks of reports that Arsenal were poised to make a move for James Maddison, Brendan Rodgers has dismissed that notion as "all gossip", saying no bids have been made made. 

The Leicester City manager said ahead of Monday's trip to West Ham that he believes everyone in the squad wants to remain at the King Power.

That marks a significant step for the Foxes, who have grown accustomed to losing key players to big-money rivals. 

Maddison appeared to be the man in demand during the off-season but Rodgers insisted there have been no offers for the 24-year-old England international. 

“There’s obviously been things around James this summer but the reality is that it was all gossip, as there was never an inquiry or a bid made," Rodgers said. "There was no drama there.”

The Gunners' £30million move to land Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid may have pre-empted an official bid, but the bottom line is the same for Leicester. 

On the heels of a second successive fifth-place finish in the league and with a new training facility up and running, Rodgers said he believes the club is ready to retain its players. 

"Players have felt the need to move on and further their careers, which is fine, and that's the nature of the game," Rodgers said. "It will always happen and some of the biggest clubs in the world will lose their players.

"You've always got to be preparing this pipeline of players going forward so if you do lose them you get the next ones coming in. That's something we are very clear on as a club.

"I just think this summer the players have been able to reflect on where we're at as a team and a club and feel they want to be a part of that, which is great news."

Fiorentina head coach Vincenzo Italiano insists there is "no problem" with forward Dusan Vlahovic who continues to be the subject of widespread transfer speculation.

The Serbian striker played a full game but did not score as Fiorentina opened their Serie A season with a 3-1 loss at Roma on Sunday.

Vlahovic had been linked with Tottenham, Manchester City and Internazionale during the off-season and remains hot property ahead of the closure of the transfer window at the end of this month.

Fiorentina director Joe Barone publicly claimed prior to the Roma defeat amid mounting speculation that Vlahovic was not for sale and would stay with La Viola in a bid to quell the rumours.

Italiano told reporters after the Roma defeat that there was no issue with Vlahovic.

"There has never been a problem about him," Italiano said. "Now, he must be focused on scoring goals. He had a couple of good chances today.

"We know his worth, he knows he is admired, everybody is helping him to make the difference, he can make it. A motivated Vlahovic can be an added value for us."

Vlahovic is contracted with Fiorentina until 2023 and is understood to be in talks with the club on a new deal.

The 21-year-old Serbian netted 21 goals from 37 appearances for Fiorentina in the 2020-21 Serie A season.

"Every player is important to us, but I repeat what President Rocco Comisso said. Dusan is not for sale and he will stay in Florence," Barone told DAZN. "I’d like these rumours to stop because our season begins today and we must be focused."

Pep Guardiola insists it is Manchester City's "obligation and duty" to ensure they have the strongest squad possible as the English champions continue to be linked with Tottenham striker Harry Kane.

City have yet to bring in a replacement for all-time leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero, who departed the Etihad Stadium at the end of the 2020-21 campaign and has since joined Barcelona on a free transfer.

England international Kane is reportedly City's only target ahead of the August 31 deadline, with Spurs rumoured to have already rejected one big-money offer from their fellow Premier League club. 

And while Guardiola reiterated he will be happy with his squad should no new striker arrive before the window closes, the Catalan coach says it is only right City continue to work on adding to what they already have.

"When I was asked about a replacement for Aguero in the past, I said it would depend on the market, the options, whether we buy or not," Guardiola said. "It is still the same situation. 

"We still have nine or 10 days of the market and we will see what happens. If the team is the same as today, I'm more than pleased.  We've put an incredible amount in to compete with the best teams in England and Europe. 

"The group here are fantastic. I have not complained since day one of being here and will not do it now. But of course the club has an obligation and a duty to look forward, to get better."

City started without a recognised striker through the middle in Saturday's 5-0 win over Norwich City, with Gabriel Jesus operating from the right-hand side and starring with two assists.

That win ended a run of three successive competitive defeats without scoring for City and was the 23rd occasion they have won by a margin of at least five goals in the Premier League since Guardiola took over ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.

Jack Grealish, who became the most expensive player in British football history when arriving from Aston Villa in a £100million deal earlier this month, scored his first goal for City in the Norwich win.

Aymeric Laporte, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez were also on the scoresheet at the Etihad Stadium after Tim Krul had scored an early own goal.

Next up for Guardiola's men is a home match against Arsenal next Saturday.

Liverpool and Lyon have agreed a deal in principle for Xherdan Shaqiri, with the attacking midfielder set for a medical on Monday.

The Switzerland international joined the Reds in July 2018, but remained on the fringes of the first team throughout his time at Anfield.

Shaqiri featured 63 times for Liverpool in all competitions and confirmed earlier this window that he was interested in a move away from the Premier League side.

Lyon were one of a number of teams linked with Shaqiri and the Ligue 1 outfit confirmed the former Bayern Munich and Inter player's arrival on their official website on Sunday.

 

Shaqiri featured 45 times for Liverpool in the Premier League, including 18 starts, scoring seven goals and assisting five more in his three seasons on Merseyside.

While Shaqiri struggled for minutes at club level last season, he impressed for Switzerland at Euro 2020 with three goals and an assist, including a strike in his nation's quarter-final exit at the hands of Spain.

He was directly involved in four goals at the Euros, with only the Czech Republic's Patrik Schick (five) and Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo (six) involved in more.

Thomas Tuchel was delighted with Romelu Lukaku's second Chelsea debut, but tempered praise, insisting it is "not the time for too much celebration".

Lukaku scored the opening goal in Chelsea's 2-0 win at Arsenal on Sunday, with Reece James grabbing the second.

The Gunners had won their past three games against Chelsea in all competitions, but were outclassed as £97.5million signing Lukaku had an instant impact.

He had eight attempts and created a further three chances, having only previously been involved in more than 11 shots in a single match in Europe's top five leagues (13 for Everton v West Ham, 2015).

Lukaku continued his outstanding Inter form, with 13 goals and eight assists in his past 19 league games, and appeared to solve Chelsea's biggest problem after a wasteful 2020-21 campaign.

But Tuchel, despite talking up the forward's role, was not getting carried away with just two matches of the Premier League season played.

"I certainly think that nobody likes to play against him," the Chelsea coach told a news conference.

"Everyone is aware of his physicality but also of his strengths in link-up play and his strengths to attack the space, so he gives a dimension, another dimension to our game.

"But now it is our job also not to lose our strengths, lose the work rate, the team effort, the intensity against the ball, so we have to bring everything together.

"It's not only about the qualities and the skills from Romelu, it's the package that made it so promising for us.

"It's the age, it's the experience, it's that he's a Chelsea fan and was always a Chelsea fan and his dream was to make it at this club. So, this is what we feel from day one from him. 

"He has this personality and he grew in his personality in his clubs where he played; he played for big clubs, he scored for big clubs. And he has this genuine trust in himself.

"Like I said, I hope that it takes pressure off our young guys' shoulders.

"Now it's his first game played and we have a lot more to do and it has only just begun. So, it's not the time now for too much praise and it's not the time for too much celebration. We need to keep on going in the start of the season."

Lukaku is Chelsea's only high-profile signing so far in this transfer window, but Tuchel suggested he was not looking for further additions, keen to protect the "strong bond" and "great team spirit".

"I'm absolutely happy with our squad and the alternatives we have," he said.

"It's not too big a squad, like we were missing Christian Pulisic today and that meant that everybody else was straight in the squad, in the 18-player squad plus the goalkeepers.

"That means we have not the biggest squad, but we have a very, very competitive squad in all positions, which is I think on one hand necessary because we play a lot of competitions and have the World Cup coming up in December and we have a pretty unique situation that we played very long and had the Euros and the Copa America.

"So, if we want to compete, we need this kind of level.

"But at the same time, it's also that we believe that we are a strong group, because this was maybe the key in the last half a year, that we played with a strong bond and with a great team spirit.

"This will be the challenge for me and for the team, that we create this atmosphere again and that everybody is ready to take our positions and still keep pushing the team. If we do this, we can achieve more than if we don't."

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves after his side made unwanted club history with their defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

The Gunners went down 2-0 to their London rivals at Emirates Stadium through first-half goals from returning Blues striker Romelu Lukaku and lively wing-back Reece James.

Arsenal lost their opening Premier League game of the season to Brentford by the same scoreline, making it the first time in their 118-year history in England's top four tiers they have opened a campaign with two defeats from two without scoring.

It is also the first time the north London side have ended a day in the relegation zone with more than one game played since August 1992, with the pressure growing on manager Arteta after spending a reported £129million on new recruits.

The Spaniard accepts Arsenal can have no complaints with the defeat to Chelsea and has called for a swift response from his side when they face West Brom in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, three days before travelling to Manchester City.

"Chelsea were the better team. When they play at their best, which I think they did today, they are champions of Europe, have world-class players and to match at that level is difficult," Arteta told Sky Sports.

"You can always do things better. In the first half it took us a long time to regain the ball in wide areas. We conceded two goals but the way the team responded and the crowd never gave up, it gave us hope in the second half.

"I see a lot of positives with the crowd. The way they supported the team from the beginning. I saw a good reaction. It is one of the difficult moments. The circumstances are difficult and unprecedented. 

"Feeling sorry for yourself doesn't help. You have to win football matches, keep it together and show spirit. Starting tomorrow in training with the players who did not play. We need to win the game midweek and that will help against City next weekend."

The defeat for Arteta was his 20th as Arsenal manager in the Premier League in what was his 60th match, compared to 20 defeats in his first 116 matches in the competition for legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal's preparations for Arteta's second full campaign in charge have been hampered by five players testing positive for coronavirus, with big-money signing Ben White the latest to be ruled out of the Chelsea match after testing positive.

And Arteta believes his side can turn things around once they return to full strength, though the Spaniard confirmed he does not expect White to be available for selection at the Etihad Stadium.

"It's really challenging at the moment. We're missing nine players and the majority of them are big senior players," he said at his post-match news conference.

"The players we put out are trying their best but at the moments it's not enough to win football matches. We try to explain when we can what we are facing but the expectation for this club is always that we will win. 

"When the players are back and they will need some time to get back as well, hopefully it can be different. The good thing is the narrative in football changes really quickly."

Arsenal squandered their only big chance against Chelsea when Rob Holding headed wide on the hour mark, but the hosts had a big penalty appeal rejected in the first half when James tangled with Bukayo Saka in the box.

Asked if he felt his side should have been awarded a penalty, Arteta replied: "Yes. Clear."

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