Arsenal
Arsenal and Man United to travel to Italy in tough Europa League games next week
UEFA have confirmed that Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool will play the first leg of their respective European ties at neutral venues this month. The Gunners qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League after topping their group with the perfect tally of 18 points from six matches. They are scheduled to face Benfica in the round of 32 and the away leg will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome instead of the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. Portugal is on the ‘red list’ of countries listed by the UK government and the requirement for a mandatory quarantine for Gunners players on return has led to the decision. Elsewhere, United won’t travel to Real Sociedad’s Anoeta stadium for the first leg of the Europa League round of 32 and the game has been relocated to Juventus...
Three Things: Liverpool get cold feet, Arsenal going nowhere, big call needed on De Gea
It has been a while since we ran our ‘Three Things’ column on a Monday morning, but we couldn’t resist given events in the Premier League over the weekend. Manchester City’s stunning 4-1 victory at Liverpool was the standout result and left Reds fans everywhere bemoaning the rapid demise of the reigning champions. Without further ado, we offer our take on three of the key talking points from the latest round of Premier League fixtures. ‘Bad champions’ get cold feet Man City’s demolition job on Liverpool at Anfield sparked plenty of debate, with Roy Keane’s epic rant on Sky Sports perhaps the best of the bunch. 🗣 “They are making a lot of excuses, to me they’ve been bad champions.” Roy Keane has not been impressed with Liverpool’s mentality this season pic.twitter.com/jjxyCdnhwM — F...
Former Arsenal defender hits out at Arteta over defensive failures
Former Arsenal defender Armand Traore has criticised Mikel Arteta over his failure to address the club’s defensive issues. Kieran Tierney’s absence through injury has left the Gunners’ boss short of options at left-back over the past few games. Cedric Soares has been deployed as Tierney’s replacement despite being more comfortable playing at right-back. Speaking to Stadium Astro after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday, Traore hit out at Arteta’s failure to resolve the problem. “I would have liked to see a left-back coming in for cover for Kieran because I believe that he has got a lot of injuries issues at the moment,” he said. “The fact that they didn’t was a bit disappointing. I don’t like seeing Cedric at left-back. He’s a right-footed player and it creates an imbalance wi...
PL legend urges Arsenal boss to resist temptation to sell ‘quality’ player
Former Celtic and Aston Villa midfielder Stylian Petrov has urged Mikel Arteta not to sell Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette. The Frenchman had a lofty reputation when he signed for the Premier League club in 2017, but he has failed to live up to expectations. The 29-year-old has scored 58 goals in 154 appearances for Arsenal, but Petrov believes he still has plenty to offer the north London club. “I think Lacazette has the quality and ability to make the difference,” he told Stadium Astro. “If they add the right players around Lacazette they can still see the best of him. “You can still use him as long as you add more players and better quality around him.” SL View It is fair to say that Lacazette hasn’t quite delivered what was expected of him at Arsenal. His impressive goalscoring rec...
‘Impressed’, ‘Quality’: Some Arsenal fans react to 22-year-old’s display vs Aston Villa
Some Arsenal fans were impressed with the display of Martin Odegaard during the club’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. The Norwegian joined the Gunners on loan from Real Madrid last month and he has since made two appearances for the club off the bench. One of those came after the hour mark against the Villans where the 22-year-old had a 96 percent pass success rate and delivered some quality passes in the final third. He had one glorious chance to score the equaliser late in the game, but drove his effort over the bar as he was quickly closed down. However, he left a good impression on some of the club’s supporters and a few of them believe the attacker needs to start against Leeds United later this month. Twitter Reactions: If odegaard doesn’t start vs Leeds I have ...
‘He had a muscular injury’: Mikel Arteta confirms fresh injury blow for Arsenal star
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that midfielder Thomas Partey picked up a muscular injury which led to his second-half substitution against Aston Villa. The Ghana international joined the Gunners from Atletico Madrid last summer and he has since missed a number of games due to multiple thigh injuries. He was forced off the pitch against the Villans with an apparent muscle issue and Arteta confirmed after the game that the midfielder could not carry on. The Spaniard added that he has no idea over the severity of the setback and a medical assessment will be required. “He had a muscular injury so we had to take him off – he could not carry on playing and I don’t know [how bad it is],” he told Arsenal.com. “We will see the extent of the injury. He wasn’t feeling well enough to ...
‘Superb’, ‘Looked good’: Some Arsenal fans praise 28-year-old’s display vs Aston Villa
A selection of Arsenal fans on Twitter have appreciated the performance of goalkeeper Mat Ryan during the club’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa on the road. The Australia international made his Gunners debut in the absence of the suspended Bernd Leno and he conceded a goal within 74 seconds from the start. Ryan had not touched the ball before the Villans went ahead and he could not do much for the goal after Ollie Watkins’ shot deflected from his path after Rob Holding’s intervention. The 28-year-old put up a solid performance thereafter with as many as seven saves and that included three impressive ones which kept the Gunners in the game. After a good beginning to the year, the Gunners have lost momentum in recent weeks and they have picked up just one point from the last three ...
Premier League 2020/21 Week 23: EPL Results & Table
The 23rd round of fixtures in the Premier League features some eyecatching fixtures, particularly towards the top of the EPL table. We’ll update this story with reports, results, highlights and the latest Premier League standings throughout the weekend. The eyes of the football world will be on Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool go head-to-head with Manchester City. The Reds have struggled to produce their best form over the past few weeks and desperately need a victory to keep themselves in the title race. The action is already underway this weekend, with Aston Villa meeting Arsenal. 🗣️ #AVLARS pic.twitter.com/6yRZdlXKvc — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 6, 2021 The afternoon and early evening line-up on Saturday is fairly uninspiring, but things should pick up in the fina...
Arsenal team news: Four players back in training ahead of Wolves clash
Arsenal have received a selection boost with as many as four players returning to training ahead of the Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers tonight. The north London giants are unbeaten in their past seven league games where they have picked up 17 points and that sees them occupying the 10th spot. The Gunners will be aiming to continue the good run of form against Nuno’s side and they have provided some positive team news prior to the game. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed the last three games for the club after paying a visit to his ill mother. The Gabon international has now joined his teammates in full training after serving a quarantine period on his return to London. Elsewhere, Spanish duo Dani Ceballos and Pablo Mari are also in contention after overcoming their respect...
Premier League 2020/21 Week 22: EPL Results & Table
The 22nd round of fixtures in the Premier League features some intriguing match-ups at the top and bottom of the table. We’ll update this story with reports, results, highlights and the latest Premier League standings throughout the weekend. Manchester United bounced back to form in style with a 9-0 home victory over Southampton – Anthony Martial (2), Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, Jan Bednarek (OG), Edinson Cavani, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James were on the scoresheet. Goals by Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho secured a 2-1 home win for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Arsenal. Sheffield United recovered from a goal down to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Bramhall Lane – Jayden Bogle and Bill Sharp were on target for the Blades. Jairo Riedewald and Gary Cahill got the...
Arsenal clearout, last-ditch Liverpool – the best of January transfers across Europe
It’s been a rather quiet January transfer window. Previous years have seen the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk make big money moves, but nothing of that magnitude happened this time around. Nonetheless, while there wasn’t a headline-making move, there were still some exciting deals being made. Here’s a look at the best signings of the 2021 January transfer window. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal to Fenerbahce, free transfer) Ozil in his first training session at Fenerbahce Once one of the world’s best playmakers, Mesut Ozil’s time at the Emirates had gone sour, having been left out of Mikel Arteta’s 25-man squad back in October. Sitting on a contract estimated to be worth £350k-a-week, the World Cup winner couldn’t be left to sit in the reserves much longer. Along came Fenerbahce, who off...
Report: West Brom to sign 23-year-old midfielder on loan after he snubbed Southampton
West Bromwich Albion have reopened talks with Arsenal over Ainsley Maitland-Niles and expect to sign him on loan before tonight’s deadline, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reports. Maitland-Niles has seen limited Premier League action for the Gunners this term, managing only 485 minutes of playing time to date. All of his appearances have come in the full-back or wing-back positions, although the 23-year-old prefers to play in central midfield. It is now revealed that the Baggies are favourites to sign him on loan for rest of the season after he snubbed a temporary move to Southampton. Leicester City have also expressed an interest, but the Gunners have refused to hold talks given that the Foxes are a direct rival to them for the European spots. Sportslens view: Maitland-Niles has largely fe...
