Arsenal favourite Ian Wright has said that the departure of Alexis Sanchez from the Emirates influence the Gunners’ hierarchy to commit Mesut Ozil to a new long-term deal. The Gunners faced the prospect of losing both Sanchez and Ozil on free transfers in the summer, but they managed to avoid the situation by swapping the former for Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Manchester United, whilst Ozil was handed a fresh three-and-a-half year contract on record wages.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Wright admitted that he was surprised by Ozil’s extension, but believes the Gunners had little choice as they could not offload to lose both Sanchez and Ozil, he said: “At the end of the day I was very surprised that he signed. On a free, I think he would be worth it in a team like that (Man City).The fact is there wasn’t enough takers, maybe he realised that after the fact that Sanchez has gone.So then, what happens is Arsenal couldn’t afford to lose both of them.So he finds himself in a position where he signs this massive contract.”
Continue reading “Ian Wright’s Suggests Alexis Sanchez’s Departure Influenced Ozil’s Contract Extension”
Arsenal manager rules out Theo Walcott exit
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has seemingly ruled out the sale of Theo Walcott when the transfer window reopens in the New Year. The England international has been sparingly used during the current campaign, but Wenger attributed the attacker’s recent absence to a sickness bug.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “He works hard to come back – he had a sickness a few weeks ago – and after I didn’t change the squad. In training he looks sharp and he will show that.” Meanwhile, when stressed whether the 28-year-old would remain at the Emirates beyond January, he simply replied: “yes”.
Continue reading “Arsenal manager rules out Theo Walcott exit”
Dixon thinks nothing will change under Wenger
Former Arsenal legend Lee Dixon has criticised his old club and their defensive game plan. He believes there is a lack of a clear strategy when out of possession of the ball and these issues are ‘unfixable’ under boss Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners lost 3-1 to high-flying Manchester City and even though they had some decent spells and a couple of debatable calls go against them, it was obvious City were the better side and deserved the win.
Continue reading “Dixon thinks nothing will change under Wenger”
Kevin Kilbane insists Hector Bellerin’s career is on the decline
Former Sunderland midfielder-turned-pundit Kevin Kilbane feels that Hector Bellerin’s career at Arsenal is on the slide, and he should no longer be regarded as a regular starter.
The Spain international recently reverted to his regular right wing-back spot after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s deadline day switch to Liverpool.
Bellerin has not quite impressed in the Gunners’ shirt since an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur last year. Speaking to Irish radio, Kilbane highlighted the sudden drop in performance of Bellerin, who he feels is not good enough to make the Gunners lineup.
He said: “Hector Bellerin has gone from being one of the best right-backs in football to almost now thinking he’s not good enough to get in the Arsenal side. It’s incredible the decline in Bellerin.”
Despite his odd performances of late, Bellerin is likely to keep his place on the right side of the defence as they are no ready-made replacements in the squad. The likes of Ainsley Maitland- Niles and Reiss Nelson can both feature in the position, but Arsene Wenger is under no illusions to change the makeup of his team. Continue reading “Kevin Kilbane insists Hector Bellerin’s career is on the decline”
Arsenal boss slams sluggish defending following Stoke City defeat
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was critical about the club’s defence following a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners could not make the most of their 77 percent possession with lazy defending combined with a couple of poor refereeing decisions costing them a potential victory.
Following the game, Wenger was not in a sympathising mood with his defenders with Nacho Monreal having misjudged the situation prior to Jese Rodriguez’s maiden goal in English football, he said: “It was frustrating getting caught cold for the goal. Defensively there is no excuse. We gave them a cheap goal. We knew it was important not to make a defensive mistake. But we came out straight after half-time, were too sluggish and paid for it. We gave them too much freedom in the middle. I was not convinced by our central defence today. We were unlucky. I think we scored a regular goal that was given offside and it wasn’t offside. It’s a very easy decision. It’s a difficult defeat to swallow. We had chances. We should have won the game comfortably.” Continue reading “Arsenal boss slams sluggish defending following Stoke City defeat”
Arsenal can land Alexandre Lacazette for £60m this summer
Arsenal will have the opportunity of landing Alexandre Lacazette in the summer with Lyon having given up on keeping hold of their star man.
The France international is lining up a fresh challenge in a new league after proving himself on a seasonal basis for Les Gones. Lacazette has bagged over 20 goals in each of his last four campaigns, and he is now eager to push himself further in a bigger league.
According to The Telegraph, the Gunners could sense a chance of landing the frontman following negotiations between manager Arsene Wenger and Les Gones’ hierarchy in Nice last week. The 26-year-old had previously hinted that Champions League football could be key to his move with Atletico Madrid being his prime destination.
However, with the Spanish club failing to overcome their transfer ban, the striker has had a change of thought as he eyes a lucrative wage package at a club where he would be deemed as a regular in the starting lineup. Lacazette has come through a 37 goal season with his hometown club, and he is said to be frustrated with the lack of progress at Lyon when compared to their rival teams. Continue reading “Arsenal can land Alexandre Lacazette for £60m this summer”
West Ham weighing up move for Arsenal frontman
West Ham United could lodge a potential attempt to sign Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud after he revealed his frustration at being bench for most of the previous campaign. The France international made just 13 starts for the Gunners all season, but he still managed to bag a respectable tally of 16 goals.
Giroud had remained the first-choice striker for the Gunners until last season, where Arsene Wenger shuffled his options with Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck taking up the centre-forward duties. Continue reading “West Ham weighing up move for Arsenal frontman”
ARSENAL MISS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT
Arsenal have lost out in the race to make the final four that would have earned them an ticket to the Champions League next season.
The Gunners went into the last game with the fear of losing their usual ticket but they probably prayed that Liverpool lost or draw.
Liverpool went into the final round of games with a point above Arsene Wenger’s menand they won to seal their spot in Europe. This would be the first time in two decades that Arsenal have failed to qualify for the competition.
The fans were hopeful after Hector Bellerin scored the first goal in the game against Everton at Goodison Park under ten minutes. News filtered in that they had the advantage as Liverpool were yet to score against Boro. The Teessiders were already relegated from the top flight so it was a bit surprising.
However, the Reds got the needed confidence boost when GeorginioWihnaldum scored in the stoppage time of the first half. After the break, Jurgen Klopp and his boys sailed to a comfortable 3-0 rout. Liverpool have crumbled before ‘small teams’ this season so it was legitimate fear that they could throw the game when it mattered the most. Continue reading “ARSENAL MISS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT”
DUBLIN: ARSENAL BOARD SHOULD FORCE WENGER TO SIGN PLAYERS
There are reports in England that Arsenal long-time manager Arsene Wenger has a contract drawn up by the club already to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium farther.
The French manager has refused to confirm if he would exit Arsenal at the end of the season though he has mentioned that retirement was out of the option.
There is a lot of grievance towards the manager over his perceived stance on the transfer market. Funny enough analyses reveal that Wenger’s expenses on talents in the last two transfer windows are slightly higher than that of their competitors.
Sol Campbell says he believes Wenger will renew his deal with the club at the end of the year while Dion Dublin opines that Wenger should be forced to spend money on players this summer.
“I would say keep hold of Mr Wenger, give him some money to spend. Yes, he’s had it. I know, but give him some money to spend, force him to spend it, make him bring young players in and Arsenal can challenge,” Dublin advised. Continue reading “DUBLIN: ARSENAL BOARD SHOULD FORCE WENGER TO SIGN PLAYERS”
WALCOTT: OZIL’S GOAL WAS TENSION BREAKER
Theo Walcott celebrated his goal in the 3-0 demolition of West Ham United as the victory kept them in the race for a top four finish. When the Three Lions forward levelled proceedings in the game against Manchester City on Sunday, he could not afford to celebrate as he knew what was at stake.
On Wednesday it was a different scenario as a confident Gunners squad ran riot over Slaven Bilic’s men. Walcott did not hide or repress his emotions when he grabbed his 19th goal of the season at the Emirates Stadium. His teammates went all out to congratulate him unlike his City goal.
After the match, Walcott credited Mesut Ozil with breaking the tension with his opening goal, which might prove crucial to their run-in – with the games getting more and more intense, and tickets sold out on arsenal.com, you need to click here to see what tickets are available on 1st4footballtickets.com. Fan support might be similarly crucial to Arsenal’s performances.
“We had to get the first goal and when we got the first goal, the nerves went away and then we just relaxed and played our football,” the winger said. He admitted that recent weeks have been “challenging” but added that he hopes the team would be more confident in the next games in a busy month. Continue reading “WALCOTT: OZIL’S GOAL WAS TENSION BREAKER”