Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta (Image credit: Getty Images) Arsenal have agreed the exit of a star who has only made one appearance for the Gunners. After bringing in eight new faces over the summer transfer window of 2025 including Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres and Ebere Eze Arsenal enjoyed a quiet January transfer window with no major incomings or exits. Departures will likely become more of a running theme in N5 going forward, however, with manager Mikel Arteta boasting a highly competitive squad.
Manchester United midfielder Jack Fletcher is expected to replace the injured Kobbie Mainoo in the squad for Saturday's Premier League game at Tottenham, which would keep the club's 88-year record of having an academy product in every matchday squad in tact. Mainoo, 20, did not travel to London with Ruben Amorim's squad and is believed to have sustained a minor injury.
Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League this summer was impressive on a number of levels. A head coach in Regis Le Bris, in his first season in English football, laying waste to the theory of needing significant time to adapt working within the cut and thrust of the Championship. A club who had only returned to the second tier in 2022, without parachute payments to boost spending on transfer fees and wages. But all underpinned by an incredibly youthful squad - their average starting age of 23 years and 316 days was the youngest in the division - with academy graduates forming a consistent core.