Arsenal Category
Arsenal football club news, Arsenal transfers
Transfer balls: Arsenal should take Liverpool’s cash for disappointing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Transfer balls: Arsenal fans are “worried” says the Daily Mirror. ” The paper says Gooners are fretting because – get this – bit-part player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is wanted by Liverpool. T
The Ox, as some call him, has been at Arsenal since August 1011. If that time he has been disappointing – a skilful player lacking in killer instinct.
If Arsenal can get £25m for him, it would be a more than decent fee for player who hasn’t progressed as far as was hoped. It would also mean that Liverpool sign yet another player who once wore Southampton’s colours. The Mirror says Liverpool’s move would be a “remarkable transfer coup”.
No. It wouldn’t. Oxlade-Chamberlain is approaching the final year of his Arsenal contract. The Gunners have not offered him a new one says the paper. It’s not remarkable. It’s pretty humdrum.
Note: Don’t panic! He’s not going. “Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ready to turn down Liverpool and commit future to Gunners.” You can read all about Alex’s “bumper new Arsenal contract” in the… Daily Mirror.
Posted: 27th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Alexandre Lacazette leaves Arsenal drifting
Transfer balls – a look a clickbait football reporting in the mainstream media. The Daily Mirror says Arsenal have signed lexandre Lacazette from Lyons. Arsene Wenger, the eternal Arsenal manager, has “tied up” the player for £44m.
The Mirror has form, of course, with utter balls. This was the paper that told reader that Wenger will leave Arsenal next week:
So the Mirror’s news that Alexandre Lacazette has joined Arsenal for £44m should be met with circumspection. Lyons president Jean-Michel Aulas tells L’Equipe it is “premature” to suggest the France international will end up at the Emirates.
Sky Sports saw the interview and whacked it through Google Translate. The result makes Aulus sound like he’s raving mad:
“I do not intend to cede Alexandre quickly, because there is always the will of Atletico Madrid to bring it to January 1… Everyone knows that Atletico’s offer is 53m euros plus 12m bonus. That’s 65m euros [£57m]. As the leaders of Arsenal are well informed, they will be in those waters.”
So much for the tied-up deal, then.
Posted: 25th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comments (2)
Arsenal Balls: Mesut Ozil kisses the badge but Welbeck get Sanchez’s Number 7 shirt
Transfer Balls: The Daily Telegraph no longer exists to report news. It exits to foster rumour on the back of unbelievable fantasy and what it dramatically calls “cryptic messages” – and the rest of us call tweets. In today’s Telegraph, we read that Arsenal fans are “rejoicing” in the news that “Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have helped launch the club’s new 2017/18 kit”.
Anyone not reading that with a jaundiced eye hasn’t been using the internet and noticing how newspapers have gone from informing from gathering facts to churning continual denial and assertion. So the fact that two employees of a club bother to model the club’s new kit is a matter of intrigue and guesswork designed to entice.
The paper spins the launch of a new kit into: “The pair’s presence in the promotional material for the new kit will give Arsenal fans renewed hope that they will both extend their contracts with the club.”
Arsenal fans rejoice! Just as you rejoiced when before the 2012-2013 season, Arsenal’s then captain Robin van Persie pulled on the latest kit. He left soon afterwards to play for Manchester United.
Oh, and just to ensure all bases are covered the Telegraph then belches this out:
No. They don’t accidentally do anything.
Posted: 21st, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, Sports | Comment
Peak Clickbait: Arsenal player transfers to Arsenal
Have we reached peak clickbait in the Daily Telegraph? In “Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to leave Arsenal? Seven destinations and seven replacements”, the paper of record ticks all the boxes in how to create clicks from nothing.
Having asked the question to which you’d once-upon-a-time have expected a national newspaper with experts to answer – and the answer is always ‘No’ to any question posed in a headline – the paper then sets about making a Transfer Balls list.
The Tele argues that Oxlade-Chamberlain could leave Arsenal for – deep breath – Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, West Ham, Everton, Manchester United and…Arsenal! Can you leave and remain at the same club?
As the paper mangles the English language, it also lists 7 players who could replace the underwhelming Ox. One of them is Kylian Mbappe, a striker, which Oxlade-Chamberlain most certainly isn’t.
Posted: 20th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez isn’t cryptic he’s just spouting nonsense
Transfer balls: Is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez speaking in code or just trite attempts at aphorisms?
The Daily Mirror has been watching Sanchez’s Instagram account. It tells readers: ‘Arsenal fans beg Alexis Sanchez to stay as he posts cryptic message saying his “heart cries” amid intense speculation.’ Never mind the pathetic sight of fans begging a man to remain at a club he wants to leave, and take a look at his words. Says Sanchez: ”
Ya tengo 80 años 😊y Sabes porque en mi cara siempre hay una sonrisa ?
Porque la vida me enseño que siempre hay que buscarle el lado bueno a las cosas y recordar que “TODO PASA POR ALGO”. Mantén tu sonrisa siempre aunque tú corazón llore
Slap Sanchez’s wods though the Mirror’s automatic translator and you get:
“I’m already 80 years old. And you know why there’s always a smile on my face? Because life taught me that you always have to look for the good side to things and remember that everything goes on something.
“Keep your smile always, even if your heart cries.”
In short: always look on the bright side of life. Not a single word about Arsenal. But to the Mirror it means something about his leaving Arsenal.
Utter balls, of course. And it’s balls that keeps on coming. The Metro has been at the forefront of taking Sanchez’s Instagram feed and dishing it up news.
6 March 2017: “Alexis Sanchez responds to Arsenal speculation with cryptic ‘warrior’ Instagram post”
Sanchez says: “The true warrior fights not because he hates the ones in front of him, but because he loves those behind him. 🔴⚪️ Let’s go Gunners.The only failure is not trying.”
Translation: Hope we win!
27 Apr 2017: “Alexis Sanchez posts cryptic Instagram message amid transfer speculation”
He says: “You’ll notice that what today appears to be a sacrifice, will end up being the greatest achievement of your life’ said Sanchez.”
Translation: Do your best!
12 May 2017: “Alexis Sanchez posts cryptic Instagram message amid Bayern Munich and Chelsea transfer links”
He says: “If you want to know your past, you need to look at your present to get results. If you want to know your future look what you do now to achieve everything you want.”
Translation: Glad we won!
It’s not cryptic is it. It’s just the sort of therapeutic guff you read in self-help books – or ‘news sources’, as the tabloids would put it.
Posted: 16th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal look to Liverpool to resolve Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City transfer
Transfer Balls – with Alexis Sanchez Watch: The Arsenal player wants to leave the Gunners. Will he join Manchester City or Bayern Munich? Arsenal should get shot of him, of course. Any player who wants to leave isn’t committed to the cause. You cut them out. Let’s see what the paper’s are saying:
The Daily Mirror leads with news that Sanchez ” fears” Arsenal will block his move to Man City. The paper says City will “trump Bayern’s £40m offer and give Sanchez £280,000-a-week”. Arsenal, we read, have offered Sanchez “in excess of £275,000-a-week to stay at Arsenal”.
But hold on. On June 8, the Mirror told us that Bayern were offering Sanchez £350,000 a week. Are we to believe Sanchez will take less money to play for Man City? Is he in a Dutch auction?
The Evening Standard relays what Sanchez has been telling the local Chilean Press: “I’m looking at what my agent is doing. For now, I’m focused on the Confederations Cup in Russia and trying to do well. The truth is that my agent will see to it. He knows and he will sit down with the club to look for the best option for me. I’d like a lot of things but I’m only thinking about the national team.”
Is all the drip-feeding of information the agent’s work, a ploy aimed at gaiting the best terms for his client? As it stands, no deal has been done. Sanchez remains an Arenal player.
The Metro says “Manchester City are reportedly getting increasingly confident that Arsenal will buckle and end up selling Alexis Sanchez this summer instead of losing him on a free transfer in a year’s time.” The Metro presents it as Sanchez holding all the cards. But does he? He’s 28. He’s on £130,000-a-week at Arsenal. Unless he plays to his optimum level next season that huge pay rise will vanish. As for a loss of transfer fees, well, if he fires Arsenal into the Champions’ League or to the Premier League title, £40m will be worth the gamble, and that’s not taking into account the £7.5 in extra cash Arsenal will pay Sanchez under a new deal nor the cost of recruiting his replacement. Add in the fact what selling your best player to a rival says about your club’s ambitions and negotiations look less biased towards the player.
Jeremy Wilson notes:
Arsenal should this time call the player’s bluff. They should make a statement about their ambitions in relation to a Chelsea or City, just as Liverpool did at their expense in the summer of 2013 over Luis Suarez.
Liverpool were in an admittedly stronger position but Arsenal’s offer of £40 million, even allowing for the extra £1, was hardly derisory. Arsenal thought that Suarez’s very public desire to join them would force Liverpool’s hand, in the same way as they had felt obliged in previous summers to let star players leave. Liverpool said no and how did it work out? Suarez eventually settled down and signed a new contract four months later on the understanding that he would leave the following summer. Liverpool almost won the Premier League and then still received a far bigger fee – £65 million – from Barcelona for their player.
Over to you, Alexis.
The Manchester Evening News says, “Manchester City have been left hoping Alexis Sanchez can hold his nerve long enough to force a move to the Etihad.” the paper cite’s anonymous sources who “claim Sanchez has set his heart on a reunion with Guardiola, who signed him for Barcelona in 2011.”
Finally, the Daily Mail says Arsenal will accept no bids from English clubs. It says Manchester City and Chelsea “are ready to pay £45m” for Sanchez. “But due to Arsenal’s stance, he will have to look at offers from the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain instead.”
Or he could stay at Arsenal. The Telegraph says: “Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, does, however, retain some hope of convincing Sanchez to stay. Watch this space…”
Posted: 14th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Liverpool, Manchester City, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Alvaro Morata expects Chelsea move, joins Arsenal and agrees to play for Manchester United
Transfer balls: Alvaro Morata has “agreed to join Manchester United” from Real Madrid. The BBC says a fee of “around £60m” has been agreed.
The Guardian says Morata’s agent, Juanma Lopez, has negotiated a deal for the former Juventus player’s move to United.
But the deal’s not done. And in the greedy world of the football meat trade, nothing is completed until the player pulls on the shirt and kisses the badge. The Guardian adds that negotiations between the clubs may not be straightforward because of friction relating to David de Gea:
United have frustrated Madrid’s attempts to sign the goalkeeper and fear the Spanish club will drive a hard bargain over Morata as a result. The De Gea issue has led to a strained relationship in the past, with a proposed move breaking down in 2015.
The BBC has jumped the gun – just as the Bleacher Report went too soon in 2014, when it reported that Morata had joined Arsenal, which he never did:
Guillem Balague told readers:
Alvaro Morata, the 21-year-old striker who was considered a potential starter at Real Madrid in years to come, has agreed to join Arsenal. Not on loan, but transferred.
And in February 2017, Morata was on his way to Chelsea, said the Telegraph:
Chelsea’s hopes of landing a significant transfer blow on Saturday’s opponents Arsenal have been boosted after Álvaro Morata told friends that he expects to move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
And on May 25, the Express told its readers:
Real Madrid News: Alvaro Morata snubs Manchester United and Chelsea to agree AC Milan move
Either Morata isn’t a man of his word or else the media is full of utter balls.
Posted: 10th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Kylian Mbappe goes from £17,000 to £114m as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United get dizzy
Transfer balls: there’s lots of chatter about Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United bidding for Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe. The numbers are staggering – and mostly guesswork.
£17,000 – “Chelsea could have signed Kylian Mbappe for £17,000 as a 14-year-old – but SNUBBED the wonderkid” – Daily Mirror
£230,000 – “Arsenal could have signed Kylian Mbappe for just £230,000 last year” – Daily Mail
Rob Draper tells readers:
Arsenal could have signed Kylian Mbappe for just £230,000 last year but £100m-rated teenager heads list of targets…
He’s worth £100m.
Arsene Wenger’s side have put away €100m (£87.5m) for his signing
Curse those euros and pounds! Arsenal don’t have enough.
What do the other reports say – all are from this year?
£60m – “INTER MILAN believe they can sign one of Europe’s most-wanted talents, Kylian Mbappe, on a discounted £60million fee.” – Express
£70m – “PARIS ST-GERMAIN are reportedly ready to offer £70m for Monaco sensation Kylian Mbappe.” – Daily Star
£80m – “Mbappe: Monaco’s £80m teenager” – The Times
£85m – “Kylian Mbappe ‘says yes’ to Real Madrid move as Premier League giants appear to miss out on £85m starlet” – Daily Mail
£87m – “YOU’RE KYDDING ME Arsenal could have signed Kylian Mbappe for just £230,000 but could now have to spend over £87million for the Monaco striker” – Sun
£96m – “Monaco reject £96m bid for Kylian Mbappe from English club” – Express
£100m – “Manchester United enter £100million race to sign Monaco star Kylian Mbappe” – Manchester Evening News
£105m – “Arsenal have had a €100million euro (£87million) bid for Kylian Mbappe rejected by Monaco.” – Daily Telegraph
The offer is the third turned down already this summer by the French champions, including a world-record fee of €120million (£105million) made by Real Madrid.
£114m – “The France international, apparently valued by Monaco at a massive £114m” – Daily Star
And up it goes – where it stops, nobody knows.
Posted: 5th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: ‘free agent’ Ozil gets new Arsenal deal
Transfer balls: compare and contrast the reporting on Arsenal’s Mesut Oil.
June 1 2017: “Alexis Sanchez plans to quit Arsenal and Mesut Ozil will reject new deal before moving for free.”
June 2 2017: “Mesut Ozil ready to sign £280000 A WEEK new contract as Arsenal.”
He’s not singed anything.
Posted: 2nd, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Manchester United agree terms with Griezmann but don’t want him
Transfer balls: Antione Griezmann is not joining Manchester United. United have “shelved plans to sing Grizemann” (Sun); “United interest in Griezmann fades” (Express and Mirror); and “Ant shoved aside as Jose turns to Lukaku” (Daily Star) tells us all we need to know.
Regular tabloid readers will wonder what happened to the deal Griezmann had agreed to:
And then there are the newspapers that co-opt the newsbots into deceiving their readers. Google search engines don’t spot the question marks that punctuate utter balls. They read it as fact.
So why is Griezmann no longer on his way to United? Have they elbowed him aside? No. The Mirror notes that Atletico Madrid have been hit with a transfer ban for signing underage players. This means they Spanish side will “refuse” to sell their star player. So Griezmann stays in Spain.
The Times says he’s tying in Spain because United “decided instead to pursue a target man in light of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s long-term knee injury.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 2nd, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Broadsheets, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Arsene Wenger and the Daily Mirror’s fake news (scoops)
It was a busy season for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The Daily Mirror and its reporter John Cross have been at the forefront of Wenger contract news. And the paper’s clear message was that he wasn’t going to sign one. The paper knew. Wenger was out! And then he signed a new deal keeping him at the club for two more years. It’s not fake news. It’s possibly true:
Daily Mirror – John Cross – August 23 2016 – “Boss Wenger will celebrate 20 years in charge of the Gunners at the start of October and there is a growing feeling that he will stand down when his contract expires at the end of this season.”
Daily Mirror – John Cross – Feb 3 2017 – “Arsenal fans’ abuse nudging hurt Arsene Wenger towards the exit THIS summer”
Daily Mirror – John Cross – 16 Feb 2017: “Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger IS set to leave in the summer following shattering Bayern Munich defeat”
Daily Mirror – John Cross, March 2 – “Arsene Wenger gives another clear hint he’s ready to leave Arsenal this summer”
Daily Mirror – John Cross – March 7 – “Arsene Wenger’s position is now untenable after Arsenal suffer another sorry European capitulation”
Daily Mirror – March 19 – Arsene Wenger set to STAY at Arsenal — even if they miss the Champions League for first time under him
Daily Mirror – John Cross, April 10 – “It seems unthinkable Arsenal will give him a new contract. Time to go, Arsene. Arsenal cannot possibly put their supporters through another two years of this”
Daily Mirror – John Cross, May 10 – “Arsene Wenger could still leave Arsenal this summer – there are various factors at play”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 1st, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Kroenke ‘orders’ the title as Wenger goes back to the future
Arsenal fans rejoice! Arsenal’s board have “ordered” (Sun) Arsene Wenger to win “a major trophy in the next two years”. “NOW WIN THE TITLE!” barks the Mail’s back page. “Arsenal lay down law to Wenger after new £16m deal.”
The Daily Star says under Wenger the Gunners have not won the Premier League since 2004 – true enough – and “not had success in Europe during the Frenchman’s 21 year reign”.
Under Wenger, Arsenal were beaten finalists in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup and the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League final. They qualified for the Champions’ League for 20 seasons running. Whilst not stella stuff, Wenger has always billed qualification to the Champions League as akin to winning a cup. You only need to see the joy on Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s face to know how a top-four finish can define a season. Wenger’s regime does not represent decades of failure.
Over in the Express, readers see Stan Kroenke,”the man with the money behind Arsenal”. That rather makes it seem that the American billionaire has bankrolled the club. He says: “Our ambition is to win the Premier League and other major trophies in Europe… Arsene is the best person to make that happen.” He is? Kroenke has been Arsenal’s majority shareholder since 2011. He’s never seen Arsenal win the title under his ownership and Wenger’s management, let alone come all that close to doing so. So why does he think it will happen next season? Because he’s “ordered” it and made it part of Wenger’s new two-year deal?
As the i points out, Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis hailed Wenger’s new contract by talking about “pushing forward”, “evolving” and “looking forward”. But do Arsenal fans believe Wenger represents the future more than Klopp, Mourinho, Pochettino, Conte and Guardiola, the managers whose sides Wenger’s Arsenal need to beat?
Readers hear from Wenger in the Mirror, who tells fans. “Let’s be together to support our players, to support the club and all give our absolute best to be at the level that we want to be. We can move up to the next level.”
Arsenal finished fifth last season. They qualified for the Europa League. The next level might well be fourth followed by a shaky Champions League campaign.
It’s plus ca change at the Emirates.
Posted: 1st, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Alexis Sanchez takes Bayern Munich pay cut and joins Manchester City
Transfer Balls: The summer is shaping up into a big one at Arsenal. Much news will revolve around Alexis Sanchez, now in the final year of his Arsenal contract. Is he staying or not? Here’s a round-up of today’s news:
The Times: “Wenger stays but Sánchez wants to leave Arsenal.”
Sánchez’s contract expires in 12 months but he is determined to force his way out of the club this summer to join Bayern Munich…
Sánchez has attracted firm interest from Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern in recent months, with the Bundesliga champions his preferred destination.
But he won’t go there unless she takes a cut in his wages.
Bayern Munich cannot match Alexis Sanchez’s wage demands and have all but given up hope of signing the Arsenal star, giving Manchester City a free run at his signature
So Sanchez is off to play for Manchester City. Right?
The Express: ” Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to leave Arsenal as Arsene Wenger signs two-year contract”
Arsenal have been attempting to convince Sanchez and Ozil to commit their long-term future for at least a year. Express Sport understands the club are ready to pay as much as £300,000-a-week to keep them. But no agreement has been reached with the duo and they are now entering the final year of their contract.
Wrong. Arsenal and Sanchez are talking. Or as Manchester City’s local newspaper puts it:
Manchester Evening News: “Man City director travels to London to sign Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez”
But hold on:
Daily Telegraph: “Arsenal prepare contract offers to make Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil highest-paid players in club’s history”
There has been more outside interest in Sanchez, who ended the season with 30 goals and his situation is being monitored by Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain, Juventus and Chelsea. Sanchez, though, likes it in London and Arsenal hope that he might be willing to commit for an extension of two years until 2020. That would give him the option of moving at a stage in his career when he is still likely to interest the very elite of Europe.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 31st, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comments (2)
Arsenal balls: Wenger stays beyond his leaving date
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has signed a new two-year contract. Wenger’s contract was set to finish at the end of the current season. The man who never breaks a contract will be at Ashburton Grove until 2019.
The Daily Mirror makes the Wenger deal its lead sports story:
Or as the Mirror previously scooped:
He never was going to leave the club. Wenger’s an obsessive. Arsenal is his place and he wants to stay there.
Posted: 31st, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
FA Cup Final Media Bias: Arsenal ignore Sanchez’s handball, Chelsea miss Costa’s lucky shot and Moses’ dive
Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 in today’s FA Cup Final. The better team won. But how do the clubs’ respective websites report on the game? Is there much bias in the reporting?
The Alexis Sanchez Goal:
The first Arsenal goal appeared to feature an accidental handball in the build up.
We made the sort of start you dream about making in an FA Cup final – taking the lead through Alexis after he raced on to a ball that deflected off him and beat Thibaut Courtois.
Alexis Sanchez netted a controversial opener, that could have been disallowed for either handball or offside, very early on, and it was the Gunners who looked the more likely to add to their lead before the break.
Arsenal:
It came in slightly strange circumstances as Alexis received the ball outside the area, and tried to lift the ball over the Chelsea defence to the onrushing Ramsey. But his pass was blocked, hitting the Chilean before spinning up over the backline.
The offside Ramsey made sure not to touch the ball, and Alexis raced on to the ball before slotting it under Thibaut Courtois and into the bottom corner. The assistant referee immediately raised his flag, but after a brief consulatation referee Anthony Taylor allowed the goal to stand, to the delight of the vociferous Arsenal fans.
The Islington Gazette, Arsenal’s local paper, makes no mention of any handball.
The Dive:
And what of Victor Moses’ dive? The Chelsea player tried to con the referee into awarding his team a penalty? His cheating earned him an early bath.
Chelsea FC: “On 68 minutes, Moses was shown a second yellow card for simulation as he drove in to the box from wide on the right.”
Diego Costa’a goal?
Diego Cost scored for Chelsea. His shot took a deflection off an Arsenal player’s leg, wrong footing the Gunners’ ‘keeper who, nonetheless, should have saved it.
Arsenal: “It was frustrating for the Gunners, who had defended to well until that point but they could do nothing as the ball fell to the Spain international in the area and he prodded the ball into the bottom corner.”
Chelsea: “Willian came on and we switched to a 4-4-1 formation. It was the Brazilian who was heavily involved in our equaliser. He took a pass from Hazard infield and crossed to Diego Costa, who chested, took his time and smashed his effort into the ground and beyond the dive of Ospina. 1-1!”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 27th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Chelsea, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: ‘Sanchez damaged Gunners by training on his day off’ – Keown
“PRIMA GUNNERS,” accuses the Sun on Tuesday. “Keown blasts over-indulged Alexis and Ozil.”
Gunner-turned pundit Martin Keown has a view on Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. They damaged Arsenal with their behaviour, says Martin. What did they do? And did they do it worse than Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi or Kieran Gibbs?
“It became about Ozil and Sanchez for too long in the season. Their behaviour let Arsenal down in that period,” says Keown. “Sanchez is a difficult man to manage off the pitch. I was at the training ground on one of his days off and he suddenly turned up and was bouncing around the training pitch.”
The nutcase turned up on a day off and trained. The selfish, useless c…!
“They were having to facilitate him and put a training session on for him,” Keown continues. “It’s not necessarily about you as a player – you have to fit in as well with the group.”
Maybe if all the other Arsenal played trained on their days off, the Gunners might have done better?
As for Ozil, says Martin:
“If I was playing in some of the games when Ozil doesn’t get a perfect pass, I would have been in his ear telling him my bit. ”
Ready? It’s going to be long break in play as Martin critiques his team-mate mid-match:
“I’d have said, ‘I’m trying to give the ball to you, don’t disrespect me in the way you do when I don’t get the ball to you. And how about you working just as hard out of possession as I’m working out of possession? I can’t ever get close to the creativity you can create but I want you to work hard when we are not in possession – because we’re not quite good enough to win things without every single player applying himself in possession and out of possession.'”
Why can’t Ozil be more like Keown? Answer in the form of a long ball into the cheap seats.
Posted: 23rd, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Wenger’s hubris gets just rewards
One day we will know what happened in December 2016 that destroyed Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League. Having failed to qualify for the Champions’ League for the first time in 20 years (during which Arsenal have been champions just three times; a fact that tells you a lot about that inflated competition’s credentials), the team’s manager, Arsene Wenger, tells talkSport:
“We were a force this year until December, fighting for the championship [but] after we dropped off. I will say one day the real reason behind that…”
Was it something to do with the death of Indian economist Sulabha Brahme, 84, who passed away on December 1? Did that bring Mesut Ozil to a standstill? What about the murder of Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, who was shot dead on December 19? Did that put lead in Francis Coquelin’s boots? Or did it all go wrong when Toyah returned to Coronation Street?
Or was it something to do with losing matches? In December Arsenal lost 2-1 to Everton and 2-1 to Manchester City in back-to-back away defeats. The Everton game was very close, with Arsenal having shots twice saved off the line in the game’s dying moments; and in the Manchester City match they were hard done by when the referee allowed two goals that could both have been ruled out for offside – City’s second was egregious. But in each match Arsenal only scored one goal. Not enough.
Maybe something else happened – something extraordinary and uniquely damaging? Wenger’s pretty good at saying one day he will reveal all. On buying Danny Welbeck in 2014, he said: “I will tell you that story one day.” Why so mysterious? Is it hubris, gnostic or self-serving balls?
And what about what else Wenger told us today? He added:
“I believe since January we have played in a very difficult environment for different reasons.
“Some you know about and that’s very difficult for a group of players to cope with that – and some other reasons we will talk about on another day.”
Tell us now. Go on.
“Psychologically the atmosphere was absolutely horrendous. It has been difficult, yes, and certainly my personal situation has contributed to that but you can never question my professionalism or commitment.”
What happened was that after 19 matches of a 38-game Premier League season, Arsenal were nine points behind leader’s Chelsea. After 38 matches, they are 18 points behind Chelsea, the champions. Arsenal never were in contention. As Roy Keane put it when Arsenal were annihilated by Bayern Munich in the Champions’ League, “Well, what did you expect?”
We expected Arsenal to be league also-rans and enjoy a good FA Cup run playing bouts of incisive football punctuated by moments of abject, laughable ineptitude. It wasn’t a season of disappointment for Gunners’ fans. It was season of complete predictability. Wenger will tell us all abut it one day – and that nine seasons of the same that preceded it.
Posted: 21st, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Key Posts, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Alisher Usmanov bids to oust Stan Kroenke and build Chelsea Mark II
Into the Anorak inbox is dropped news that Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov has made a $1.3bn bid to buy out his rival shareholder, ‘Silent Stan Kroenke, and take control of the club. In 2013, the Sunday Times Rich List crowned Usmanov Britain’s wealthiest person. The very rich like buying up swatches of London real estate. So why not buy a stadiumand football club ? If the football fails you can always put a roof on the place and use it as a vault.
The FT:
Mr Usmanov, a metals magnate who owns 30 per cent of Arsenal, conveyed the offer in a letter to Stan Kroenke, the US sports mogul, who controls a 67 per cent stake. The approach, made last month, valued the club at $2bn. Mr Kroenke has yet to formally respond.
He is understood not to have dismissed the idea out of hand at first. However, he has since informally indicated he is not interested in selling to Mr Usmanov or anyone else. “Two weeks ago, I thought something could realistically happen. Now I am not so sure,” a person close to the situation said.
Arsenal fans can only marvel at how the club they’ve supported has been transformed into a brand for billionaires to play with.
It might be worth harking back to what Chelsea fans said when another Russian, one Roman Abramovich, bought the club in 2003:
David Mellor. The disgraced former government minister was cautiously optimistic about the new Russian-backed regime. “What I think that we have to hope, as Chelsea fans, is the kind of investment that is being talked of will give Chelsea a good run-out in the Champions League,” Mellor, once the chairman of the Football Task Force, said.
“This is a power-play by an extremely wealthy man and, as far as he is concerned, Chelsea, with their entrance into the Champions League, is a fitting vehicle for his ambitions. If money can buy success, there is a fair chance that Chelsea might achieve.”
…
Tony Banks, the Labour MP, perhaps taking a lead from Tony Blair, was considering the more global implications of a Russian revolution in the Chelsea Village. “We need to know rather more about Roman Abramovich before saying this is a good deal,” Banks said. “Russia is not settled politically or economically and lots of questions are asked about the rigours applied in Russian business.”
Plus ca change.
Posted: 19th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Lazy Sanchez is no winner but he’s worth £300,000 a week
More now from the Daily Mirror’s John Cross, the man who told wrote beneath the headline”ARSENE SETS THE DATE” that the Arsenal manager was leaving the club on June 30 2017.
The same John Cross later updated that scoop by writing beneath another Daily Mirror headline “WENGER’S STAYING”.
This week, Cross has once more been talking about Arsenal. The Gunners won 2-0 against Sunderland. Incredibly, Wenger’s under-performing side have a slim chance of qualifying for the Champions League – although given their palsied performances in the competition, fans wold be forgiven for finding that an underwhelming prospect.
Here’s Cross on April 17. He’s talking about Alexis Sanchez, who scored both goals in the Sunderland match:
“They simply have to break the bank to keep him. Without Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal would be completely lost as once again the red-hot Chile forward bailed them out. You need big hearts on nights like these and it was Sanchez who saved Arsenal from disaster.”
Sanchez is possessed of a “street fighter’s desire that really make him special”, says Cross.
Or as he wrote on March 7:
Or as he wrote waaay back on March 31:
“It has been a source of great frustration to Arsene Wenger this season that, despite Sanchez’s histrionics making it look as if he works hard, he actually covers less ground than you think.”
Arsenal should “break the bank” for someone so obviously overrated (unless he’s being “red-hot”).
Posted: 18th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Bias: Stoke City praise Peter Crouch’s ‘expert’ cheating against Arsenal
Media Bias: when Stoke City’s Peter Crouch scored with his hand against Arsenal in yesterday’s Premier League match, pundits on BBC TV’s Match of the Day pundit meekly said ‘It should have been disallowed’. There was no shame heaped on former England player ‘Crouchy’ for his cheating. It was not his fault that he scored with his hand and then celebrated wildly. It was the referee’s error.
How does the media report the goal?
Stoke City FC website: “PETER CROUCH expressed disappointment that his second half strike counted for nothing as Stoke City fell to a 4-1 loss to Arsenal in their final home game of the 2016/17 season.”
A second half “strike” that disappointingly counted.
Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil struck either side of the interval before Crouch was summoned from the bench and pulled one back for the Potters midway through the second period.
Mark Hughes’ side enjoyed a dominant 10 minute spell after the striker’s near post effort…
Crouch’s effort was his ninth of the campaign, and although pleased to net once again…
But the goal was scored with his hand. Crouch says:
“I just threw everything at it and it’s come off my hand a little bit but it was a goal and I was pleased to score another one.”
No. It came off your hand entirely, Peter. It was handball. But good you were pleased.
But Crouch’s blinkered view of his cheating pales when compared to the official Stoke City match report:
The hosts did offer some resistance… and managed to halve the deficit through substitute Peter Crouch, who expertly headed home his ninth of the season from close range just minutes after being thrust on to the field.
And on the Arsenal website:
But finally the hosts did break through – albeit in hugely controversial circumstances – as Arnautovic broke down the left once more and whipped in a cross that Crouch sent in via his hand.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 14th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Injury Balls: Arsenal sell Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for spare parts
Injury Balls: a look at unreliable reporting. When Alex Oxlade-Chameberlain was substituted in Arsenal’s win over Southampton, the knives were out. It was all over for ‘The Ox’.
Daily Mirror: “The England star was forced off 10 minutes before the break with an apparent hamstring injury, meaning he could now miss the FA Cup final in 17 days”
Daily Telegraph: “Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffers hamstring injury that could rule him out of another FA Cup final”
Daily Mail: “…he appeared visibly distressed and is a major doubt for the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 27.”
90Minutes: “Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is set to draft Hector Bellerin back into the first team fold in place of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the remaining games of the season”
Two days later and:
BBC: “Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should be fit [for today’s match at Stoke] despite limping off early in the midweek game against Southampton with a hamstring injury.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 13th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Manchester Evening Post’s fake news pledge and Arsenal spin in the Mirror
Forget all that Clickbait balls and Transfer Balls and all the other balls designed to seduce football fans to click on the ads. The Manchester Evening News is going factual. It might be contagious and impact on other titles owned by Trinity Mirror. This is the MEN’s mission statement:
Sport, like news, is a perpetual motion machine. The pace of change is increasingly rapid, not just on the pitch but in the press box too.
After all, what is a sports journalist in 2017? Outstanding bloggers interrogate coaches at press conferences, long-loved fanzines have gone digital, reaching millions of readers every year and supporters are turning the cameras on themselves; democratising the games we love and presenting an unprecedented landscape to traditional media outlets.
Supporters and lovers of sport crave authenticity. To be a fan is to join a community, to share a common language that transcends accents or post codes. It is our job, as the regional experts around our clubs and personalities, to generate and reflect these communities and their conversations every day.
To be trusted by the people who go to games and know our teams inside out is a great privilege. Plenty changes in sport, but that remains the same. When you see a sea of headlines about your club, looking out for the title based closest to the club in question in the best way to ensure you’re getting the real story from your clubs.
Why? Because we don’t just report on our clubs, we live and work amongst its fans too. It’s a matter of trust.
We know what fans want because we are them ourselves. But we also know that fans want facts – no matter how much we’d all want to believe that Ronaldo is about to sign for our club. That’s what sets us apart from those organisations who just want your click. We want your trust.
Good for them. Fans of Manchester United and Manchester City will get the facts and only the facts.news: ”
In 0ther MEN news: “‘Have Manchester United dropped transfer hints about the futures of De Gea and Rooney?”
Answer: No.
Meanwhile, over at MEN stablemate the Daily Mirror, the top story online (at the time of writing) is “JOHN CROSS: Wenger out? A shakeup is imminent and he could still leave Arsenal this summer – there are various factors at play.”
Could leave?
Can this be the same john Cross who told Mirror readers that Wenger is “STAYING” at Arsenal and…
…not staying at Arsenal?
It’s not fake news. It’s just to-deadline guesswork.
Posted: 10th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Arsenal end Manchester United’s incredibly boring 25-match unbeaten run
Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United is hailed in the Press. But before a look at the back pages, a word from Sachin Nakrani, the Guardian’s sports features editor. He’s at the office:
Sub editor 1: “They’re chanting ‘Fuck off Mourinho’ at the Emirates”
Sub editor 2: “Which end?”
Highlight of my day, that.
And that’s Jose Mourinho, isn’t it. He’s the brattish kid on tennis camp, a little shorter than most but he’s carrying the oversized racket and always has a can of new balls. In Jose’s monocular vision, Arsenal did not beat Manchester United. Manchester United let Arsenal win, gamely allowing the Gunners to score all the game’s goals and end United’s 25-match unbeaten run. And – boy – what roller coaster of thrills that’s been right.
Having been beaten, Mourinho “sarcastically disparaged the importance of his first competitive defeat to Arsène Wenger” (Times) . He said:
“I left Highbury and they were crying, I left Emirates and they were crying. Finally today they sing, they swing the scarves. It’s nice for them… It is the first time I leave and they are happy. Before they were walking the streets with their heads low. The Arsenal fans are happy and I am happy for them.”
And on he goes:
“Do not think I am happy they are not winning trophies. Arsène Wenger is a big manager so my record [not previously losing a Premier League game to him] is not normal. Normal is win, lose, draw. I really don’t care about it today. We shook hands and during the game I don’t like what I never like. He puts too much pressure on the fourth official.”
Alex Hess tweets:
Helluva job Mourinho’s done with history’s most expensive squad: won twice vs top six, fewer goals than Bournemouth, will finish 5th or 6th.
And that hurts the brand:
Manchester United are at risk of triggering a financial penalty in their £750m kit deal with Adidas should they fail to qualify for this season’s Champions League.
United will suffer a 30 per cent cut to their annual £75m payment from the German sportswear giant if they finish outside of the top four. This means the club will lose more than £20m in sponsorship income.
So the back pages, then, which all lead with Mourinho.
Posted: 8th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Arsenal: one player or maybe seven wins the title for Gunners, says Souness
Mystic Meg, eat yer heart out. In his article on Arsenal v Manchester United for the Sunday Times, former Spurs and Liverpool player Graeme Souness begins by tooting his own horn: “I predicted in March in this column that Manchester United and Arsenal would both miss out on the top four and I have seen nothing since to change my mind.”
The man’s got the gift, I tell you.
This is the same Souness who at the start of the season predicted the Premier League title going to Manchester United or Manchester City:
I think it will be one of the Manchester teams. If Ibrahimovic can fire on all cylinders – and I think there is a good year left in him – he will inspire those around him.
He’s someone who I enjoy. I enjoy his arrogance because he’s someone who can back it up. I think he could be the difference.
His Top Four ran: “1. Man Utd 2. Man City. 3. Tottenham 4. Arsenal.”
Whoops!
Having told readers back in August “Obviously it’s our job to make forecasts”, Souness today writes:
Arsenal should be looking at the likes of Griezmann and Bale… Over the past decade their recruitment has simply not been good enough, which is one of the main reasons Wenger should step aside. For seven or eight years they were only two or three top players away from being the team to beat but in the past few years it has not been a question of two or three players they need, it’s six or seven.
Ot as Souness put it in November 2015 – during the 2015-2016 season – just one season ago:
Arsene Wenger’s only major signing last summer was Petr Cech and he alone will give them a major chance of winning the Premier League this season. He could be worth anything up to 10 points for them.
Not two or three players, then. Just the one.
Posted: 7th, May 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, Sports | Comment
Victim blaming Arsenal’s Sanchez and Manchester City’s Aguero is just about understandbale
The talk is of faking it. First Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez was accused of making too much of being hit by the ball. Sanchez was standing close to the edge of the pitch as Leicester City’s Christian Fuchs was set to throw a long one into the mixer. This upset the Leicester man, causing him to send the ball hard into the Chilean’s face. Sanchez went down in stages, as they stay, and held his face. When Sanchez finally got to his feet, the referee booked him and awarded Leicester a free kick.
Questions were asked. Why had Fuchs not been booked? Had Sanchez gone down easily? Why hadn’t he performed the classic manoeuvre favoured by nearly all top-flight footballers of holding his face and then checking the hands for signs of blood, eyeball and brain? Is someone called Fuchs more liable to produce a XXX-rated challenge on primetime telly and would he risk a similar balls-in assault on Marseille full-back Rod Fanni?
The other incident of “letting him know you’re there” came in the Manchester derby. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was upset that Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero had gone to ground after being headbutted by Marouane Fellaini, who was sent off for his brazen foul.
Given the impressive bounce of hair on the big Belgian’s head, you’d suppose a headbutt from him would be akin to being wrapped in cashmere towels by a flash mob of cuddlers. Mourinho thinks as much. “I didn’t watch but probably I can guess it’s a bit of a red card and that it’s a bit of a very experienced, smart Argentinian player,” he opined with customary bitchiness. “Marouane says it was a red card because he is Marouane, Martin Atkinson told me in his opinion it was a red card but I saw Aguero in the tunnel – no broken nose, no broken head, his face is as nice as always. So, I am not so sure. I think if Sergio doesn’t go to the floor, for sure it is not a red card. But if Marouane gave him the chance to do that… I don’t know.”
Fellaini hit the baths early, where we hope he took more than one bottle into the shower, possibly three or four to ensure that any future clash of heads would be softer than a Labrador’s loo roll. One wonders what would occur if the big clumsy Belgian went curls to curls with Chelsea’s spring-topped David Luiz. Some see a hideous tangle resulting in the world’s first Siamese-style twin footballers; while others go for the huge ricochet sending each man hurtling into the stands at opposite sides of the ground.
As for Sanchez and Aguero, well, you could call them innocent parties on the wrong end of victim blaming. But Sanchez was being irritating. And Aguero did make the most of it. It’s not black and white. If you are a footballer interfering with a member of the opposition’s attempts to salvage something from a match his side are behind in, the likelihood of your being smacked in the face with the ball is higher than if you had retreated. Likewise, staring up into the eyes of the man who has just committed a yellow-card worthy foul on your person seconds after he’s been carded and calling him names, raises the prospect of further mischief.
This does not remotely mitigate the guilt of the fouler, but it does place the offence in context*.
*Unless you’re Joey Barton.
This post was sponsored by Smart Bets.
Posted: 29th, April 2017 | In: Arsenal, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comments (2)
