Arsenal Dragon
Arsenal Face Barcelona Competition for 15-Year-Old French Wonderkid Laciné Megnan-Pavé
Arsenal‘s pursuit of Montpellier’s 15-year-old striker Laciné Megnan-Pavé has intensified, with Barcelona joining the race for one of French football’s most promising teenagers. Both European giants have monitored the forward extensively over the past 18 months.
Read More: Granit Xhaka Reveals What Mikel Arteta Did on His First Day at Arsenal That Changed Everything
Montpellier’s Fight to Retain Their Gem
L’Équipe and Sport confirm that Montpellier recognize they possess a “gem” in their academy ranks. The French club plans to offer Megnan-Pavé a three-year professional contract when he turns 16 in March, hoping loyalty overcomes temptation from bigger clubs.
Megnan-Pavé’s statistics justify the attention. He scored 15 goals and provided 12 assists in 24 matches for Montpellier’s U17s last season before promotion to U19 level despite being four years younger than teammates. Standing 1.87 meters tall and weighing 77 kilograms, he captains France’s U16 national team.
His performances have attracted multiple European clubs beyond Arsenal and Barcelona. However, both clubs lead the pursuit, with Sport reporting they are “actively monitoring” the teenager’s explosive potential.
Megnan-Pavé’s own words reveal grounded ambition. “Montpellier is my club. Since I was little I’ve gone to the matches at the Stade de la Mosson. I would love to play on that pitch and in the Champions League with them,” he told French media.
Montpellier’s financial difficulties complicate retention efforts. Their relegation to Ligue 2 last season forced sales of three promising youngsters for under £1.8 million combined to Watford, Marseille, and Udinese. The club desperately wants avoiding repeating these mistakes with their most valuable academy product.
Arsenal’s recruitment strategy emphasizes identifying generational talents early. The Gunners already secured Max Dowman, another 15-year-old considered among Europe’s best prospects. Barcelona counters with La Masia’s proven track record developing world-class forwards, potentially offering advantage in convincing Megnan-Pavé’s camp to choose Spain over England.
Arsenal Women look to bounce back from consecutive frustrating results when they host bottom-of-the-table Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have drawn their last two WSL matches and sit fourth, eight points behind leaders Manchester City, while the Reds remain winless with just two points from eight games.
Kick-off: 12:00 GMT, Saturday, December 6, 2025
Venue: Emirates Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Football
Form Guide
Arsenal held Tottenham to a goalless north London derby at Brisbane Road on November 16, dominating possession but failing to convert 13 attempts into goals.
Three days later, they came from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League at Meadow Park, with Alessia Russo scoring twice after Caroline Weir’s opener.
Liverpool drew 1-1 with Chelsea at Anfield before the international break, their second consecutive draw following a 1-1 stalemate with Brighton. The Reds sit bottom with two points and have lost all three away fixtures, scoring just once on the road this season.
Team News
Arsenal’s Chloe Kelly is a major doubt after lasting just 20 minutes of England’s 2-0 win over Ghana on Tuesday, clutching her knee following a blocked cross. Sarina Wiegman confirmed Kelly “felt something with her knee that didn’t feel right” but could walk off. Her availability for Saturday remains uncertain.
Captain Kim Little could return after missing international duty, though Lia Walti remains unavailable. Leah Williamson continues recovering from her Euro 2025 knee injury. Katie Reid (ACL), Lina Hurtig, Laura Wienroither and Manuela Zinsberger (ACL) are all long-term absentees.
Liverpool captain Grace Fisk is ruled out for 10 days after suffering a calf problem during England training. Risa Shimizu also remains sidelined. Sophie Roman Haug and Marie Hobinger are long-term casualties with ACL injuries suffered days apart in October.
Predicted Lineups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Walti, Little; Foord, Maanum, Mead; Russo
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Laws; Parry, Clark, Matthews, Hinz; Holland, Nagano; Lundgaard, Daniels, Enderby; Olsson
Arsenal Dragon
What is the Game Changer award Arsenal Women just received? All about which star collected the same on the club’s behalf
Arsenal Women received the 2025 Game Changer Award at the Grassroot Soccer Gala on Tuesday evening, with vice-captain Leah Williamson accepting the honour on behalf of the club.
The award recognizes organizations making significant contributions to improving wellbeing through football, with Arsenal earning recognition specifically for driving gender inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
What is Grassroot Soccer?
Grassroot Soccer is an adolescent health organization founded in 2002 by Dr. Tommy Clark and three teammates after witnessing HIV’s devastating effects while playing professional football in Zimbabwe.
The charity leverages football’s power to equip young people with life-saving information, services and mentorship needed to live healthier lives. Over 23 years, the organization has empowered more than 25 million young people across Africa and beyond to make educated choices about their interconnected health challenges.
Previous Award Winners
The Game Changer Award has previously been presented to high-profile recipients including the US Women’s National Team for their advocacy in gender equality and the cast of Ted Lasso for raising awareness around mental health.
Arsenal joins this distinguished list for their commitment to creating inclusive environments within football.
Williamson’s Acceptance Speech
The England captain delivered an emotional speech highlighting Arsenal’s philosophy extends beyond winning trophies. She emphasized that during her 20 years at the club, Arsenal has consistently encouraged players to consider their impact beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch.
Williamson stressed the importance of using the platform to speak about gender inclusion and wellbeing, creating an open, progressive environment where anyone can find belonging regardless of gender, ethnicity or sexuality.
Former Arsenal and USWNT stars Christen Press and Tobin Heath presented the award at the gala, which was attended by Sir Alex Ferguson, England legend Roberta Moore and actor Kola Bokinni. The recognition comes during Williamson’s continued recovery from the knee injury she sustained at Euro 2025, with the defender expected to return to competitive action before the end of December after nearly five months on the sidelines.
Also read: What Is Islington’s Highest Honour? Why Were Arsenal Women Awarded the Same?
Arsenal returned to winning ways with a professional 2-0 victory over Brentford at the Emirates. Mikel Merino’s early header and Bukayo Saka’s stoppage-time finish sealed three points, restoring the Gunners’ five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League.
David Raya – 8/10 Pulled off an outstanding save to tip Kevin Schade’s point-blank header onto the crossbar. Distribution was excellent throughout and handled crosses with confidence against his former club.
Ben White – 8.5/10 ⭐ Delivered a brilliant dinked cross for Merino’s opener. Made marauding runs down the right and linked superbly with Madueke. A very positive return in only his second Premier League start of the season.
Cristhian Mosquera – 6.5/10 Solid until suffering an apparent ankle injury just before half-time. Another setback for Arsenal’s injury-hit defence.
Piero Hincapié – 7/10 Produced a crucial sliding block early on. Dealt well with aerial threats and made several key clearances throughout.
Riccardo Calafiori – 7/10 Executed a fine defensive challenge to stop a Kayode counterattack. Strong performance and importantly avoided a fifth yellow card. Made a great individual run late on.
Eberechi Eze – 6/10 Struggled to find the killer pass as Brentford defended tightly. Came on in the second half but couldn’t impose himself.
Martin Zubimendi – 7/10 Covered a huge amount of ground. Snapped into tackles and helped Arsenal maintain control during Brentford’s second-half push.
Declan Rice – 8.5/10 Everywhere on the pitch. Constantly cutting out Brentford attacks and starting Arsenal ones. Mopped up brilliantly when the game became bitty. The man for big moments.
Bukayo Saka – 7/10 Came on in the second half and made sure of the points in stoppage time. Finished clinically from Merino’s pass to seal the win.
Martin Ødegaard – 6/10 Positive signs on his first start since returning from injury. Heavily involved and linked up well down the right. Important minutes as he looks to regain top form.
Noni Madueke – 6.5/10 Really lively on the ball in the first half. Caused Rico Henry constant problems with his direct running. His clever flick released White in the build-up to the opening goal. Faded after half-time.
Mikel Merino – 8/10 Opened the scoring with brilliant centre-forward play inside 11 minutes. The run and header were superb. Covered so much ground and added an assist for Saka’s late goal.
Gabriel Martinelli – 4/10 Had one great chance in the first half but blazed over. Offered very little and struggled to make an impact. Looked rusty.
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