Drinkwater ‘very close’ to new deal – Ranieri

Leicester City, the English Premier League (PL) champions have confirmed that their Algerian global, Riyad Mahrez, has signed a new four year deal to stay with the club.

Second of all, the fact that Riyad Mahrez signed a new contract with Leicester does not call into question reports suggesting Arsenal were and are interested in the Algerian worldwide.

But their attempt to lure Mahrez to the Emirates has suffered the same fate with the PFA Player of the Year electing to sign fresh four-year deal with the champions rather than move away.

The Foxes will roll out the welcome mat for the Gunners as Arsenal heads up to King Power Stadium for Leicester City’s home opener.

The 25-year-old Algerian was a key figure in the Foxes’ unlikely run to the title, scoring on 17 occasions and registering 11 assists, and was expected to attract interest from elsewhere this summer.

He said: “We are now in the Champions League and we need something more to play against the big teams”.

“It is a fantastic league and I would like to stay here as long as possible”, he told France Football. “It’s normal for other managers to look at Leicester players”.

Leicester opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Hull and so far hasn’t repeated the dynamic performances that helped the team surge to an unexpected title triumph last campaign.

So, tune in and get your soccer fix because this is one match you won’t want to miss! “All the players have said congratulations”.

Wenger’s transfer policy has been publicly criticised by many former players, including Arsenal’s record goalscorer Thierry Henry.

It was something of a “back to basics” approach and a touch of conservatism was understandable; if last week’s setback was one thing, the fact that Arsenal won this fixture 5-2 a year ago was quite another.

The 26-year-old formed an impressive midfield partnership with N’Golo Kante but the France worldwide left to join Chelsea in July.

Kasper Schmeichel cut out Arsenal’s best opportunity in the second half, with Mesut Ozil, making his season debut off the bench, combining with Alexis Sanchez only to have the Leicester goalkeeper slide it to safety.

“What matters is that once you commit somewhere you give 100 per cent, that is what it is to be professional, he has made a decision to stay at Leicester and I respect that fully”.