Arsenal transfer news: summer signing ‘feels free’ under Arteta, Leicester star ‘confident’ of Tottenham move

It’s the first day of October and English football’s top flight is back with clubs like Arsenal having been out of action for the better part of a month.

Mikel Arteta’s side are set to take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium as they look to keep their spot on top of the league secure.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of big transfer news stories rumbling on in the background concerning the London club and their league rivals.

Here are the Premier League transfer news stories making the headlines on Saturday morning:

Aston Villa are sounding out Mauricio Pochettino and Unai Emery over their manager’s job (Football Insider)

RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku secretly completed a medical with Chelsea in the summer with an eye on a £52m in next summer’s transfer window (Bild)

Erling Haaland has admitted he considered a move to Premier League rivals Liverpool in the summer but Man City fared better on a scoring system involving club history and stadium capacity (Daily Star)

Juventus are interested in signing Manchester United full back Diogo Dalot on a free transfer when his contract at Old Trafford expires next summer (Calciomercato)

James Maddison is confident he can secure a move to a Champions League club next year and would love to join long-term suitors Tottenham (Football Insider)

Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill, who is currently on loan at Premier League rivals Brighton, is being monitored by clubs in Italy including AC Milan, Napoli and Atalanta (Calciomercato)

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus said he feels free playing under Mikel Arteta and that he decided to leave Manchester City this summer because he needed a change after five years at the Etihad Stadium under Pep Guardiola (ESPN)

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is understood to have been watched by scouts from Newcastle United while on duty with the Denmark Under 21 national side along with a staggering 48 other clubs including Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Manchester City (NewcastleWorld via FootballScotland)

Blackpool have finally snapped up free agent midfielder Liam Bridcutt, formerly of Leeds United and Sunderland among others, on an initial one-year contract (Blackpool Gazette)