Arsenal news: £34m forgotten star delays transfer decision as Max Dowman's dad hits out

Arsenal got a Premier League title boost at the weekend but their focus will firmly be on Europe for their Champions League return leg at the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Everton at the weekend. Manchester City dropping points at West Ham saw the Gunners' gap at the top stretch to nine points.

This will have quickly been forgotten for Mikel Arteta, however, as they welcome Bayer Leverkusen for the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at the Emirates Stadium today. Robert Andrich struck first in the German side's home leg, but Kai Havertz handed his team a lifeline with an 89th-minute penalty to level things up.

The tie is evenly-poised at 1-1 ahead of the return leg on Tuesday evening. Arteta is keen for his side to improve on their weaknesses ahead of the knockout clash.

Regarding the plan for the second leg, he said: "We will look at the things that we have improved, the situations that we can create and try to be especially much more efficient in a lot of simple things that today we didn't do so well."

Here, Mirror Football has a look at the latest headlines surrounding the red half of north London as the Gunners continue to navigate a jam-packed schedule.

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Vieira pushes transfer talk back

Fabio Vieira was coy about a potential move to the Bundesliga after he played another important role for Hamburg over the weekend. The midfielder scored as Hamburg secured a 1-1 draw with Koln to keep them nine points clear of the relegation zone.

Vieira has scored five goals in the Bundesliga this season, assisting four times while on loan. The 25-year-old joined Hamburg for the season last summer and has admitted to "feeling like the old Fabio again."

Earlier in March, BILD reported that the club are keen to secure a permanent deal for Vieira but would like a drop in the transfer fee. The Gunners want around £17million, having bought him for an initial £30m potentially rising to £34m, but Hamburg would require this to be lowered.

After the Koln draw, Vieira was keen to swipe away rumours regarding a permanent transfer. He said: "It was a great goal. I knew it was a big step for me to come here and rediscover my true potential.

"Everyone knows I still have a contract with Arsenal. So let’s wait until the end of the season. Then we’ll talk about it and see what we can do."

Max Dowman's dad hits back

Max Dowman's father Robert has hit out at Temisan Williams as he claims the coach is just trying to get "attempted self-promotion." The 16-year-old became the Premier League's youngest goalscorer at the weekend during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton.

Williams appeared on talkSPORT alongside Gabby Agbonlahor and Ally McCoist and was presented as a former coach of the teenager. He discussed Dowman's rise through the academy and his strengths.

However, Robert wasn't happy with this appearance and took to social media to slam Williams. He said: "Listening to this guy Temisan Williams claiming he was any part of Max's journey is a really sad piece of attempted self-promotion.

"I have asked him previously to refrain from doing so, but still he pops up on talkSport this morning… I remember him putting the cones out at training a few times, but that's about it. We have so many fabulous coaches who we are so grateful to. He is certainly not one of them..."

Regarding Dowman, Williams told talkSPORT: "It's an incredible thing that Max has done, it's brilliant for his family, the academy, the club and the fans. He should just enjoy the moment, which I know he did.

"I should start by saying, scouts have done a fantastic job. I was the Under-12s assistant coach. I was also able to see Max for two years, so a small part of his journey, but Max has always had that super strength of being able to carry the ball. That's always been something he's enjoyed, something he's strong at and something we saw in training."

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