Arsenal football club news, Arsenal transfers
“EXCLUSIVE,” says the Daily Star. “Arsenal eye shock move for Watford captain Troy Deeney.”
They are? And, yeah, it would be a shock. It would also be insane.
We’re not not told how this rumour came about. But we do learn that “Watford are extremely unlikely to sell their skipper”.
But Wenger is in the market for a hitman, knowing adding a ready-made striker to his squad could be key to the club winning their first title for 12 years.
The Express says Arsenal are readying a £20m bid for Deeney.
This is, of course, complete tosh. but it doesn’t stop the Telegraph adding Deeny to the journalism-by-numbers list “10 strikers Arsene Wenger could sign.”
Or could not.
Posted: 5th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Five Things We Learnt. It’s the made-for-internet football story that enables jobbing hacks to conjure clicks from what has already been reported many times over.
Let’s look at how the mainstream media responded to Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Newcastle United. These are things the pundits expert in football ‘learnt’ from the match:
Daily Telegraph: “Arsenal 1 Newcastle 0, five things we learnt”
3. Wenger has a bigger wardrobe than we realised.
Arsene Wenger wore a tracksuit.
Daily Mirror: “Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle: 5 things we learned as Laurent Koscielny saves sluggish Gunners”
2. Arsenal have injuries.
With so many players out injured – Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin and so on – the biggest problem is that they have got nothing on the bench to change a game when needed.
Arsenal had those injuries before the match.
Newcastle Chronicle: “Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle: Five things we learned as struggling Magpies come up short again”
2. It is now 322 minutes with a league goal… and counting
The Sun: “Five things we learnt as Laurent Koscielny goal puts Arsenal two points clear at the top of the Premier League”
1 – ARSENE WENGER does not normally wear a tracksuit – and he should keep it that way. The Arsenal manager looked ridiculous in his ill-fitting garment and should keep his big coat on – even though he struggles with the zip.
Five Things We Learnt about Football Journalism: counting is easy.
Posted: 4th, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal are all set to offer £42m for Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, says the Sun.
Aubameyang has scored 24 goals in 23 appearances this season.
He has “told friends” he wants to leave Germany and play in the Premier League.
The paper says an Arsenal rep is in Germany talking with Dortmund.
A source then pops up to tell us:
“An intermediary has made contact with Dortmund about Pierre-Emerick making a move to Arsenal. Wenger knows the fee is very high — yet this is a striker who can make a massive difference for him and help win the title for the first time in 12 years. But there is a lot of interest in him.”
So says the source, who sounds a helluva lot like a PR rep.
The Sun then notes:
Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked with making a move for the Gabon ace, 26.
They have?
Arsenal have the cash to meet Dortmund’s valuation this month and are in a strong bargaining position.
They are?
In July, the player singed a new contract at Dortmund. The Mail wrote:
Aubameyang, who wore a bow tie and sharp grey blazer as he put pen to paper, had been linked with a possible switch to the Premier League, but the new deal – which ties the 26-year-old to Dortmund until July 2020 – ends any such speculation surrounding his future.
Or not.
Posted: 3rd, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Every transfer window a player occupies the media. This January its Isco.
The Mirror says Real Madrid midfielder Isco, 23, is hoping to engineer a £25m move to Manchester City.
Is h? We don’t know. The Mirror’s scoop contains not as single source.
Also today the Express says Isco is heading to Juventus.
On 15 Dec 2015, Metro said Arsenal have been placed “on red alert” for Isco, who had fallen out with Real’s management.
On December 3, Metro said Liverpool also want Isco.
On December 1, the trusty Metro said Arsenal are “ready to pay £35million asking price to seal transfer of Real Madrid star Isco”.
Isco’s price is fluctuating.
On October 15, Metro said “Arsenal are working on a £22million deal to sign Isco from Real Madrid.”
But hold the back page because Arsenal were ready to splash out – get this – £64m for Isco.
It’s almost as if they don’t have the foggiest…
Posted: 2nd, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
The Sun says that Newcastle United manger Steve McClaren has “ordered Newcastle to rough up” Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil when the teams meet this afternoon. Are the Magpies really going to kick Arsenal’s best player out of the game? Is that the game plan?
No. Of course not.
McClaren merely said his side must show a “certain amount of aggression” to keep Arsenal within reach. Which seems an entirely reasonable position.
Posted: 2nd, January 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal “will look to sign new players in January”. So says the Mail, which picks up Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s words to the Press. “I’ll be busy, that’s for sure,’ Wenger said. “I am already busy and I said already one month ago, we are a bit short to deal with all the competitions we face, especially in midfield. We will be busy, yes.”
The Mirror says busy does not mean buying. The Mirror says Arsenal fans will be left “disappointed”. The paper says Arsenal will buy only one player this January: Mohamed Elneny. The Metro says he’s “confirmed he’s undergone a medical and agreed terms to join Arsenal from FC Basel”.
A done deal? No. Wenger adds: “Unfortunately we cannot announce anything at the moment about this player because nothing has been concluded.”
The Times says “Elneny will provide cover in the short term, but Wenger believes that there will be greater value for money in the summer when he will be looking to sign a heavyweight defensive midfielder. Southampton have told Arsenal that Victor Wanyama is not for sale until the summer, when he will have one year left on his deal.”
The Sun says Arsenal are in for Leicester City left back Ben Chilwell. He “could be an Arsenal player next week”.
Or maybe not.
Posted: 31st, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal transfer news round-up.
Daily Star: Arsenal are chasing former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez. The Mexican, 27, has hit 19 goals in 21 games for Bayer Leverkusen since leaving Old Trafford. (Top work getting rid of him, Louis Van Gaal!)
Don Balon: Arsenal are keen to offload unconvincing Joel Campbell, 23. They’re ready to roll him into a swap deal for Celta Vigo’s Nolito.
Daily Mirror: Arsenal are due to sign 23-year-old midfielder Mohamed Elneny from Basel. The Egyptian will do the work of the Gunners’ creaking Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta, 33, and Tomas Rosicky, 35.
The Guardian says Arsenal also want Real Madrid’s 22-year-old substitute Jesé.
Posted: 28th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Pep Guardiola has moved “one step closer” to Manchester City says the Mirror. The paper leads with news that Pep Guardiola is “poised to join his old Barcelona mates and quit Bayern Munich for Manchester millions”.
It seems odd that a man at the top of football would be in it for the money, as the Mirror implies. Does he really want to live in Manchester? Would he not prefer to wait for a London club, say, Arsenal, where his style of football would be an easy fit?
The Sun says Arsenal would suit Pep, but they have less money to spend on top players and Arsene Wenger is not leaving.
As for the wages, Marca says Bayern have offered Pep £14.5m (€20m) a season. He’s not exactly shy of big-money offers. So why City? Well, he has worked with The Citizens’ chief executive, Ferran Soriano, and the director of football, Txiki Begiristain. Those are his “Barcelona mates”.
So much for the headlines. But reading on in the Mirror we learn that Pep is not poised to join City. He has simply announced that he will make his decision on whether or not to remain at Bayern Munich in the next week. However German magazine Kicker does say he is definitely on his way out.
Guardiola is in the final year of his contract with Germany’s champions. What he’s going to do next is largely a matter of media guesswork. The Guardian says “his availability next season would also appeal to Manchester United and possibly Chelsea”. The Times says Chelsea is not an option because Pep was “unsettled by Roman Abramovich’s relentless pursuit while he was enjoying time away from the game in New York”.
The Sun returns to the Pep pay packet, saying Chelsea will pay him the most. They want him to “name his price”. City will offer him £84m over four years. Chelsea will top that and throw in a glitzy life in London.
Pep has options. That much is clear. But the Mirror says he’s on his way to City for sure. In fact, he’s already “lined up stars” to play for him at the Etihad, players like Paul Pogba and John Stones.
Well, maybe.
Posted: 17th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: and now for a Daily Star masterclass is utter tosh:
Luis Suarez to Man Utd, Real eye all-star Arsenal duo, Liverpool deal close
Story 1: Suarez to Manchester United:
BuzzSport report, United bosses are concerned they will fall short in their pursuits of the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo or Paul Pogba.
Unable to sign any of those players, United will – get this – swoop for Luis Suarez.
…they are looking into the possibility of a move for Suarez, hoping he could be tempted by a return to the Premier League.
Possible. Hope. Could.
Story 2: Ozil and Sanchez to Real Madrid
Reports from Spanish press Don Balon claim that the La Liga giants want the Gunners’ star duo Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
Facts to support the Spanish magazine’s claim: zero.
Story 3: Liverpool deal
Simon Mignolet is set to be handed a new deal by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp despite his latest blunder.
Liverpool fans must be overjoyed.
Posted: 16th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Liverpool, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal have bought Aleksandr Kokorin. Well so says the Daily Telegraph:
Only, they haven’t. The paper reports:
Aleksandr Kokorin has been linked with Arsenal throughout the summer and autumn but finally seems to be set for a winter move to the Emirates according to reports in Metro that a £4.3m deal has been agreed for the Dynamo Moscow striker.
The Metro? Over there, the news is confirmed in a headline. Below it we read George Bellshaw’s scoop:
Arsenal will sign Dynamo Moscow striker Aleksandr Kokorin, according to reports in Russia….the deal will be tied up in January with Kokorin agreeing personal terms with Arsenal, according to Russian outlet Izvestia.
Over on that Russian website we read that Kokorin is in talks with his current club. His contract with Dynamo Moscow expires in the summer. The Russians did offer the player a contract extension, but money’s tight so the new offer was for him play on for less money.
The reports adds that no deal has been struck. An unnamed ‘source’ says the player wants to join Arsenal, and Arsenal are interested. But another source says Kokorin’s more likely to play for West Ham or Swansea City.
Such are the facts.
Rumours abound that Arsenal are making moves for Everton’s John Stones. The Sunday People adds a layer to the story by claiming Everton manager Roberto Martinez is keen on replacing Stones with Arsenal defender Calum Chambers.
The paper’s Tom Hopkinson writes:
Chambers has featured in less than half of the fixtures the Gunners have played this season, with Hector Bellerin keeping him out at right-back and Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista all ahead of him in the centre.
Chambers as a right back was something Arsenal were forced into last season when injuries bit. He was less than brilliant, getting skinned alive by Swansea’s Jefferson Montero as Arsenal lost to Swansea City.
As a centre-half, Chambers has promise, but it’s in central midfield where his future at Arsenal lies. Indeed, in August 2014, the Express opined:
Ultimately, the Arsenal manager sees Calum Chambers more as a holding midfielder. For now, he is making a remarkably mature fist of being a centre-back.
Chambers has the potential to be a terrific and versatile player. Stones is the player all the top clubs covert. The Metro says Manchester United are readying a £50m offer for him. Would Arsenal compete with that? And Wenger’s not in the habit of selling young English talent.
Posted: 13th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud is playing very well. Having scored a hat-trick in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Olympiakos in the Champions League, the Frenchman is feeling confident. But the Daily Star has grim news:
Can it be that Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, is threatening his star turn, the man whose goals saved the Gunners’ blushes? Is he axing Giroud, the player who has scored 11 goals in his last 14 matches for Arsenal?
No. It’s balls.
“I think he is in the same league as [the very best],” says Wenger at his Press conference. “He plays for one of the best clubs in Europe and he scores goals. If you look at the number of games and the number of goals, you have to give him credit. I think he’s among the best strikers in Europe.
“He is not only a goalscorer, he’s a guy who puts work in for the team. If you look at his record, I believe he has special qualities that are difficult to find, but of course you want him to be efficient as well.
“Where he has improved a lot is his link play with the other players, and that’s very important in our team. He’s a guy who wants always to improve and he has a positive mentality, and a strong one. I think that’s why he has come back in a very strong way.
“We are in a job where you have to accept that in every game, you are questioned. In his job, as a centre forward, [it’s] even more. If you don’t score for three games, you’re questioned again. That’s part of the job.”
Not threat. No axe. Other than that the Star is spot on.
So how did the Star manage to create the story that Giroud is being dropped from Wenger praising the player’s form and talent? From this?
“He had a breather and came in and out,” Wenger continues. “I think I will have to do that again because it is so demanding now and he has a game that demands a lot of energy. Sometimes you need a breather in that squad.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 12th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Broadsheets, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
The Mirror says Arsenal have made Southampton’s Victor Wanyama their “winter window priority”. The Kenyan is Arsenal’s “Number 1 target” this January.
The Bleacher Report says the Arsenal shortlist features four players:
A club “recruitment source” reportedly informed Football Insider’s Wayne Veysey that William Carvalho of Sporting Lisbon, Lazio’s Lucas Biglia, Villarreal midfielder Bruno Soriano and Porto’s Ruben Neves are “all on the radar.”
No mention of Wanyama, there.
And no mention of him over at the Metro, where the Gunners’ main target is said to be Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 10th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
The plaudits are fulsome for Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, whose hat-trick in Greece secured more Champions’ League football for his club.
The Mirror leads with ‘Our Hero’, praising the “much-criticised Frenchman.
John Cross praises the “sensational” Frenchman, before cranking up the tabloid-obot: this was a “Greek tragedy” for Olympiakos (you just know he’d have used the same cliche had Arsenal lost); Giroud exhibited “Gallic flair”, as all French players who score must.
The Sun calls Giroud a “GREEK GOD”, although which one is unsaid. We’d go for Morpheus, what with his having sent Arsenal into “dreamland”.
Charlie Wyett evokes May 1989, when Arsenal had to defeat Liverpool by two clear goals to win the title. I was there – and beating Olympiakos by a similar margin comes nowhere close to that magic night. Olympiakos are an ordinary team playing in a weak Greek top flight; Liverpool ’89 were mighty.
Back then Arsenal had Alan Smith up front. Was he better than Giroud? Did ‘Smudger’ play with Continental flair or English grit?
Wyett adds that that Arsenal “cannot win the Champions League”. But, of course, they can. You have to be in it to win it, and they are. Odd that having evoked that unlikely night in 1989, Wyett should dismiss the underdog’s chances.
In a column called ‘Five Things We Learnt”, the Sun says Giroud will “never be a world-class striker”. Readers are then told that Hector Bellerin has been “Arsenal’s stand-out player for the past 18 months” – which he hasn’t been. The Spaniard has been good, often remarkably so, but to say he’s made more of an impact that Sanchez or Ozil is absurd.
And you can add Giroud to that list of top Arsenal players.
Posted: 10th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
The media loves to talk up an injury – and few places in football do injuries with more regularity than Arsenal. The Gunners’ midfielder Santi Cazorla is now injured. We have not been told how badly.
At his Friday press conference, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he didn’t know how long Cazorla will be out for. A journalist asks if he “could” be out til Mach. Wenger replies: “It is possible.”
In the Guardian that becomes: “Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla to miss at least three months with knee injury”
The paper fails to add “possibly”.
The Indy goes better: “… the Gunners now face up to life without Santi Cazorla until March while Alexis Sanchez could miss the rest of 2015.”
He could. But Wenger said: “Alexis is a hamstring [injury] but I don’t know how long it will take, it is usually a quick one to recover.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 5th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
How much is PSG’s Edinson Cavani worth?
According to L’Equipe,Manchester United “have been told” they can sign the Paris St-Germain forward for £32m.
This odd story also appears in the Metro. It’s the newspaper that said Cavani had agreed to play for Arsenal.
How much did Cavani join Arsenal for way back in September? The Daily Star knew:
The Metro‘s story of Cavani now being worth £13m less than he was just three months ago contains not a single named source. It’s just an apparent fact that Cavani is worth £32m.
And why didn’t Arsenal sign the Uruguayan? The Daily Mirror says the Gunners decided the 28-year-old has ‘no sell-on value’. They should have consulted that anonymous source – although Cavani’s value is falling faster than the Star and Metro’s credibility.
Posted: 5th, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal transfer committee
Arsenal are being linked to a host of players. If it goes to form, Arsenal will buy one player at most this January, play him until he can barely walk, talk about his being in the “red zone”, before watching him hobble through the revolving doors at the crowded injury centre.
The Star says Arsenal are favourites to land Real Madrid’s Isco. The Star links to the Metro, which says Spain’s AS says Arsenal are on course to hire the 23-year-old. Maybe.
The Indy says Arsenal are in for …TEN players! They are: Mauro Incardi; Alex Pato; Grzegorz Krychowiak; Ruben Neves; Edinson Cavani; Alvaro Morata; Michy Batshuayi; Jese Rodriguez; Rico Henry; Daniele Rugani; Karim Benzema; Gonzalo Higuain; and William Carvalho.
The Telegraph also has Arsenal’s ‘Top 10 Targets’. They are (not including names previously mentioned above): Ilkay Gundogan; Adrien Rabiot; Riechedly Bazoer; Lars Bender; Vincent Koziello; and Andrija Zivkovic.
The Metro say Arsenal want Jesus Navas and James McArthur.
The Mirror says Arsenal’s top target is Charly Musonda. Who? Why, he’s the “Chelsea sensation”. Yeah, really.
Tally: 20 players.
Posted: 3rd, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
How injured is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez?
He’s IN!
The Mirror: “Sanchez has handed Arsenal a huge boost ahead of Christmas the New Year.”
He’s OUT!
The Sun: “Arsene Wenger fears Alexis Sanchez may miss the festive programme.”
He’s SHAKING IT ALL ABOUT!
The Mail: “Arsenal are still assessing star forward Alexis Sanchez.”
In other words: he’s injured but the tabloids have no idea how badly.
Posted: 2nd, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal have a lot of players injured. But some how they’ve managed to give themselves a fighting chance of progressing in the Champions’ League and sit just two points from the Premier League summit.
No disaster, then.
But to the Mirror Arsenal are in a “Greek tragedy”. Needing to beat an ordinary Olympiakos side by two clear goals or score three and win, the paper says the Gunners’ chances are reduced by injury. They are in “crisis”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 1st, December 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Upset at the long, long wait for flying cars, Arsenal have used a passenger jet to make the 14-minute flight from London Luton airport to Norwich ahead of Sunday’s game at Carrow Road.
The 115-mile journey from the club’s London Colney training ground to Norwich’s stadium would take around two hours by coach or train.
Flying rules!
Plane Stupid, a network of grass root groups that keep tabs on the expansion of the aviation industry and help bring an end to ‘needless’ short haul flights, are upset. Intolerant Plane Stupid spokesperson Ella Gilbert tells the London Evening Standard:
Having lived in Norwich and Finsbury Park, I can tell you that this is a distance that you can do in two hours by train, without fuelling climate change. This is ridiculous.
Trains run on water and dreams. Fact!
I’m a life-long Gooner so I’m used to being occasionally embarrassed by my team, but I prefer them to wait until after kick-off before humiliating their supporters.
Don’t fly to Norwich, the Canaries aren’t worth it.
Presumably a match against a bigger team, say, Tottenham or Chelsea, is more worth it Have the helicopters readied. Driving is for the stupid…
Posted: 28th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
In “Why I don’t want Arsenal to go through”, the Mirror leads its posts coverage with the words of Chelsea’s manager Jose Mourinho.
Reader can think of any number of reason why the manager of Chelsea wold prefer another London club to fail. But the given reason that “stokes rivalry with Arsenal” is that Mourinho “is mates with Olympiakos coach Marco Silva”.
Says Mourinho:
“I would always like English teams to qualify, first. They [Arsenal] are in a group where a kid friend of mine is the manager of Olympiakos and it would be fantastic for the kid’s career to go through. So I have to be honest and say that I would like the kid and Olympiakos to go on, and we know that Bayern go through for sure.”
And, er, that’s it.But Adrian Kajumba has an entire column to fill with this nonsense, so he ploughs on, using every tabloid trick to eke sensation form the dull:
Jose Mourinho admits he WANTS Olympiakos to dump Arsenal out of the Champions League.
He admits – as in confesses, finally, his innermost secret’s extracted by incisive journalism. He “WANTS” in capital letters because he WANTS it so very badly.
But Kajumba soon tires, leaving the rest of his scoop to Mourinho, whose words “risk riling” Arsenal.
“Even doing a bad group phase – because to lose at home to Olympiakos and to lose in Zagreb and to lose six points they should win is bad – they can qualify. They can qualify. It’s not my problem, it’s their problem, but the reality is first of all they can qualify and secondly if they go into the Europa League then they become favourites [to win it]. So I think they can have success in the Champions League by going to the next round and they can succeed in the Europa League because then they become favourites, so I think they have a lot to play for.”
And so having answered a journalist’s leading question on Arsenal with an easy, even and fact-based answer, the Express reports on “Moutinho’s Arsenal dig”.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 26th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Chelsea, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Will Arsenal buy a new player in the January transfer window? And will that player take out extra medical insurance? The BBC says Arsenal have “dossiers of holding midfielders” should they need to replace the injured Francois Coquelin.
The Daily Mail says the Gunners have a shortlist of six players: Lars Bender, William Carvalho, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Lucas Biglia, Vincent Koziello and Nampalys Mendy.
Given that Biglia is wanted by Liverpool and Manchester United, and Krychowiak thinks England is “too cold” that short list is getting shorter,
Perhaps they will hire Genoa winger Diego Perotti, as Calciomercato reports they will?
Ian Wright says this is Arsenal’s important January transfer window for years.
Every Arsenal fan just shrugs and wonders how so many players can be injured so often.
Posted: 24th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Is Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin faster than Usain Bolt, the world’s greatest 100m runner?
Elizabeth Cassin writes for the BBC:
When Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record in 2009, it took him 4.64 seconds to run the first 40m. But it’s been reported that Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin ran the same distance in 4.41 seconds. So could Bellerin beat Bolt in a race?
Over 40 metres, yes. From a standing start: no.
When he was asked if he would like to run against Usain Bolt, Bellerin replied, “Obviously I would fancy it, but there’s nothing I think I could do. He’s a sprinter, he’s the quickest man in the world.”
Posted: 21st, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal could be without Laurent Koscielny for their next Premier League match at West Bromwich Albion. The Sun says in “WENGER’S PARIS FEARS OVER KOSCIELNY” that the Gunner’s French manager Arsene Wenger “fears” the player is “too traumatised by the Paris attacks to play tomorrow”.
That’s the same player who a couple of days after the mass murder in Paris played for France at Wembley.
What Wenger actually said was – and this was him responding to a question:
“I’ll look how deeply they [Koscielny and his France team-mate Olivier Giroud) are affected. You look for resilience and them showing a desire to play… West Brom is a big game for us so I will talk to him [Koscielny] to see if he is completely recovered and focused… If not I will not play him.”
Fair enough. The player is a human being. But there is something crass about inviting speculation on his mental state and yelling “Star traumatised”. If Koscielny is stressed, surely a back-page headline – being elevated to the biggest story in world sport – is not what he needs.
Posted: 20th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Manchester United have agreed terms with 17-year-old Darren Raekwon McIntosh-Buffonge. A mere five years ago, Darren was let go by Arsenal. He then tried his luck at Fulham. And now he’s signed a scholarship contract at Old Trafford.
Bit deal for him. But not a big deal for Arsenal nor Man United – unless you read your news in the Metro, where the move is:
Done deal: Man United confirm signing of brilliant ex Arsenal midfielder
Good grief.
Posted: 19th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
