ARSENAL are preparing for the visit of Southampton when Premier League football returns this weekend.
And boss Unai Emery and his struggling Gunners have not picked up a win in their last five matches in all competitions.
Yet, he will not be getting replaced by fellow countryman Luis Enrique after he rejoined Spain – while fans are hoping for Mauricio Pochettino after he was sacked by Tottenham.
Meanwhile, on the player replacement front, the Gunners watched Dominik Szoboszlai in Hungary's defeat to Wales with a view to making him Granit Xhaka's replacement.
Follow ALL of the latest Gunners news, updates and transfer gossip below…
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UNAI EMERY has urged his team to stick to their gameplan against Southampton.
The Gunners boss said: “Every team is difficult in the Premier League.
“They [Southampton] need points and are playing better away from home.
“I think they will be very motivated but we need to impose and show our gameplan.”
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HECTOR BELLERIN has revealed the Arsenal dressing room is still divided over the Granit Xhaka “f*** off” row and has called for unity.
Last month, Xhaka unleashed an X-rated on-field rant at Gooners during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace after he was booed.
And shortly after the row, the Bellerin tweeted: “We are all humans, we all have emotions, and sometimes it's not easy dealing with them.
“It's time to lift each other up, not to push each other away. We only win when we are together. coyg“
And now, when asked if his tweet was still true, Bellerin replied: “Those words, what you've just read, are just how I felt after the few events we've had in the past few weeks.
“It's been hard as a player in the dressing room to deal with these situations.
“I think it's important as a club, as everything being divided is never the way forward.
“Everyone demands different things, everyone demands different changes – but I don't think that's the way.
“I think the [right] way is accepting who we are, what we have, getting everyone together, supporting each other, and that is the way that we can reach our goals.
“One doing one thing, one doing the other… that's never going to work.”
Looking back at his tweet, Bellerin added: “That was my call for unity in terms of us as a club, as a family, everything that Arsenal is.
“To get together when things don't go well, that is the time for us to tap each other on the back and be like 'come on, we need to do this better but we're going to come back on top'.
“That is what we need, not to start pointing fingers and blaming someone for doing this, for doing that…
“We're a club, we're a team, we're a family. What we need is to be there for each other.
“We are Arsenal Football Club. We always need to be at the top.”
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
ARSENAL target Dejan Kulusevski has insisted he is happy on loan at Parma from Atalanta.
The 19-year-old midfielder has drawn admirers this season in his 16 games.
Speaking of interest in him, he said: “I’m fine at Parma, I’m happy to be here, I’ve found the perfect club.
“The market? I’m playing well, so it’s normal to write about other clubs, but I don’t think about (a January move) because I have an annual deal with Parma.”
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UNAI EMERY admitted Granit Xhaka is not the only player who struggles to deal with the negativity of Arsenal's fans.
The Spaniard was talking ahead of Arsenal's game with Southampton on Saturday and revealed current fans favourite Hector Bellerin has also had problems with the Gunners' supporters.
Emery said: “We have here some examples. For example, with Hector Bellerin.
“He told me two weeks ago he struggled here with the supporters sometimes when his performance was not the best.
“Also we have some other players who have had that situation. They come back. With Xhaka, I want to do the same.”
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