Arsenal Category
Arsenal football club news, Arsenal transfers
Arsenal Transfer Balls: Pepe arrives, Rugani on loan and Tierney ready to sign
Arsenal have recruited Nicolas Pépé – just the medical to pass – and are looking for more recruits. Pitched at 50-1 to win he Premier League, the Gunners are desperately in need of new faces. With Pepe, their forward line looks formidable. But that defence…
“There are different players on the table with the possibility we can achieve their signature,” says manager Unai Emery in what could be his last season at the club if Arsenal fail to achieve Champions League football. “We are only thinking about people who can really, really improve this squad. We will only look at men who can really strengthen a position. One centre-back, one full-back and one winger.
Metro says the centre-back will be is Daniele Rugani from Juventus on a season-long loan. Kieran Tierney is scheduled to arrive from Celtic. He’s greed personal terms and the two clubs are very close to a deal.
Now to get shot of Mustafi, Jenkinson and Elneny. Any takers?
Transfer News: Liverpool sign Elliott, Arsenal sell winger, Dybala doesn’t want Spurs move
Liverpool have signed Harvey Elliott from Fulham. He’s 16, wears his hair in a bun and boasts the record of becoming the youngest player to feature in the Premier League when at at the age of 16 years and 30 days old he played against Wolves.
Big clubs are chasing youth.
Xavier Amaechi has left Arsenal for £2.25m. The 18-year-old has joined Hamburg on a four-year contract. The hope is that these young players go on to command very high transfer fees. If Harry Maguire can be worth £80m to Manchester United – the fee his current club Leicester City are asking for the defender – the sky’s the limit.
Manchester United are spending big and have agreed a £65m deal for Sporting Lisbon’s Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, 24. And money is scheduled to come in: noises from Spain indicate that Real Madrid or Juventus are to offer £150m move for Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba, 26. United also fancy Lyon’s Moussa Dembélé if Romelu Lukaku joins Internazionale and view Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as replacement for Pogba.
Even Spurs have £80m for Argentina forward Paulo Dybala, 25. But he wants to stay at Juventus.
Posted: 28th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, manchester united, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Arsenal bid £72m for Pepe; Zaha also in line; Aubameyang to Manchester United
Arsenal have offered Lille £72m for the brilliant winger Nicolas Pépé. Noises from France and the BBC say the deal is almost done.
If the France-born Ivorian arrives, talk is of the Gunners being open to offers for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Manchester United are keen on the 30-year-old striker with two years to go on his current Gunners deal.
The Arsenal policy is for any player with two years left on their deal to be offered fresh terms. If they refuse, they are put up for sale. Should Aubameyang extend his current deal and Pepe arrive, the Gunners will boast a lightning quick attack. And there’s more…
To make way for a fresh bid for Crystal Palace star Wilf Zaha, Arsenal are looking to sell Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who also has two years left on his current deal.
Others being shunted towards the exit are Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi. Ozil would be a huge miss – on his day he’s fabulous. But Mustafi might just be the worst signing Arsenal have ever made.
PS: told you Arsenal had loads more money than the £40m transfer kitty all the mainstream media said they had.
Transfer balls: Chelsea may not outbid Everton for Arsenal fan Zaha
Chelsea are “plotting” to invest £60m in Wilfred Zaha. Arsenal and Everton have been quoted £80m for the Crystal Palace player. But the Sun says so long as Zaha is prepared to wait a year, once their transfer ban is spent they will offer £60m for him next summer. As “plots” go that ones replete with all the cunning of Jeremy Corbyn’s prized marrow.
The Telegraph adds: “Exclusive: Everton want Wilfried Zaha and are willing to pay £60m plus Cenk Tosun but fear missing out to Chelsea.” Not a word on missing out to Arsenal, the club Zaha wants to play for now. The story is utter bunkum. Get this: “With Arsenal currently struggling to come up with the funds to match Palace’s £80m valuation, Chelsea may see an opportunity to offer a deal that could suit all parties.” Or they may not.
Posted: 26th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Zaha to Everton, Everton to Arsenal, Dyabla to Spurs
Everton fans must be thrilled. With £80m to spend on new talent, the Toffees are after Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha – the player who supports the Arsenal, loves the Arsenal and wants to play for the Arsenal. Compared to the £80m Manchester United want to spunk on Harry Maguire, Zaha for the same fee looks like good value.
One other issue for Everton is that their midfield tyro Idrissa Gueye is off to Paris Saint-Germain for around £30m.
As Arsenal faff about and hope Palace get desperate as the August 8 transfer deadline approaches and sell Zaha to them for some buttons, promises and a Carl Jenkinson – or buy Brazil’s Everton for £30m – Spurs make plans. Like Manchester United and Bayern Munich, they’re after Paulo Dybala, the Juventus striker. And like Maguire and Zaha, he too is in the draw marked ‘£80m’.
Meanwhile, back on planet earth away from hot football flesh, it’s boiling.
Posted: 25th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Arsenal Transfer News: Zaha for £65m plus one Jenkinson and a sexy car
Crystal Palace think Wilfried Zaha is worth £80m? Is he? Arsenal think he’s worth £55m plus £10m in add ons should they win the league (10-1) or Mustafi mishit a pass that lands on the moon (7-1). For a player who flopped the last time he left Palace, £80m could look like a huge risk – Zaha transferred to Manchester United in 2013 only to return to Palace in 2015. A player happy to be the star at one lower mid-table club might not shine at a club with loftier ambitions and a more demanding fanbase.
But Zaha has improved. And of that time at Manchester, where he played under the limited David Moyes, Zaha offered:
…Moyes took issue with the way he dressed and even the car he drove. Zaha felt further let down by the club’s failure to shut down false rumours he was sleeping with Moyes’ daughter and that his absence was due to an attitude problem. He remembers being ‘belittled’ in training by one United coach after scoring. On another occasion he was shown a video of himself in tricky winger mode for Palace and was asked how he could recapture that form, having already been told by Moyes to cut out the fancy footwork. ‘You see the mind games they were playing?’ a bewildered Zaha asks. ‘But when he took me out of the Champions League squad and put in Adnan Januzaj, who had never played for the first team, I knew then that this is way bigger than I ever thought and had gone way beyond footballing reasons,’ he says. ‘When it was not about football or ability, what could I do?’
“There were rumours that the reason I wasn’t playing [many games] for United was because I slept with [then manager] David Moyes’s daughter, and no one [at the club] attempted to clear that up.
“So I was fighting my demons by myself, these rumours that I knew weren’t true. I was dealing with this at 19; living in Manchester by myself, nowhere near anyone else, because the club had a hold over where I lived. They hadn’t given me a car, like every other player [had]. Nothing. I’m living in this hell by myself, away from my family, and I thought, ‘If this doesn’t make me stronger, what will’?”
He’s stronger now with oodles of charisma. How Arsenal need him…
Posted: 22nd, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: terrible captain Laurent Koscielny agrees to play for Rennes
So farewell, Laurent Koscielny, the most mute Arsenal captain in recent decades. A fine player – one who in his pomp who could claim to be world class. But he was a poor captain.
Having gone on strike because at 33 years old he wanted longer than the year-long contract Arsenal were offering, the ageing, non-expressive, charisma-free Frenchman has agreed personal terms with Rennes, reportedly. Arsenal now need to get shot of him. Shut the door on the way out. The post-Wenger revolution has finally begun.
Transfer balls: Zaha to Everton clickbait or slowly to Arsenal
The Liverpool Echo says there is an increased chance of Wilf Zaha joining Everton. There is also an increased chance of Zaha joining Wrexham or your local pub side. The Echo’s story is based on news that the player has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave the club. And if your side has anything from £80m (BBC) to £120m (Sun) lying about the place, they can buy him. So the Liverpool Echo seduces Everton fans with a headline based on a muon of truth.
Sky Sports says Arsenal, who’ve already seen a £40m bid for Zaha fail, are “expected to raise their offer in the coming days”. To what sum is unknown, but rumours are that they’re holding a car boot sale next Sunday and Carl Jenkinson, Calum Chambers, Mo Elneny and that bloke who used to walk about the North bank shouting ”Eanuts” are being pushed into the hatchback.
Posted: 19th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: The Arsenal ‘ace’ to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka might be a joker
Transfer Balls likes to spot clickbait – and the Daily Star’s news that an Arsenal “ace” is to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Crystal Palace is a cracker. Wan-Bissaka is now at Manchester United, which means Palace are in search of a replacement right-back. Step forward the “Arsenal ace”. No, not Hector Bellerin. It’s Carl Jenkinson – the same Carl Jenskinson who was hooked off at half-time when Arsenal last played Palace, having made “the sort of errors you would not expect to see in the third or fourth tier”.
Maybe the “ace” can be worth the £40 million Arenal need to take Wilfried Zaha from Palace to Arsenal? Maybe. The Sun says, “Eagles boss Roy Hodgson has always been a fan of the defender and even gave him his England debut against Sweden in 2012.” It might happen…
Posted: 18th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Arsenal sign William Saliba, Everton medical, Cabellos close and Zaha is for sale
The Sun says the deal is done: William Saliba has joined Arsenal. But he won’t kiss the badge until 2020. The Gunners have paid £27m for the 18-year-old and allowed him to spend the season at Saint-Etienne. This suits Arsenal because the fee is being paid in instalments.
“Hi @arsenal loving the away new kit,” quips one Gooner on Twitter. “I’d like a Medium Men’s. I’ll pay £5 now. £5 on delivery and £40 based on bonuses and appearances.”
In other Gunners, news, the BBC says they are “very close” to securing Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos 22, on loan. The Spanish central midfielder was voted player of the tournament at the Under-21 European Championships.
It’s also widely reported that Arsenal have signed Gremio winger Everton for £36m. Apparently he’s having his medical in Brazil. Which leaves the club’s interest in Wilf Zaha where? “I don’t think Arsenal have actually made a bid that has come anywhere near our valuation,” Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson told Sky Sports. “I’m sure the player realises that if someone’s going to take him away from us, he’ll expect clubs to pay the market value. Until someone does that, there’s not much to discuss regarding Wilf.”
In other words, Zaha is for sale. If Arsenal can get him on the the drip, he could yet arrive at The Emirates.
Posted: 18th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Josh Kroenke knows talk is cheap
Can it be true? Arsenal manger Unai Emery says Arsenal are trying to sign some “very big, very expensive players” this summer. “Our target is to achieve three or four players who really improve our team and our squad now,” says Emery. “We have very good players and very good young players who can progress to take and get big performances with us. Other players can come here to help us. We are being very, very demanding and we are first speaking about the possibility to sign very big, very expensive players.”
Arsenal have invested in one new player this summer: 18-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli. They are being linked with Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba (18), and have bids of £25m for 22-year-old Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, plus £40m for 26-year-old Ivorian Zaha rejected.
The fans are upset about the club’s stagnation under owner Stan Kroenke. But Arsenal chief executive Josh Kroenke (qualifications for the job: absentee owner Stan’s his dad; knows the Gunners player soccerball in London), tells one and all via an open letter, in which he guffs:
“For us, the most important thing to achieve was not simply change for the sake of change, but to ensure we put the right people in the right roles to work together in a positive environment to achieve our stated goal of winning silverware both domestically and in Europe.
We know this can bring uncertainty, and perhaps everything we’ve done in the past 12-14 months has brought about additional uncertainty during a period of unease when supporters, coaches, players and management are rightfully frustrated by lack of success on the pitch.
“With all the work we’ve done on the structure of football, commercial and operational departments, we would say that the club now needs a period of stability rather than additional change.”
To translate: we drifted along collecting fat dividends whilst Arsene Wenger’s regime was winning the occasional tin pot and finishing fourth but now that’s all gone because the patriarch got too old, we’re clueless about what to do. You’re all hungry for success but I’m stinking rich and don’t really need it.
Key part:
“While we’re not going to be in the market for some of the top players in the world at the moment whilst they are the top players, we’re actively scouting the globe to find the next big thing to become great at Arsenal Football Club. And not only will we bring them to the club, we’ll be able to retain them in the fold going forward.”
Translation: We’re desperate and buying cheap. And dad won’t be putting a penny of his absurdly large fortune into the pot. (That ok, dad? Can I come home yet?)
Greed over glory: Arsenal fans send desperate letter to their disinterested owner
How can Arsenal get themselves out of the mess created by greed, laziness and a culture of failure? Chief contract negotiator Huss Fahmy is fighting firs, doing his best to correct the disaster of Ivan Gazidis and Dick Law’s work that saw Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck leave for nothing and Mesut Ozil offered the absurd sum of £350,000 a week to stay.
Unai Emery’s squad is a strange collection of journeymen, overpaid plodders, two top strikers and talented youngsters. Can Edu, the new technical director, and Freddie Ljungberg, now promoted to assistant to coach Emery, restore some swagger and purpose to a moribund team? Can they help Emery, who desperately needs it? When Arsenal needed reinforcements at the back, Emery pushed the board to recruit the dire Denis Suarez in January. Is he up to the task?
The fans are restless. Leading Arsenal fans’ groups have written a letter asking owner Stan Kroenke, to “reinvigorate” the club.
As Arsenal fans we have watched with frustration as the team’s football performances have declined over the past decade,’’ they argue. “When Stan Kroenke began buying Arsenal shares the club had just competed in a first Champions League final [in 2006]. Twelve years on, Arsenal are about to play in the Europa League for the third year running. Off the pitch, fans have never felt more marginalised, less listened to or valued. This was sadly illustrated when Stan Kroenke forcibly bought out the last remaining supporter-shareholders without even a word of appreciation for their custodianship role in the club. It feels as though Arsenal is at a crossroads. Things need to change…
“…our club feels like an investment vehicle. It is sad that an institution like Arsenal has such passive ownership. All of us want to see a clear sense of purpose and direction. KSE should start by being more open and accountable and explain how they intend to achieve the goal of winning the game’s major trophies…
“On a matchday the Emirates Stadium can be a soulless place. The atmosphere is poor and there are thousands of empty seats blighting almost every game. If Arsenal really cared they would make sure seats weren’t left empty by investing in an improved ticketing system and actively supporting initiatives like safe standing. The club uses the strapline: ‘Always ahead of the game’. It would be good to see action to demonstrate this.”
An absentee owner bodes badly for Arsenal. It is an investment for him and nothing more. Kroenke won’t take a gamble and invest in players in the hope of success. He’ll tick along and collect his dividends. Greed not glory is the Arsenal way. But at east one thing won’t change: at season ticket renewal time Arsenal will be linked with a big money buy.
Posted: 15th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Key Posts, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Laurent Koscielny knows how bad Mustafi is
People in the know chose Bordeaux. And like a fine whine – yes, yes, a weak joke but that’s Arsenal for you – Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel on the club’s pre-season tour of the US because he thinks the team are rubbish and wants to live and work in La Belle Endormie.
Koscielny’s current deal expires at the end of the season. At 33, he wants more than the one year extension Arsenal are offering and thinks a three-year deal at Bordeaux the better option. “We are very disappointed by Laurent’s actions, which are against our clear instructions,” say Arsenal. “We hope to resolve this matter and will not be providing any further comment at this time.”
Koscielny will win. He’s one of Arsenal’s very few top-class players. And he knows how sub-standard the alternatives are. If he leaves, Arsenal will boast – and that’s a boast akin to the scarred squaddie returning from active duty without herpes – Sokratis and Mustafi as their first-choice central defenders. Sokratis is likeable at least because he sticks the boot in and has the soulful mien of a man troubled by something bigger than cutting down Harry Kane.
Mustafi is just as poor as the Greek at passing out from defence but is affected by an unappetising combination of arrogance and limited ability. Arsenal are desperate to get shot of the German. And in a market where Aston Villa invest £20m in recruiting the doltish Tyrone Mings from what must be a delighted Bournemouth, Mustafi should be worth around that. But he won’t go to a bigger club unless one of them has read his CV without ever having seen him play. And Mustafi cuts the figure of man who think he’s destined for better things. So he’s stuck at Arsenal and Arsenal are stuck with him until his contract dies on the vine in 2021.
Transfer balls: Malcom to Arsenal (again), Pepe to Everton and Newcastle to Championship
A year or so ago, Arsenal, Manchester United, Spurs and Fulham were competing hard to invest £45m in Malcom, a raw Brazilian winger playing for Bordeaux. Roma were “on the verge of signing” him (BBC). And then he joined Barcelona for £36.5m. One year on and the talent is not wanted by the Spaniards and worth £31m, the sum Everton have bid.
Barcelona want to resign Neymar. They need to offload Malcom because regulations in Spain mean that each team is only allowed to register three non-EU players. Barcelona have Arturo Vidal, Arthur and Malcom. Neymar makes four.
Apparently Arsenal now want Malcom to wait and see if Louis Zaha hands in a transfer request at Crystal Palace. Or if Palace accept Arsenal’s new offer of £40m plus Calum Chambers, Mohamed Elneny and Carl Jenkinson. How flattered Malcolm must be to know that his future rests on Jenkinson’s slim shoulders.
Everton fans can just to see if an Arsenal reject will join them for a big transfer fee – and if he’s joined by former Chelsea irritant Diego Costa, now stinking the place up at Atletico Madrid. Or Everton will spend £58.5m on Lille’s Nicolas Pepe, the 24-year-old Ivory Coast forward – unless Liverpool, who also want him, get there first.
As Everton fans wonder if their revolution is based more on cash than substance and Gooners try to work out where all the money has gone, all clubs can look down on Newcastle United. The Magpies have asked Sam Allardyce to mange them. And he’s turned them down. Your club might be struggling but at least it’s not Newcastle.
Posted: 11th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: the £76m transfer kitty
How skint is skint? The Sun tells readers Arsenal are “skint” because they have “just” £40m to spend on new players this summer. The Bleacher Report and others agree: Arsenal are “skint”.
A few days on and the BBC tells its readers: “The Gunners have up to £70m available as they prepare to make a second bid for Zaha.”
A click over the the Sky Sports scoop reveals: “Arsenal have up to £70m available to make an improved bid for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, Kaveh Solhekol told The Transfer Show.”
Kaveh…who? He’s a reporter on Sky Sports. And he “believes” Arsenal can afford to spend £70m on Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha. Add the £6m the Gunners recently forked out for Gabriel Martinelli and the Gunners transfer kitty swells to £76m.
As we try to fathom the numbers – and work out on what planet or gated community £40m quid to spend means you’re “skint” – The Bleacher Report tells us that Arsenal have “nothing”:
Arsenal have “no money” None. Not a bean. Or maybe they have £76m. It all depends which sofa you’re looking under for change.
Posted: 4th, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal bid £40m for lifelong Gooner Wilfried Zaha
Arsenal have opened the bidding at £40m for Crystal Palace’s brilliant Wilfried Zaha. Palace want “up to £80m” (BBC) for the 26-year-old. The Guardian says Palace want “around £100m”. The Sun says it’s £120m and not a penny less. Palace, says the Sun, are “guided by current market valuations”. Whether they’re operating in the market where Real Madrid paid £130m for Eden Hazard or the other market where Liverpool picked up Mo Salah is unclear. It looks a lot like guesswork.
To say that Arsenal fans would love to see Zaha in their colours is an understatement. Arsenal are a side in need of personality and verve. Zaha has both. He’s a hero-in-waiting.
Zaha’s brother, Judicael, told Sky Sports News: “Given all that Wilfried has given to Crystal Palace to help them remain a Premier League club, I hope Palace will be able to see their way to agreeing a deal with Arsenal that allows Wilfried to realise his dream of playing European football for the club he’s supported since childhood.”
Can it happen? The Sun says the offer is “embarrassing”. Such is the the state of football that £40m is presented as a shameful sum of money. It is “derisory”. It’s a fortune. The Sun also notes that Manchester United, who bought Zaha for £10m and sent him back to Palace for £6m, “have a 25 per cent sell-on clause”. The Sun fails to note that the clause is capped at £15m. A sum the paper might well deem to be pathetic and not worth getting out of bed for.
So much for the numbers.
Transfer balls: Monchi agrees Arsenal move and joins Seville
On February 25 this year, the Daily Mirror reported: “Arsenal transfer news: Monchi ‘agrees deal’ to become Gunners sporting director.” Yesterday, Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, better known as ‘Monchi’ and blessed with the looks of a detective in the Obscene Publications Squad, started work in his new job at Sevilla.
What happened? Well, the Mirror’s scoop was based on an article in Il Messaggero, which said Arsenal had agreed to pay the “£2million” needed to activate the buy-out clause in his Roma contract. The odd bit is that the Italian website reports two days after the Mirror’s story – and this through Google Translate:
Evening Standard publishes today, Rome would have already resigned itself to salute Monchi. The current Giallorossi ds seems destined to reach Arsenal, one of the most glorious English clubs. The London newspaper notes that Monchi could even leave the Capital in advance, if the ‘Gunners’ pay a termination clause of around 3 million.
To the Standard, then, to read on February 26:
Roma are increasingly resigned to the departure of sporting director Monchi, with Arsenal a leading contender to hire him in the summer…
Monchi has been at Roma since 2017 and his contract, which has two more years to run, is thought to contain a release clause of around £2.6million.
Nothing agreed at all. And the fee is an issue. But one day earlier talkSport said it was a done deal – just look at the URL:
And on March 8, the Sun told us:
Today the BBC reports: “Monchi will return to La Liga club Sevilla as sporting director, ending reported links with Arsenal.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 17th, March 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Key Posts, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Overmars and Matthijs in; vote Mustafi out
Arsenal fans get to feel the warmth of a rosy-fingered dawn as news hits the cycle of Ajax director of football Marc Overmars’ return to the Gunners. And that’s not all. Last night Ajax knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League. The holders were thrashed. And Overmars says if he arrives at Arsenal he’d like to be accompanied on the short flight from Amsterdam by Ajax’s brilliant 19-year-old centre-back Matthijs de Ligt. He would sign De Ligt “immediately”.
Arsenal may need to sell some flesh to get their man. The Telegraph says Manchester City will have to break the world record transfer fee of £75m for a defender, which Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk, if they stand any chance of signing Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell. De Light is better.
Maybe Arsenal should take a democratic response to their malaise? Real Madrid fans are being given a vote on which players should be sold. Arsenal fans form an orderly queue. First up: Mustafi. Any takers? I’ll start the bidding and 10… Ten pounds… Anyone…. Bueller…
Posted: 6th, March 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Spurs v Arsenal balls: Gunners cheated; Spurs score both goals in North London Derby
How did the two clubs’ respective websites see the Spurs v Arsenal match? The game ended 1-1. Arsenal scored a terrific breakaway goal. Spurs scored a penalty which replays showed should not have been given.
Spurs on Aaron Ramsey’s goals for Arsenal:
But it was Arsenal who found the breakthrough on 16 minutes, although it was a goal all of our own making.
Arsenal on the goal:
Aaron Ramsey gave us the lead in his final north London derby with the coolest of finishes. The Wales midfielder – scorer of two FA Cup final winners on this ground – ran through from inside his own half and feinted to shoot before nipping around Lloris and slotting the ball into the net.
Spurs on the penalty:
To be fair, chances were at a premium but we were given the opportunity to level on 74 minutes when Mustafi pushed Kane in the area at a free-kick and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot. Our England striker made no mistake, drilling into the corner to the delight of most inside Wembley.
Arsenal on the penalty:
We expected a Spurs onslaught after the break but it never materialised as we kept our shape and kept them at arm’s length. That just made the home side’s equaliser all the more galling. Kane was again in an offside position when a free-kick was floated into the box, but he was awarded a penalty after a nudge from Shkodran Mustafi..
Such are the facts.
Posted: 2nd, March 2019 | In: Arsenal, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Arsenal balls: Monchi transfer delayed by grammar and Manchester United SEO
The good news for Arsenal fans tuning in to talkSport is that Unai Emery is to be reunited with his former Seville mucker Monchi. The broadcaster tells us: “Monchi agrees to join Gunners ahead of reported summer move to Emirates.” That headline arrived in our inbox on 25th February 2019. Roma’s sporting director is on his way to the Emirates.
Maybe. Maybe not.
That same day the Mirror yelled: “Arsenal transfer news: Monchi ‘agrees deal’ to become Gunners sporting director.” Those inverted commas mean Monchi has agreed to nothing. But the important thing about them is that those all-important SEO bots and Google algorithms for which the Mirror writes don’t see the grammar. They only see the URL, which declares a fact: “https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-transfer-news-monchi-agrees-14051185.”
The Sun performed a similar trick. On February 26 it thundered: “TOP MON – Arsenal ‘secure £2.5m deal for transfer guru Monchi’ who helped sign Rakitic, Kluivert and N’Zonzi.” Thos inverted commas mean the headline is tosh. But the URL seen by Google is a fact: “https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/8511652/arsenal-monchi-director-football/.”
So is Monchi at Arsenal? No.
Because today the BBC says: “Roma are increasingly resigned to the departure of sporting director Monchi, with Arsenal a leading contender to hire the 50-year-old Spaniard in the summer.” From a done deal, we learn that Arsenal are merely in the running.
One thing all media agrees on: Monchi can spot a young talent. The other thing they agree on is that Monchi is good for clicks. Get this from the Mirror on Feb 13: “Arsenal face Man Utd battle for Roma sporting director Monchi.” They do? No.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 27th, February 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Sports | Comment
Arsenal Balls: Overmars, Monchi and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in
Journalism, eh. Get a load of this news on the BBC: “Arsenal will offer defender Rob Holding, 23, a new deal after he suffered a long-term injury in December.”
Can the two be linked: to be injured for large chunks of the season is to be a true Gooner? Well, it worked for Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlaine, so why not Holding, or Danny Welbeck, for that matter, who’s been injured for months at a time but will be ejected from the club when his contract expires in June? Should Arsenal work to keep Welbeck?
In other Arsenal news, the Mirror says the club wants Marc Overmars as their technical director. Ajax want him to stay. But the former Arsenal winger most likely join the Gunners at the season’s end, when Arsenal will also welcome Roma sporting director Monchi (aka Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo).
On the playing front, Arsenal fancy Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 21. The Sun says he’ll cost them £40m. So best to luck with that.
Posted: 24th, February 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Chelsea Balls: Sarri’s sacking and club banned from signing new players for next two transfer windows
Bit of an odd backpage from the Mirror, leading, as it does, with Europa League action from Chelsea and Arsenal’s respective 3-0 victories over the might of Malmo and Bate Borisov. The Mirror leads with one player who scored (Ross Barkley) and one who did not (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
Having thrice told its readers that Chelsea will sack Maurizio Sarri this season, the paper notes that the victory was encouraging. The Guardian says it’s earned Sarri “extra time”. It’s February, and he only started work at Chelsea in July. You’d think Sarri’s tenure at Chelsea would outlast a gap year.
Chelsea are “back on track” says the Express. But beating Malmo is not on the same path as a 6-0 defeat to Manchester City or even a 4-0 loss at Bournemouth. Malmo are a limited side. The players might have “saved Sarri’s skin”, as the Mail puts it, but with a Carabao Cup final with City looming, The Italian will need some armour should they suffer another heavy defeat.
Which they have. The club has been banned from buying players for the next two windows. FIFA says Chelsea are guilty of breaching rules in relation to youth players. Whoever replaces Sarri will have to make do with his players.
Posted: 22nd, February 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, News, Sports | Comment
Chelsea balls: Sarri sacked for £5m; Lampard tops wish list; Manchester City told keys
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri will be sacked if they lose Sunday’s Carabao Cup final to Manchester City, says the BBC. Sarri will be Chelsea boss for the length of an internship should his side lose to the same City side that thrashed them 6-0 days ago. Get packing, then. This news is echoed in the Mirror, which on February 11 led its sports coverage with: “MAURIZIO SARRI is facing the sack after Chelsea’s heaviest Premier League defeat.” The Mirror added on February 18: “CHELSEA will stick to their new ‘Sarri-ball’ style, even if if (sic) costs the manager his job this week.”
The Mirror’s plan seems to be keep saying Sarri will be sacked and when he is – and, of course he will be one day – say ‘Told yer!’ But the Mirror has form in getting it wrong:
As for Sarri’s eventual sacking, the Sun says it would cost Chelsea £5m – the cheapest pay-off for a manager since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.
Minds turn to who will replace Sarri? Sky Sports says Derby manager Frank Lampard and Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane head the list. Layers are working on their early-exit clauses as we speak.
Unless Chelsea win the Carabao Cup – in which case the Mirror will report that Sarri will be sacked ‘soon’…
Posted: 20th, February 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Key Posts, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal Balls: Wenger, Emery and no hint of worry
How can the Daily Express spin Arsene Wenger’s words into a portent of doom? Wenger was talking at the perpetually remote Laureus Sport for Good Awards. He said Aaron Ramsey would be a “loss” to Arenal, the club he managed for a geological era. And that was it. Ooze it through the SEO grinder and in the Express it becomes: “Arsene Wenger WORRIED for Arsenal.”
But it’s worse than that because the URL to this clickbait runs: “Arsene-Wenger-Arsenal-worry-Unai-Emery-management-future.” The implication is clear: to trick readers into believing Wenger thinks the throughly decent and likeable Unai Emery, the man who replaced him as Arsenal manager, could be on his way out. Total tosh.
Posted: 18th, February 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal: Overmars makes his case for the job and Sanchez return from Manchester United
Don’t panic Arsenal fans. News is that Manchester United’s hugely expensive Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez, 30, could return to Arsenal. So says former Arsenal player Marc Overmars. “I have great respect for Alexis, ” says Overmars, “because he did extremely well in Arsenal, I do not know if it was a good decision to leave.” His accountant, agent and bank manager think it was terrific. Half a million smackers a week says it was a good move to quit Arsenal stardom for the Old Trafford bench.
Overmars adds:
“English football changes you, it turns you around, it took me a step forward. Arsene Wenger arrived a year before me, Dennis Bergkamp made a big impression English, it was a fantastic time, I think we changed the history of the club a bit. This type of players were very important for Arsenal, because that’s where they take you to focus, after Alexis, Arsenal tried to sign another player like that, but he was not given, so he could go back to Arsenal.”
Why is this news? Why is Overmars talking about Arsenal? It’s because Arsenal want a new technical director. And it’s gotten down to a straight fight between Roma sporting director Monchi and Overmars, who fulfils the same role at a resurgent Ajax.
