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Analysis: Arteta spreading the love on upbeat day at Arsenal

Sky Sports News' Gary Cotterill at Arsenal's training ground:

Love is in the air at Arsenal. 

Mikel Arteta, far from being sulky about dropped points against Villa, was spreading the love. 

Love of Samba. 

Love of Superkids. 

Love of Signings (maybe). 

The Samba was playing on the training pitch as the squad warmed up. 

Another of Arteta's schemes to inspire and relax his players and "to build the energy", he told the gathered media. 

Some in the room suggested privately that Mikel may have enjoyed the rhythm so much that he lost track of time, because he was 20 minutes late for his news conference. 

No time to waste though, as far as he's concerned, in the development and progress of Arsenal superkid, Max Dowman.

The 15 year old midfielder is training with the first team. 

That inevitably led to questions about, with limited options on the bench, whether he could see some game time this season. 

Arteta was frustrated to confirm that he can't. As he won't turn 16 until midway through next season. Too young the rules say. 

That made Arteta's smile about the progress of the talented Academy graduate a little less broad. He's no lover of the dictate. 

"Well, at the moment, with all the legislation, there are a lot of restrictions regarding age. 

It's something that in other countries you don't even mention."

One Academy youngster who can play is Ethan Nwaneri. He's fit again and trained today. 

That made Mikel smile too. 

And his smile continued into the inevitable transfer talk. 

"I love it", he said about two weeks being left. He says he gets regular texts from friends asking who he's going to sign. 

"I don't follow it too much, I have enough work to do with a lot of things so I don't get too distracted with it."

His body language suggests he'd love  a shiny new striker this January. 

That would make him and Arsenal fans dance. Brazilian or not. 

Could Cunha move to Arsenal in 'game-changer' transfer?

Arsenal watching Cunha situation at Wolves

Latest from Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol and Dharmesh Sheth:

Arsenal are keeping an eye on Matheus Cunha's situation at Wolves in this transfer window, one source has told Sky Sports News.

The Gunners have used both of their domestic loan spots up on goalkeeper Neto from Bournemouth and Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.

That means any move for Cunha would have to be a permanent deal unless Arsenal let one of those players return to their parent club. They could also sign Neto or Sterling permanently to free up a domestic loan spot.

Cunha is still considering his options before deciding whether to sign a new Wolves contract.

Discussions have taken place over a new long-term deal with more than two years left on Cunha's current contract.

'He's a huge talent' - Arteta on 15-year-old Dowman

Arsenal also had 15-year-old midfielder Max Dowman in first-team training ahead of the Champions League tie, with the teenager highly-rated by the club.

Dowman only turned 15 on New Year's Day and started Arsenal's FA Youth Cup win over QPR this past week.

"Very impressive. At his age as well, some of the things he does in training is unbelievable," said Mikel Arteta. 

"He’s a huge talent that we have. We have a lot of belief we can develop him into one of our own and he’s developing well so far."

Asked if there is a pathway for him to get first-team minutes, Arteta replied: "At the moment, with all the legislations, there are a lot of restrictions for your age, something in other countries you do not even mention. 

"We have to wait and see, he’s taking very fast steps. Every time you put him in a different challenge or different level, he overcomes that pretty quickly, which is great. We are on it."

Why do Arsenal play music in training sessions?

During the open training session, Arsenal were seen playing some Brazilian music during the first part of their warm-up, something that Mikel Arteta says is common occurence at the club.

"It’s something we have done for many years now as part of training. We use music as an element of our training sessions, to build energy, to change certain purposes we want in the training sessions. And I think the players enjoyed it.

"Depending on the drill, depending on the day, some certain players pick the first song, the first two songs the last song. It’s the same as the dressing room really."

Will Arsenal take a winter break again?

If Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb, they will all but qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, meaning they will skip the play-off round in February.

Due to Arsenal's elimination from the FA Cup earlier this month, the Gunners could take a winter break that was so beneficial last season.

Arsenal went to Dubai for some warm weather training after a blip in their season, then came back and won eight matches in a row to launch themselves back into the title race.

Asked about his team's chances, Mikel Arteta said: “So far, we’ve done really well. We’re in a really strong position, now it’s time to capitalise at home on the work we’ve done for a few months. We need a strong performance against a really good side, we will try to do that.”

Asked about a winter break, Arteta replied: “I think let’s do what we have to do first which is always difficult. We’re talking about the Champions League. If we manage to do that, we will have the best ideas on the table to make the right decision hopefully.

It was very helpful. With the schedule we had for the last three months, you can have a break we can reset a little bit, work on things and rest some people, hopefully with some people back.”

Arteta's latest update on transfers

Mikel Arteta was asked on there being less than two weeks left until the transfer window closes: 

"I love it! I understand that it happens as well in the summer. I get a lot people text me: you’re after him and this. 

"I sometimes don’t even know what they’re talking about. I don’t read or watch too much, I have enough work to do with a lot of things. I don’t get too distracted with a lot of things."

Arteta was also asked if Reiss Nelson or Fabio Vieira could be recalled from their loan spells if any incomings fail to arrive.

"There were certain possibilities with the Fabio situation," Arteta said. "We are exploring all the things we can do, just in case we cannot do them, depending on how the injuries are progressing and when we can have them available. We are aware of everything."

Arteta issues positive update on Saliba, Nwaneri and Calafiori

Mikel Arteta issued a positive update on William Saliba's hamstring injury, saying the defender is "feeling much better".

The French defender picked up a hamstring injury in the north London derby against Tottenham and missed last Saturday's draw with Aston Villa.

Saliba is set to miss Wednesday's Champions League tie with Dinamo Zagreb but is not expected to be out long-term.

"He’s evolving well, the last few days he was feeling much better already, but this game comes a little bit too early for him," said Arteta about Saliba's fitness. 

Asked if Saliba is likely to be back in time for the home game against Manchester City on February 2, live on Sky Sports,  Arteta replied: "Yes, I hope so."

There was more positive injury news as Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori returned to training on Tuesday and are in contention to play against Dinamo.

"Very positive news. We missed them for a few weeks. They returned today for training so they will be available for the game," said Arteta about the duo.

On the boost of having Nwaneri back, Arteta added: "It was a big setback, he was getting some consistency, more minutes, we made him play in a different position. 

"He was playing really well and suddenly this happens. It’s understandable, the load goes through the roof immediately and it’s something we have to manage."

Arsenal have Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu as long-term absentees.

Saka was seen off his crutches in Arsenal's draw with Villa on Saturday but Arteta says the England winger - set to be out until March - has a lot of hoops to go through still.

"That’s not going to change. It’s within the process of the timelines they had, that phase [of crutches] is gone now," Arteta said of Saka. 

"He is doing well, he is feeling better day by day, we still have to respect the healing process. And then he still has a lot of stages to go through in the rehab."

Nwaneri, Calafiori back in Arsenal training - but no Saliba

 Arsenal's injury news has been boosted by the return of Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori to training.

The pair were seen preparing ahead of Arsenal's penultimate Champions League league phase game against Dinamo Zagreb in January.

Nwaneri came off at half-time during the January 4 draw to Brighton, which was also Calafiori's last Premier League outing before a muscle injury put him on the treatment table.

However, William Saliba was absent from training after he missed the draw with Aston Villa with a hamstring problem, with Ben White also missing as he continues his recovery from injury.

Arsenal have Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu as long-term absentees.

Bergkamp: A nostalgic evening with the genius

 Latest from Sky Sports News' Paul Gilmour:

This week the Football Writers Association hosted a superb evening to pay tribute to the career of Dennis Bergkamp.

Bergkamp is a modest character who doesn’t enjoy being in the spotlight so credit to the FWA for convincing him to appear and join an impressive list of recipients for this award.

The evening was a fun-filled affair with a lot of nostalgia. Everywhere you looked there was evidence of admiration for one of the greatest of his generation.

The three-time Premier League champion and Arsenal invincible was greeted by the likes of Arsene Wenger, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, David Dein, Ray Parlour, David Seaman and Martin Keown in the room.

At one point during his own interview on stage the 55-year-old was recalling a 1-1 draw against Leeds United when Wright chipped in from the floor:

‘I scored’, Wright responded when asked if he remembered it.

As quick as a flash Bergkamp responded ‘I probably set you up!’

It was great to witness the bonds created in that Arsenal squad and it was clear from the speeches how much Bergkamp meant to them.

Wright jokingly offered to fight anyone who dared argue that Bergkamp did not mean that famous goal against Newcastle. The guest of honour agreed, describing how he “adjusted” to a “bad pass from Robert Pires”.

His former boss and FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger gave a typically impactful speech about how Bergkamp helped develop the brand of Arsenal at that time:

“People forget what you said. People forget what you did. But people remember how you made them feel,” said Wenger.

“And that mark you made on people, Dennis. I thank you for that”.

Bergkamp also revealed he was named after the late Denis Law. The key difference is that his forename include a second N, otherwise it would have sounded different in the Dutch language.

There was a nice moment when FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafström was reunited with Bergkamp almost 27 years after posing for a photograph with his footballing hero.

Pic credit: FIFA

A keen Bergkamp fan, Grafström was at the stadium in Marseille when the Flying Dutchman scored that incredible goal against Argentina and told Sky Sports News it was “a great honour” to speak with him and indeed be in attendance to honour his career.

The photograph was taken as the Netherlands team prepared for the 1998 World Cup and the pair posed with a framed version of the picture!

It was one of many moments in the evening that showed just what impact Bergkamp made on people and the final words belong to the genius himself:

“If you win without playing good football, it’s boring. If you play good football without entertaining, it’s useless. I’d like to think I’d be remembered for both. Football is entertainment, you make the people happy.”