Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta makes transfer decision as Robin van Persie stance comes to light

It’s probably a safe bet to assume that nobody will be questioning whether Arsenal are really capable of winning the Premier League title during the international break.

Sunday’s thumping 4-1 win against Crystal Palace was enough to ensure the Gunners head into the final stretch of the campaign with a commanding eight point lead over Manchester City at the summit. And although the defending champions still have to host Mikel Arteta’s side at the Etihad next month, time is running out for them to chase their title rivals down.

With just 10 games remaining, Arsenal are now within touching distance of their first domestic title since 2004. Ahead of the the Premier League’s return next weekend, Mirror Football rounds up all the latest news from in and around the Emirates Stadium…

Arteta makes transfer decision
Although there is still plenty to play for this season, Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal hierarchy are tentatively fleshing out their plans for next year and beyond.

The Gunners boss is expected to strengthen his squad again in the summer – and it appears as though attacking reinforcements are still the priority for the Spaniard, who has been tracking the development of Red Bull Salzburg striker Noah Okafor.

The 22-year-old striker has enjoyed another fine season in the Austrian Bundesliga. But pursuing a deal for Okafor is likely to have a detrimental affect on Folarin Balogun’s chances of nailing down a first-team spot next year after impressing on loan at Reims.

England boss Gareth Southgate has been criticised by former Three Lions shot-stopper Ben Foster for leaving Gunners defender Ben White out of his 25-man squad for this month’s international double-header against Italy and Ukraine.

White, 25, has excelled for Arsenal this term in a new right-back role and was influential in Sunday’s impressive win over Crystal Palace.

But White’s form has seemingly not been enough to win over Southgate, who omitted both White and Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold last week.

Former Arsenal captain Robin van Persie’s decision to join Manchester United back in 2012 didn’t exactly go down well with the Gunners faithful – and fresh comments on the Dutchman’s views in the aftermath of the move is unlikely to heal any old wounds.

According to Van Persie’s former Old Trafford teammate, Patrice Evra, the striker was wowed by the work ethic of his new colleagues after the formalities of his £22.5million switch had been completed.

And Evra claims that Van Persie told him that the attitude of United’s players was a far cry from his old teammates at Arsenal.