Arsenal Category
Arsenal football club news, Arsenal transfers
Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin is the fastest man on Earth?
“Who is faster – Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin or Usain Bolt?’
Goal.com. readers are told, “Arsene Wenger has the answer.”
So do we. It’s the Olympic Champion.
Although if the distance over which speed is measured is reduced from Bolt’s favoured 100m to 20 yards, Arsenal’s Bellerin wins. If that distance is further reduced to say, 3 yards – the average distance your writer lurches whenever a wasp catches the corner of the eye as I recline in a deckchair with an ice-cream – I’m in with a shout.
But some say I’d be not as fast as the speed at which Hillary Clinton’s team can issue a denial, the time it takes for Donald Trump to jerk his knee following a shooting or the speed at which Keith Vaz can delete his internet browsing history when his wife knocks on the bedroom door.
Posted: 18th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal want Sanchez, Wilshere stays and Ozil confuses the experts
Transfer Balls: The BBC says Arsenal’s Chile forward Alexis Sanchez, 27, will sign a new deal at the club – if he gets a wage increase.
The Daily Mirror adds that he also wants a new contract to feature a buyout clause. Why? For his ego? Those things are not worth a dime. When Arsenal offered Liverpool £40million plus £1 for Luis Suarez – so triggering his release, as per contract – Liverpool asked the Gunners ‘what they were smoking’ and refused to honour it.
The Daily Mail says Sanchez and German midfielder Mesut Ozil, 27, will extend their stays at Arsenal. But is unsure what next for Jack Wilshere, 24, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 23, and 26-year-old Kieran Gibbs.
Their stock at Arsenal is boosted by the Premier League’s home-grown rule, which states clubs must include eight home-grown players out of a squad of 25.
A home-grown player will be defined as one who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).
Gibbs is no world beater. Oxlade-Chamberlain doesn’t improve. And Wilshere, well, the Bleacher Report said last week: “Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he wants Bournemouth loanee Jack Wilshere to stay at Arsenal his entire career.”
Which is little odd, given that he now plays for Bournemouth, albeit on loan.
You might wonder if the Mail knows anything? It would appear not:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 15th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: rubbish Mustafi is the Gunners’ top passer
Arsenal balls: A quick look at reporting on Arsenal’s Champions’ League match again PSG. The focus is on Arsenal’s new boy Shkodran Mustafi. How did he do?
Rubbish!
“…gave the ball away cheaply and put Arsenal’s midfielders under pressure. He does not look like the big-hearted leader Arsenal need at the back. Is he worth £35m? Not on this showing” – Neil Ashton, The Sun.
2/10 – L’Equipe
Confused!
“Cavani had planted his header emphatically into the corner from Aurier’s glorious cross on the charge with Shkodran Mustafi apparently distracted by the presence of a second ball on the pitch, albeit on the distant touchline.” – The Guardian
Pretty good!
“…was solid enough throughout” – Sami Mokbel, Daily Mail
“Mustafi was competitive and strong. Has the makings of a good signing” – John Cross, Daily Mirror.
Awesome!
“Mustafi continues to show he’s a pass master against PSG – Mustafi stood out once again with his passing ability” – Daily Cannon (Arsenal fan blog)
Such are the facts.
Posted: 14th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment (1)
Media balls: Arsenal beat Southampton with a ‘slight tug’ that saw Giroud ‘hauled down’
Talking Balls: a look at media bias in football reporting. Today’s game is Arsenal v Southampton in the Premier League. Arsenal won 2-1, thanks to a very late penalty.
But in injury-time they conceded a penalty after the slightest of tugs on Olivier Giroud’s shirt by Jose Fonte. Fonte, understandably furious as Giroud was giving as good as he got, was booked – and Santi Cazorla sent Fraser Forster the wrong way.
There was definite contact between Fonte and Giroud but the decision incensed Southampton manager Claude Puel and his players, with the situation further complicated by Koscielny lying strewn in the goalmouth having taken a kick to the face moments earlier.
Giroud then tangled with Fonte in the box on 90 minutes – and referee Madely awarded a penalty. And despite a delay as Koscielny was treated for an injury Cazorla then struck the winner to make it 2-1 to The Arsenal.
Only the local Southampton newspaper says Giroud was “giving as good as he got”. No other newspaper – national or otherwise – mentions Giroud fouling.
As for the clubs’ websites:
Olivier Giroud was hauled down by Jose Fonte and Cazorla kept his nerve to beat Fraser Forster.
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal):
“It is a relief, because we missed many chances and they had one or two opportunities having thrown everything forward. Honestly, everyone is telling me it was a penalty, but I’ve not yet seen it again.”
Claude Puel (Southampton):
“It’s very hard for my players, a big disappointment. For me, with the penalty both players went to play the ball – it’s very hard to take.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 10th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal ball: Gunners get new Vieira and Petit in one
Good news for Arenal. Gunners new boy Granit Xhaka is in entire all-conquering central midfield pairing in one player.
Xhaka is the “new Emmanuel Petit”.
Xhaka is the new Patrick Vieira:
Arenal already have the new Dennis Bergkamp:
Let the old times role!
Arsenal’s Wenger unseats Manchester United’s Mourinho in ‘raging battle’
At a coaching conference in Switzerland, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho were both in attendance.
Spanish newspaper Marca recalls the following exchange as Sir Alex Ferguson is scheduled to speak.
Mourinho: Can I sit next here?
Wenger: “No, it is not possible.”
And how does the Press reports on that?
Daily Express: “Arsene Wenger owns Jose Mourinho in latest bust-up at coaches conference – ARSENE WENGER and Jose Mourinho have reportedly clashed yet again.”
Mourinho reportedly wanted to sit next to Paris Saint-Germain’s Unai Emery and Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane for Sir Alex Ferguson’s opening speech, with Wenger close by.
Metro: “Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger told Jose Mourinho he can’t sit next to him at coaches conference”
Daily Mail: “Arsene Wenger’s feud with Jose Mourinho rages on as ‘Arsenal boss refuses to let Manchester United manager sit next to him at conference”
And in Marca, the root of a story that sounds like it began as a joke: “Wenger wins latest battle against Mourinho”
Next week: It’s WAR as Jose serves Arsene green jelly at his party.
Posted: 7th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Arsenal scout Eddie Howe who has ‘no regrets’ about leaving Bournemouth
More news that AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is gearing up to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
The Sun declares: “Ed Hunted.”
Adding:
EDDIE HOWE is under serious consideration to become the next Arsenal manager. SunSport can reveal that the highly-regarded Bournemouth chief’s name is being discussed in the corridors of power at the Emirates.
Revealed? Like the Star revealed on July 28: “ARSENAL have earmarked Eddie Howe as a potential successor to Arsene Wenger.” As for the Sun’s story, which contains no quotes, we’re told:
Eddie Howe is being lined up as a replacement for Arsene Wenger as Arsenal boss
News reaches Bournemouth.
The Sun reports:
HOWE ABOUT NO Eddie Howe to Arsenal: Bournemouth chief Jeff Mostyn issues hands-off warning over man tipped to replace Arsene Wenger
He tells TalkSport:
“Eddie is a Bournemouth boy through and through. He has been with the football club since he was ten. There is unfinished business. He wants to ensure that if and when he does move on he will leave a legacy.”
Or as the Sun puts it in its other Eddie to Arsenal story:
Howe inspired Bournemouth and led them to promotion to League One in 2010, only to leave for Championship side Burnley in January 2011.
As Howe told BBC Radio Solent back then:
“I turned down two other clubs this week because I wanted to stay but this was just one I couldn’t turn down. There were no reasons why I should from a personal and professional point of view. It just ticked all the boxes. I found it very difficult from the week’s events to come to that decision but I thought if I didn’t it would be something I would regret for the rest of my life.”
If Arsenal want him, he’ll surely go.
Posted: 7th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: Yaya Toure rejects Manchester United and Arsenal and Africa rejects Man City
It’s proving a busy season for Yaya Toure’s agent. Today;s news is that brought to you in a Sky Sports headline: “Arsenal and Manchester United interested in Yaya Toure, but move would be impossible, says agent.”
Dang! A player not considered good enough for Manchester City’s 21-man Champions’ League side is wanted by the club’s local rivals and Arsenal – where he’d have to take a huge pay cut to fit with their wage structure?
Yaya Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk has told Sky Sports there has been interest from Manchester United and Arsenal for the midfielder.
No word from Manchester United and Arsenal on that. We move on:
While Seluk has insisted a move to either United or Arsenal would be “impossible”, he also revealed to Sky Sports News HQ that the midfielder has had offers from China, Turkey, Italy and the United States, and will look to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club in January.
Got that? Manchester united and Arsenal want him but the mighty Toure will think about playing in Turkey.
“He is in very good shape, very good condition, I think he lost seven kilograms. Maybe that’s not good enough for Guardiola, but then Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t good enough for him (at Barcelona).”
Yeah. Look how well Barcelona did without Ibrahimovich, who left the club in 2010. Yes, they won La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey under Pep the following season. But that’s not the point. What is the point? We’ve no idea. And before we’ve time to work it out, Seluk has moved on:
“They [Manchester City] will lose a lot of millions of supporters from Africa because of this decision from Guardiola. Now they will support Manchester United. A lot of people in Africa say they will never see any more matches of City on TV.”
Well, so long as they don’t support Chelsea, there’s no harm done.
PS: a few days ago, Seluk moaned to the Mirror:
“If Manchester City win the Champions League then I will travel to London and say before the television cameras that Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the world. But if City don’t win it, then I hope that Pep has the balls to say he was wrong to humiliate a great player like Yaya Toure.”
Of course, Toure never has won the Champions’ League with Manchester City. But he might have done under Pep!
Posted: 6th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal relive the magic when Paulo Di Canio pushed the referee
At Arsenal’s star-studded ‘Legends’ match with AC Milan at the Emirates last Saturday, Nigel Winterburn and Paulo Di Canio recreated the Italians’ infamous push on ref Paul Alcock from 1998.
Back then, Di Canio, then with Sheffield Wednesday, got involved in a fracas with Martin Keown before seeing red. Instead of just walking off the pitch, the Italian decided to push ref Alcock to the floor, before Winterburn himself rather lamely squared up to the striker. Di Canio earned an 11-match ban.
Fast forward 18 years and at the Emirates, after the two players clashed in the middle of the pitch during the game played in aid of the Arsenal Foundation, Di Canio ‘pushes’ Winterburn who pulls off a rather fine impersonation of Alcock’s famous staggering fall…
Act 2:
Paulo di Canio and Nigel Winterburn went up against each other at the Emirates earlier – only led to one thing… pic.twitter.com/HhNuGhRvuZ
— Sporting Index (@sportingindex) September 3, 2016
Posted: 5th, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal Balls: Jack Wilshere’s is Eddie Howe’s route to The Emirates
Do you know why AFC Bournemouth went for Arsenal star Jack Wilshere? The Daily Mirror’s John Cross knows. He says:
Eddie Howe will spend the next 12 months taking his own managerial audition.
For the intelligent, erudite and affable Eddie Howe, who helped AFC Bournemouth blend Russian cash and talent to reach the Premier League, the season ahead is all about passing a test to be the next Arsenal boss. This is why he recruited Jack Wilshere, a player so vital to Arsenal they let him leave the club on loan.
Cross adds:
Arsenal will begin casting their eye around over the course of the season to make sure they have all bases covered should Wenger go next summer, and there are few better managerial prospects than Howe.
‘Should’ Wenger go? This is the John Cross who lent his name to the scoop: “Arsene sets the date”.
He’s going on June 30 2017 – two months before Howe’s ‘audition’ ends.
None of this balls is to say Howe will not be considered for an Arenal job should the opportunity arise. But it assumes he wants it and sees Wilshere as a route to achieving his goal. It assumes Howe sees no future for himself at Bournemouth.
Cross adds: “If he can handle his audition this season and help guide Wilshere back to the top, then don’t bet against Howe ending up there himself.”
Arsenal haven’t been at “the top” for years. Wilshere has never won the Premie League title. Last season Arsenal were topped by Leicester City – and none of their top names fancied joining the Gunners.
Posted: 2nd, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Jack Wilshere’s success at Bournemouth will spite Wenger
As Jack Wilshere settles into his harbour-side residence in Sandbanks, the on-loan Arsenal player talks about a new start in Bournemouth. Says Wilshere:
“I had a good chat with the manager and feel sure this is the best place for me to play and develop this season. I would like to thank everyone at the club for making me feel so welcome. I am looking forward to working hard every day with the coaching staff and my new team-mates to help the club achieve success on the pitch.”
The Metro notices that “Wilshere has avoided any mention of his new side in his Twitter bio, which states: ‘Professional footballer. @NikeUK athlete. Proud father to son Archie and daughter Delilah. Instagram: JackWilshere’.”
He doesn’t mention any football team, including England and Arsenal. The dire Metro deduces that “this will be a shock to Gunners supporters”. It won’t. Wilshere says he will be at Bournemouth for one season only. After that, if he plays well, Wilshere will return to the Gunners, where with one year left on hid contract, he’ll be holding some great cards.
Elsewhere, the Express brings news that “bookmakers already offering odds on Jack Wilshere getting injured.” Who would bet on a human being getting hurt? Bookmakers 888Sport “have priced him at 4/7 to go off injured on his Bournemouth debut”. Classy stuff, using a man’s pain as PR.
In The Times, Cascarino says Wilshere will not return to Arsenal:
“I’ve heard a lot of people this week putting a very positive spin on Jack Wilshere’s season-long loan to Bournemouth. ‘Good for Jack, he’s going to play football,’ they say. But the reality is that this move is no different, no less brutal, than Joe Hart being hassled out of Manchester City…
“This stinks of Wenger wanting him out of the club. He’s done exactly what Pep Guardiola has done to Hart at City. I think issues off the pitch have played a role and Wenger has decided that Jack isn’t part of his plans any more. I have no doubt that Jack would have sat down with the gaffer after the first few games of the season — as many of us do — and it’s clear that Wenger hasn’t given him the answers he wanted. We have to stop kidding ourselves — he’s been forced out of the club.”
Wilshere is on £90,000-a-week at Bournemouth. He’s no victim. He asked for the loan move. If he was good enough to start for the Arenal first XI, the idea that Wenger wouldn’t pick him out of spite is absurd.
Posted: 2nd, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: panicky Spurs sign Arsenal fan Sissoko from Newcastle
So Tottenham panicked and spent £30m on Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle, after matching Everton’s bid for the midfielder very late on deadline day. Newcastle had accepted Everton’s offer for the French player but could not agree personal terms. Spurs then snatched up the phone and signed the 27-year-old.
“I will give everything for you and the team. I hope we win a lot of games and titles,” Sissoko told Tottenham fans. This is, of course, the same Sissoko who told other fans in June: “…Arsenal is the club of my heart… The beautiful Arsenal.”
The Indy tells its readers “Why Mauricio Pochettino has decided to spend £30m on Moussa Sissoko”. Panic? No. The Indy says:
Spurs have been lacking pace in wide areas, and after missing out on Wilfried Zaha, Moussa Sissoko became the next big target to provide that
That’s Zaha, the pacy winger Spurs called the next Cristiano Ronaldo and bid £12million for? They didn’t get him so they bought Sissoko, the player who says of himself: “Everybody knows my best position is centre midfield.”
The Indy adds:
Sissoko may not be an obvious Pochettino player, given the worries about his application and consistency. But he proved at Euro 2016 that he can rise to the occasion, and it may well be that in a better environment, with a better coach and team-mates, that he would deliver more often.
Blame Newcastle, the manager and the team for not getting Sissoko to play better. Just don’t blame him.
Spurs have long admired Sissoko and his “box-to-box” playing style. The Mail reported in 2009:
Back then Spurs offered £15.5 million for Sissoko. They didn’t get him. In 2013, Newcastle signed him for £1.5m. They got relegated. And in the crazy world of football transfer Sissoko became worth £30m. Even he was mystified. “Newcastle are asking for 40m euros (approx £34m) for me to be transferred, he told L’Equipe Magazine. “Honestly, they are overdoing it, they bought me for barely €2m.”
Is he worth £30m? No.
This is how Sissoko was described by the Newcastle Chronicle in April:
It feels from the outside like Sissoko is a big part of the problems at United – head of a coterie of players who believe their own hype and are frequently guilty of playing like what they are: expensive mercenaries eyeing the next opportunity.
And by the Telegraph:
The problem – perhaps even the tragedy – is that Sissoko is also a shirker, a mercurial talent who has spent most of his time on Tyneside hiding behind the failings of others, content to go through the motions, only switching off his cruise control setting against the glamorous English clubs. Why? It hints at a bad mentality, poor motivation and a player whose self-interest and questionable desire could be harmful to the collective rather than beneficial.
Look out for Sissoko playing well against Manchester United, his beloved Arsenal and in the Champions’ League, which is his next shop window.
Posted: 1st, September 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Jack Wilshere leaves Arsenal for Bournemouth
Good news. Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has agreed to join the mighty Bournemouth on loan for the rest of the season. He will play under Eddie Howe, the man many see as Arsene Wenger’s replacement. The Cherries have gained a top talent. Arsenal see their protege playing regular Premier League football. England watch their most talented midfielder find his form.
And perhaps the best news of all: injury-prone Jack Wilshere passed his medical!
The BBC says he was heading to Italy but “The Gunners refused to do business with Roma because of the way they handled a potential move for defender Kostas Manolas earlier this summer.”
Oliver Kay in the Times:
Since turning heads across Europe with a wonderful breakthrough season as a teenager in 2010-11, Wilshere has started only 49 Premier League matches in five years. Injuries have blighted his career but so too, increasingly, has competition for places at Arsenal.
Wenger wants a fit Wilshere competing for selection but, with Granit Xhaka added to a wealth of midfield options, he no longer feels able to give him time to build up his rhythm and confidence. Wilshere knows that a loan move is now his best hope of getting his career back on track.
The Guardian calls Wilshere the “biggest loser”:
In terms of individuals, there can be no doubt who has been the summer’s biggest loser…
Arsène Wenger is by a distance the longest-serving manager in the Premier League and a byword for stability and consistency. He still has his vision for the future but as things stand Wilshere is no longer part of it. While there is plenty of support and understanding for the player within the club, patience appears to have run out.
Paying £90,000-a-week to a player who rarely performs is too expensive. If he plays well at AFC Bournemouth – and Arsenal get their usual rash of injuries – we should expect Jack the lad to be back at the Emirates.
Posted: 31st, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment (1)
Arsenal transfer balls: Bournemouth overtake Crystal Palace in Jack Wilshere chase
Arsenal will allow Jack Wilshere to join Crystal Palace, says the BBC. But the Daily Mirror says Palace are just one of 22 clubs who have expressed an interest in taking Wilshere on loan. It would be more but Arsenal will not countenance Wilshere moving to a direct rival for Arsenal’s Champions’ League place.
The Mirror says Everton are top of the list to get Wilshere. The paper’s list runs: Everton, Juventus, Espanyol, Roma, Valencia and Celtic.
The Sun says AC Milan want Wilshere and will add factor in a £30m option to buy the player at the season’s end. “ARRIVEDERCI,” says the paper, “Jack Wilshere poised for AC Milan.” Confusingly, the Sun also says Palace are top of the pile to get Jack. The Times agrees. It adds that Roma and Watford are keen on the England player.
The Guardian says Palace won’t pay all of Wilshere’s Arsenal wages (£90,000-a-week). Bournemouth will. Also, under Eddie Howe, Wilshere will be allowed to use his skill in keeping the ball on the floor. Many have tipped Howe to be the next Arsenal manager. What will he learn at Palace?
Sky says Wilshere will choose between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, adding that the Arsenal midfielder and his representatives met Palace boss Alan Pardew on Tuesday afternoon and Cherries manager Eddie Howe in the evening.
The south coast or south London?
Posted: 31st, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Jack Wilshere seeks new Arsenal deal by demanding to leave the club
So, goodbye Jack Wilshere. Arsenal are happy for their midfielder to leave the club on loan. Of course, were a club to offer a loads of money for the England player, then Arsenal would sell him. In an inflated transfer market, what is Jack Wilshere worth – £40m? £50m? £60m?
Although the Telegraph says “Wenger has no intention of selling Wilshere”.
That’s an theory expanded on by the Sun, which reports that “Wilshere demanded a loan move during crisis talks with manager Arsene Wenger”. The paper adds:
The injury-jinxed midfielder, 24, is yet to start a game for the Gunners this season and has been axed from the England squad… Wilshere was hoping to win a new contract at the club. But talks were shelved following another season spent on the sidelines through injury.
Is that demand to leave from Wilshere part of a play to secure that new deal? His current contract that earns him £90,000-a-week has two years left to run.
In May, the Telegraph said: “Arsenal are ready to reward Jack Wilshere for a positive showing at this summer’s European Championship with a contract extension.”
The Sun echoes: “Jack Wilshere set to be offered new deal at Arsenal — but only if he comes through Euro 2016 unscathed.”
We all know how well that tournament went for Wilshere, who was poor.
In April, the Mirror wondered about Wilshere’s off-filed activities:
Arsenal have reportedly shelved plans to hand Jack Wilshere a new contract after he was caught up in a nightclub fracas in the early hours of Sunday morning. The 24-year-old, who is yet to play this season after breaking his leg last August, was thrown out of London hotspot Cafe de Paris at 3am before being questioned by police.
He vehemently denies claims he threw a punch during the incident. Arsene Wenger is running out of patience with the £80,000-a-week midfielder, and the Sun claim he has instructed the club to put renewal talks on hold.
Wilshere’s current deal will expire in the summer of 2018.
Of course, Wilshere could stay at Arsenal and fight for his place in the side. But in the pecking order, he’s behind the hugely promising Granit Xhaka, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny and Aaron Ramsey.
So what next for Jack, the 2011 PFA young player of the year and the one Arsenal player who identifies with the club, signing off his tweets “Gooner” and goading rivals Spurs? Surely Arsenal will aim to keep the 24-year-old, whose best years lie ahead of him?
Posted: 30th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal in for Antoine Griezmann, Kostas Manolas and Oliver Burke
Transfer balls: No sooner have Arsenal splashed a huge amount of cash on Shkodran Mustafi (£35m) and Lucas Perez (£17m), than Sky Sports says they are in for the excellent French striker Antoine Griezmann and Greek defender Kostas Manolas.
Sky says Atletico Madrid’s Griezmann rejected a move to Arsenal earlier this summer, but Wenger is still keen on the pint-sized scorer, whose six goals won him the Golden Boot at Euro 2016.
The Indy says Wenger was informed that Griezmann “was settled in Spain and would not consider a move to England”. Not even for – get this – £80m, which one site says Arsenal were happy to bid.
The Sun adds that Arsenal “also made a move for Bayern Munich ace Robert Lewandowski, but could not match his huge wage demands.” Well, quite. Arsenal can make a move for lots of players, but if they can’t afford the wages, any approach is at best hopeful.
Instead of the superb Pole, Arsenal are “in the race to sign Nottingham Forest sensation Oliver Burke”, according to the Sun on Sunday. The only other team in the ‘race’, says the Sun, is Manchester United. Which is odd because Burke has just joined Bundesliga newcomers RB Leipzig.
Posted: 29th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: ‘shrewd’ Arsenal ‘panic buy’ ‘star’ striker Lucas Perez
Arsenal have hired Lucas Perez. The Mirror says it is a “PANIC BUY”, which is odd because Arsenal are usually criticised for being over cautious in the transfer market.
The paper goes on to say that Arsenal “compiled several scouting reports on the Deportivo La Coruna striker”. So not a panic buy, then, but something they considered at length.
The Mirror adds: “Arsenal’s first offer was rejected by Deportivo on Thursday after they tried to pay the modest fee in two instalments.” Paying a “modest fee” does not suggest panic, either. It suggests the Gunners have done a good deal for the player the Mirror has called a “star striker”, hailing him as “a relative bargain for a man who scored or assisted 25 goals in La Liga last season”.
In yet another Mirror story on Perez, the paper show him “scoring a nuclear thunder volley” and says he is a “shrewd buy”.
Today’s headline is utter balls.
Posted: 26th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal get Lucas Perez and line up Mustafi for £26m
Arsenal can have Valencia’s German defender Shkodran Mustafi for £26m. so says Sky Sports, who describe Mustafi as the ” wantaway defender”.
The Star says the deal has been agreed.
No news elsewhere that is has been. The Telegraph says it hasn’t, noting that Arsenal are keen on Mateo Musacchio and Kostas Manolas. “It is unclear whether the third target…is still Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi or another player,” says the paper.
The BBC has news of another Arsenal target, reporting that the Gunners “are hoping to beat Everton to the £17m signing of Deportivo La Coruna striker Lucas Perez Martinez”. The Telegraph says Perez “has been compared to Leicester forward Jamie Vardy”, who rejected a move to Arsenal in the summer.
But unlike Vardy, who rejected Arsenal, Perez is on his way to the Emirates. The Indy says “Gunners agree deal to sign Lucas Perez”, adding: “Arsene Wenger has finally got his hands on a striker after reportedly agreeing a £17m deal to sign the Spaniard from Deportivo.”
The Telegraph says “Arsenal have reportedly gazumped Everton in the race for his signature”. The Mail says “Arsenal beat Everton to signing Lucas Perez after agreeing £16.9m fee”.
The Express says “Arsenal to announce £17m La Liga striker signing tomorrow”.
Or as the Metro and Sun put it: “Lucas Perez move could be off because Arsene Wenger wants to pay release clause in two instalments.” Says the Sun: “Deportivo striker is on the brink of Emirates move but stingy Gunners boss is arguing over fee.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 25th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Arsenal, Manchester United and a ‘row’ over Phil Jones
The narrative that Manchester Untied boss Jose Mourinho and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger are not best pals backs the Standard’s story: “Manchester United to snub Phil Jones bid as Jose Mourinho refuses to do business with Arsene Wenger.”
The paper says Arsenal are “believed” to have enquired about Jones, 24, as they search for a central defender.
Jones’ career has stalled since he was being hailed as the new Duncan Edwards. In 2011 the Manchester Evening News wrote: “When no less a judge than Sir Bobby Charlton talks about the striking similarities between Phil Jones and the late, great Duncan Edwards, you know United have secured a special talent.”
Jones is now a United squad player. There is no proof that Arsenal want him. The Standard says the Gunners first pick is Skhodran Mustafi, available for the a mere £43m from Valencia. It’s an absurd amount of money for a very good but far from brilliant player.
As for Jones, well:
Mourinho is already under pressure to trim a bloated squad having made four summer signings and the arrival of Fonte would place further scrutiny on Jones’ position, having become a peripheral figure since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
In April of that year, Ferguson made the remarkable claim that Jones could become the best player in United’s history but although he has started 58 Premier League games in the subsequent three seasons, he has not featured since January through injury and Mourinho has since signed centre-back Eric Bailly for £30m from Villarreal.
So what next for Jones?
Standard Sport understands Mourinho will not sanction the sale of Jones to his bitter rival, even if he is not central to his plans for the season ahead.
The story is total balls, then. Mourinho has not said he won’t sanction any sale because he loathes Arsene Wenger. Mourinho has said nothing. Arsenal have made no bid for Jones. The Standard has produced a story from dust. But other news sources are keen to pick up unchallenged:
Man Utd news: Phil Jones was not allowed to leave for Arsenal because of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho’s feud – Metro
Football transfer rumours: Arsenal to sign Phil Jones from Manchester United? – Guardian
The Guardian adds:
José Mourinho needs to sign the extra defender that he wants for Manchester United. Except the urge to act vindictively is so strong, and the opportunity to act vindictively is so available, so Mourinho has decided to do what he does best, refusing to sell a player to Arsène Wenger, even though he’s not bothered about having him.
That would be the same Guardian that just two days ago reported: “Phil Jones is content to stay at Manchester United, and José Mourinho has no desire to see him leave, despite Stoke City being the latest club to express an interest.”
From being loyal to his player, Mourinho is now “vindictive”.
As we marvel at that, the Mail says: “Manchester United defender Phil Jones could depart for Stoke.”
But he won’t do because the Sun said back in June: “Jose Mourinho tells Phil Jones he has a future at Manchester United and wants defender to become club’s own version of John Terry.”
No hint of spite. Mourinho just wants a talented player to stay and work hard for the team.
As for Arsenal making a move for Jones, well the Mail also said: “Manchester United have told interested clubs that Phil Jones will stay at Old Trafford. Stoke, Watford and Hull City are among around a dozen clubs to have made enquiries for the 24-year-old”.
No mention of Arsenal. And we are left to wonder if Mourinho hates Mark Hughes and the manager’s of all those clubs he won’t let Jones join?
More transfer balls every day.
Posted: 25th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal tells Calum Chambers he can leave on loan
Transfer balls: Will Arsenal ever hire Shkodran Mustafi? Do they want to? How much is he worth? Questions for media experts:
The Daily Mirror has news: “Shkodran Mustafi will cost a staggering £50million as Valencia play hard-ball over German defender.” The Mirror hasn’t the foggiest what Mustafi is worth.
Arsenal are clearly in the market for a central defender. The Star says they are are letting one already on the books go: “ARSENAL have reportedly told Calum Chambers he can leave the club on loan.” The Star adds that Chambers could be leving permanenetly.
The Daily Mail says any move will be a loan. Arsenal want to keep the player they signed for £17m. It’s not new news because in June the Mail said “Chambers is closing in on a deal to spend next season at Watford”.
Also in June, the Mirror added: “Arsenal’s Calum Chambers close to transfer back to Southampton on season-long loan 2 years after leaving.”
The Star says he’s off to West Brom. The Telegraph says it’s Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Swansea.
In short: they don’t know.
Posted: 24th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal: ‘guilty’ Wenger admits his transfer policy (again)
In “ARSENE WONGA”, the Mirror says Arsenal’s manger Arsene Wenger (geddit?!) “finally admits he treats the club’s money as if it was my own”. No, he’s not admitting to embezzlement. Wenger just says he’s cautions with spending tons of cash on players.
Of course, Wenger should spend, spend, spend because the Mirror has already told us this will be his last season at Arsenal.
Wenger has been quoted in Game Changers: Inside English Football, written by former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley: ”
“I personally believe the only way to be a manager is to spend the club’s money as if it were your own, because if you don’t do that you’re susceptible to too many mistakes. You make big decisions and I believe you have to act like it’s your own money — like you’re the owner of the club and you can identify completely with the club, because if you don’t do that I think you cannot go far.”
Some revelation there. At least it will be to the Mirror readers who didn’t see the paper’s story from one year ago:
Arsenal manager admits being tight with transfer cash because he feels club BELONGS to him
He has often been accused by his club’s frustrated fans of treating Arsenal’s money as if it is his own…. Now, for the first time, Arsene Wenger has unashamedly pleaded guilty to the charge and given a rare insight into the hurt he feels when his work is questioned at the Emirates Stadium.
As ever, Wenger was not talking with the Mirror, but with a magazine in France.
The Frenchman said: “I’ll give myself merit for one thing: I’ve always treated Arsenal as if it belonged to me. I have sometimes been criticised for it — because I am not enough of a spender, not carefree enough… My great pride will be to be able to say the day that I leave, that I am leaving behind a good team, a healthy situation and a club capable of performing in the future. I could have said to myself: ‘I am here for four or five years, we win everything’, [then] I leave and leave the club on the verge of bankruptcy. For me, consistency at the highest level is the true sign of great clubs.”
When he ‘admits’ it to the Mirror, that might be the end of the story.
Posted: 24th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: Shkodran Mustafi to Arsenal for £21m, £25m, £30m and £42m
Transfer balls: With the business over Paul Pogba to Manchester United sorted to great relief at the Daily Mirror – the paper said Pogba had signed for United three weeks before he did – we look at Arsenal’s pursuit of Valencia’s German defender Shkodran Mustafi.
Daily Mirror, July 28:”Arsenal target Shkodran Mustafi has a release clause of €50million, MirrorFootball can reveal, but Valencia would sell him for half that as they look to recoup losses from missing out on the Champions League.”
Valencia are willing to sell a player worth €50million for €25million. That’s just over £21m.
Daily Mirror, August 11: “Muatfi has a £42m buy-out in his contract and Valencia are ready to accept around £30m, but Arsenal have yet to agree a fee”
Sorry, Arsenal. The fee’s gone up.
Daily Mirror, August 13: “Injury-hit Arsenal set to recall Mathieu Debuchy for Liverpool visit to fill in for trio of absent centre-halves.”
Arsenal have no need to buy anyone new. Debuchy to the rescue. (He was not picked.)
Daily Mirror, August 15: “Arsenal move for Shkodran Mustafi stalls as Valencia demand £25million for German defender”
Is that around £30m?
Daily Mirror, August 16: “Arsenal transfer news and rumours: Jeremy Mathieu emerges as Arsene Wenger’s top target.”
Arsenal no longer want Mustafi. It’s Mathieu for the Gunners.
Daily Mirror, August 17: “Arsenal are hoping to sign Mustafi for around £20million… Valencia have been holding out for closer to £30million for Mustafi.”
Wasn’t it £25m they wanted?
Daily Mirror: August 20: “Liverpool are in full negotiations with Valencia over the German’s availability and could beat the Gunners to the deal.”
Go for it, Liverpool. Arsenal don’t want him.
Daily Mirror, August 22: “Arsene Wenger has been quoted a staggering £50million for Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi.”
And on its goes…
Posted: 22nd, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment (1)
Arsenal Balls: bitter Vieira snipes at Wenger
Patrick Vieira, the former Arsenal captain now working for the Manchester City project, is critical of the Gunners. He tells The Telegraph.
“In the last five or six years, Arsenal went with more of this type of technical players. The Invincibles had it all. Now when I watch Arsenal, they play good football, but I just have a feeling they are missing something – the physical presence, the personality. The team is not doing as well as it used to and you need to win football matches. They’ve been disappointing, losing games they should have won.”
Yes. Yes. All true. But what Vieira fails to mention is money. Manchester City, for instance, are doing rather better than they were when Vieira’s Arsenal were top of the pile. Back then the idea of City winning a cup was a joke, a pretty good one for those who can recall the brilliant banner displayed at Manchester United – the one that counted the years since City had won something.
Vieira adds:
“I’m disappointed not to have ex-Arsenal players working at Arsenal. It is good for the young players could see a Thierry Henry, a [Freddie] Ljungberg, or a [Martin] Keown who have been at the club a good few years working in the academy, or working somewhere. I think they can do it a bit more, players want to do it but do not have the opportunity. I don’t understand it, the perfect example is Ajax. You see all the old players working for the club, on the field, in the office – the door is always open for them – but Arsenal don’t do it and I don’t know why.”
Well, Henry was at Arsenal but left because, reportedly, Wenger wasn’t happy with him pontificating on Arsenal players’ flaws in his other job for Sky Sports. Freddie Ljungberg coaches the U15s. Keown did coach at Arsenal but now works as pundit on the BBC.
The Sun says “Freddie Ljungberg and Steve Bould are the only former players on their staff.” No. The current Arsenal set-up also includes Kwame Ampadu.
Vieira does not work at Arsenal. Might he be a little bitter? In 2009, Wenger explained why he had let Vieira leave the club for Juventus:
“When Cesc Fàbregas was 18, 19, I would play him in a 4–4–2 with Patrick Vieira and I saw it did not work. Then I had the decision to make about letting Patrick go, because Gilberto Silva and Vieira worked, Fabregas and Silva worked, but I could not play Fàbregas and Vieira. But Fàbregas was 19 and if he did not play I knew he would want to go, so we risked destroying everything, all the work we had put into this player.”
And who says a great player makes for a good coach? Not Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson…
Posted: 22nd, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Arsenal hope and believe in Shkodran Mustafi
Transfer balls: The Indy says Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger “hopes to sign Shkodran Mustafi before deadline day”. Adding: “Personal terms are believed to have been agreed with the German defender.”
Only believe? Maybe the Indy didn’t read its own news on August 11: “Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Valencia centre-back Skhodran Mustafi.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 21st, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Media Balls: Arsenal fail to pay penalty at Leicester
Media Watch: a look at monocular football reporting. In today’s match we look at biased views on Arsenal’s away draw at Leicester City. The game ended o-0.
THE PENALTY CLAIMS
Leicester City…can feel aggrieved they weren’t awarded a late penalty. Hector Bellerin appeared to trip substitute Ahmed Musa inside the penalty area but referee Mark Clattenburg, who had earlier waved away City’s appeals for a penalty after Danny Drinkwater went down in the area, again said no.
Should it have been a penalty, or two?
There was drama on 42 minutes after Drinkwater appeared to have been tripped by Koscielny as he burst into the box following Cech blocking a Vardy burst, but referee Mark Clattenburg decided it was a fair challenge – much to the displeasure of the vociferous home fans and their execrable paper clappers that seem to be needlessly encroaching on our game. It has to be said the referee made the right decision – just.
Only one penalty claim is mentioned.
The Times:
Drinkwater claimed a penalty, but replays suggested Mark Clattenburg made the right call.
No mention is made of the second penalty claim.
The loose ball fell to Danny Drinkwater, and while the midfielder appeared to be tripped by Laurent Koscielny in the area, there was nothing given.
The Guardian:
A draw is probably the right result overall, though Leicester should certainly have had a penalty in the 88th minute.
Daily Mirror:
Leicester City had two penalty appeals turned down – one in the first half, which he [the referee] got right by ruling that Koscielny poked the ball away from the feet of Drinkwater. But in the second half he got it horribly wrong. Substitute Musa skipped past Bellerin and the Spanish defender brought the winger down with a clumsy challenge.
The Star was watching a different match:
Shame referee Mark Clattenburg got booed off by home fans. He’d hardly put a foot wrong but has to be said his decision to turn down penalty appeals when Musa was clipped by Holding near the end, looked dubious.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 20th, August 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Reviews, Sports | Comment
