LONDON — Arsenal are confident striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will sign a new contract which would tie him to the club for a "long time," manager Mikel Arteta said on Thursday.

Gabon international Aubameyang, 31, has been Arsenal's top scorer in each of the past two seasons and has only one year left on his current contract.

"I keep being positive, we have had some really good talks with him and his agent," Arteta told reporters in a virtual news conference ahead of Saturday's Community Shield match against Liverpool at Wembley.

Several Chelsea players have not returned for preseason training after testing positive for Covid-19, according to reports in British media.

Chelsea did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Goal reported Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Christian Pulisic are among those isolating, but could not say whether any of them have tested positive for Covid-19. 

Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Fikayo Tomori are all isolating 

Lionel Messi's potential move to Manchester City could eventually bring the international superstar to New York City FC, ESPN reported Wednesday.

A long-term contract is reportedly in the works between the 33-year-old Argentinian forward and Man City, which, like NYCFC, is owned by the City Football Group. The deal includes a clause for Messi's move to the MLS club after three seasons in the Premier League, per the report.

ATHENS — England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was handed a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days by a Greek court on Tuesday after he was found guilty of multiple charges following a brawl on the island of Mykonos last Thursday.

Court officials said he had been found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult after his arrest Mykonos.

Manchester City left back Oleksandr Zinchenko set aside some time on his wedding day to clarify comments he and his new bride Vlada Sedan made about manager Pep Guardiola in the wake of the club's Champions League defeat by Olympique Lyon.

Television reporter Sedan delivered a scathing assessment of Guardiola's tactics and posted an interview with Zinchenko to her YouTube channel after City crashed out in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 loss.

The video prompted an angry response from City supporters and Zinchenko took to social media to defend his comments.

Chelsea might have to resort to making nametags for its players as the club continues its ridiculous summer signing spree.

Christian Pulisic could be one of the few names sticking around in the Blues starting lineup after an incredulous influx of talent. On Monday it was reported that Brazilian defender Thiago Silva and Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz are ready to join the Chelsea ranks.

LONDON — Former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has left the club's coaching set-up to pursue new opportunities, the Premier League club announced on Saturday.

Swede Ljungberg, part of the Invincibles side that won the Premier League in 2003-04, had been back at Arsenal for two years and was currently assistant to head coach Mikel Arteta.

ATHENS — Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was detained for questioning on the Greek island of Mykonos after allegedly being involved in an incident in which police officers were assaulted after a brawl, Greek state TV ERT said on Friday.

Officers were called in to break up a brawl between two groups of tourists. Two other Britons were also detained.

"The soccer player was verbally abusive to an officer and then hit him," a police official said. "The three were resisting when brought to the Mykonos police station."