Category: News

After recent woeful performances against Ostersunds, Tottenham and Manchester City I feel it’s a good time to analyse what’s gone wrong at Arsenal.

There was much hype about Arsenal’s new signings, the reunited Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre Emerick Aubemayang after their 5-1 smashing of Everton. However things went wrong from there.

Arsenal had a massive game against North London rivals Spurs, which was absolutely vital in the race for the top four. But as what’s been the story in most fixtures against big teams they simply didn’t turn up.

They let Spurs run riot on them and were lucky to only lose 1-0.

Things didn’t stop there as Arsenal had a scare against Ostersunds losing 2-1, only marginally going through to the next round of the Europa League.

In one of the last in a flurry of huge games for Arsenal they faced Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

They were woeful again conceding easy goals to Aguero, Kompany and Silva.

This highlights City’s dominance and also shows that Arsenal will just never be there as one of the best clubs.

One problem for Arsenal which has shown across these games is their defending. Chambers is inexperienced, Mustafi’s promising prospect is no longer there and Koscielny’s past his best.

But a lot of people think the problem is in their manager, Arsene Wenger, who is struggling to make Arsenal the great club it used to be.

I think Wenger should leave in the summer to be taken over by someone who can organise their defence and make them challenge for the league title.

After a bad run in the league, questions are being raised about Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

After draws to Manchester United, Newcastle, Burnley and Watford and a 5-0 loss to Manchester City the pressure was on for Klopp and his side, with a fixture on Sunday against Tottenham.

Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t handle Kane who scored twice and led his team to a 4-1 victory, with Liverpool’s defence coming under scrutiny once again for not being able to stop the young English striker.

Klopp is yet to win a trophy at Liverpool, but has got to the final of the Europa League and the League Cup, losing both times. However, Klopp managed to reach the Champions League last season as his club finished fourth, therefore guaranteeing a place in Europe under new UEFA rules.

Liverpool recruited well in the summer attacking-wise, but didn’t take into account their defensive issues with the only defensive player they brought in was Andrew Roberston, a former Hull 23 year old full back.

This defensive problem means Liverpool are only a mere ninth this season, twelve points off league leaders Manchester City so Klopp’s future is in major doubt.

 

Romelu Lukaku has signed for Manchester United while Wayne Rooney has joined Everton.

Rooney is rejoining his boyhood and early-career club and has said that he is “ecstatic” and his “first game back will be an emotional day”.

He has left Manchester United after 13 seasons there, many of them being very successful, but some being more disappointing.

He has also became United’s record goalscorer, along with winning the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League.

Furthermore, Lukaku has signed for Manchester United for £75m on a five year deal.

Chelsea also bid for the Belgian striker in an aim to resign him, but couldn’t get hold of him.

Boss Mourinho said “Romelu is fit for Manchester United. He is a big personality and a big player,” said boss Mourinho.

Mourinho is in his second spell working with Lukaku after managing him at Chelsea, where he got sold to Everton.

John Terry has completed a move to Championship side Aston Villa.

The 36-year old said that he turned down many offers from Premier League clubs because he didn’t want to play against Chelsea.

He also added, “I was there for 22 years at the football club. I am very proud of that, but this is a new chapter in my life and career.”

“My thoughts are 100% here and the ambition is to get us back to the Premier League.”

Terry made his Chelsea debut in 1998 winning many trophies in a brilliant 22 years.

His last game for the club was on the final day, where he was substituted in the 26th minute, corresponding to his shirt number.

Terry’s aim is to fire Aston Villa to the Premier League, which is very possible even though last season they only finished 13th.

 

Crystal Palace have named Frank de Boer as their new boss on a three year contract.

The Dutchman takes over from Sam Allardyce who stepped down from the job in May.

He says about where he wants to finish this season, “The aim is to be a solid Premier League team, not struggle with relegation.”

“This is our main target-if we do more that’s nice.”

De Boer also says that he is excited to join a club that spend a lot of money.

is His last two clubs have been Ajax and Inter Milan;

With Ajax, he won the league title in four successive seasons, but resigned after a disappointing year.

With Inter Milan he only lasted a few months, cutting his three year contract short.

The 47-year old has vowed to assess his squad before making signings, but the most important thing for him to do is to keep star players such as Zaha and Benteke at the club.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have targeted top players  from Europe in a bid to win next season’s title.

Firstly, rumours suggest that Monaco’s Fabinho will sign for Manchester United in the short term after he said that a move was tempting.

Fabinho, a Brazilian international, played a big part in Monaco’s title win, helping defensively, whether at right-back or in centre-midfield.

Moving on, Chelsea seem to have completed a £35m deal with another Monaco midfielder, this time it’s Tiemoue Bakayoko.

He is expected to have his medical next week.

This move now means that one player out of Matic, Fabregas and Chalobah is likely to leave.

Also, Juventus have confirmed that they will release right-back Dani Alves from the final year of his contract.

In hearing this news, Manchester City are looking to bring him back to England – and have a big chance of doing that after Alves has praised Pep Guardiola, his former coach.

Lastly, Chelsea and Manchester United are trying to lure James Rodriguez to join their club.

The Colombian has had a nightmarish few years at Real Madrid and a move is certainly on the cards for both clubs.

Although Ronaldo signed a five year contract in just November, a source close to him says “he doesn’t want to stay in Spain,” because he is unhappy about being accused of tax fraud in the country.

His release clause is reported to be £875m, but clubs will definitely try to negotiate deals a lot less than that.

The Portuguese star last played a game for Real Madrid on the 3rd June, a game which could be his last for the club.

Ronaldo enjoyed a successful season, winning the Champions League and La Liga, and will surely be missed if he leaves.

The most likely destination for him, I think, is Old Trafford, where he is still loved by many fans after some great years.

Also, Zlatan has left, opening up a position for Ronaldo to fill.

More potential destinations are China, where they are willing to pay massive sums of money and PSG, who alike can pay huge fees.

Or a swap deal with Mbappe is on the cards.

Mohamed Salah to Liverpool from Roma

After a season where he scored sixteen goals, Jurgen Klopp has made Salah one of his main targets for the summer. Roma rejected a first bid of £28m, wanting at least £35m, a price that Liverpool are reluctant to pay. Talks seemed to have stalled, but reports say the move is now back on.

Alvaro Morata to Manchester United from Real Madrid

With Zlatan leaving Manchester United, they will need to replace him with a striker. And rumours suggest that their replacement will be Morata, who they hope to get even though they want him for £10m less than Real Madrid demand.

James Rodriguez to Chelsea from Real Madrid

Another player who is possibly going to leave Real Madrid… Rodriguez has been linked with a move to Chelsea for £70m. His time in Spain since moving from Monaco for a huge sum of money has been a nightmare and a move is almost definite this summer.

Davy Klaasen to Everton from Ajax

Trying to bolster his side’s attacking threat, Ronald Koeman is aiming to sign Davy Klaasen from Ajax. Deals seem close and Everton aim to complete the signing before the end of the week.

Costa was not in a brilliant situation at the start of the season, despite that, he fired Chelsea to the title by scoring twenty goals in thirty-five games and always being a threat upfront.

However, Conte wants to sell him.

Here is Costa after Spain’s draw with Colombia on Wednesday.

“I’ll be sincere. The other day I got a text message from coach Conte saying I’m not in his plans anymore.”

“Right now I’m a Chelsea player. But the coach doesn’t want me there. So I’ll have to leave no matter what.”

“I don’t know where I’ll go, I’ll see. But people know I cherish Atletico Madrid a lot and I also love to live in Madrid.”

Costa was linked with a move to China in January, but Chelsea said they had no intention of selling him.

Costa moved to Chelsea in 2014 from Atletico Madrid, a club he has hinted of his desire to return to.

The things that will happen next in this drama will be very interesting for football fans like me.

Joey Barton, the former Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR midfielder has today been banned from playing professional football for eighteen months after he admitted an FA betting misconduct charge. He is also being fined £30,000.

Barton committed 1,260 bets in the past ten years with the average stake being £150, even though the FA has a rule that any footballer in the top eight tiers should not bet, otherwise bans will be introduced.

The Englishman said in a statement on his website that he is addicted to gambling, but also disappointed about the harshness of the sanction and will appeal it.

He also said that he is now forced into an early retirement.

The Englishman even placed bets on his own team to lose when he didn’t play which he said ‘On some occasions, my placing of the bet on my team to lose was an expression of anger and frustration at not being picked or being unable to play’. Bets that he placed when he started included in 2006 when he bet on himself to become the first goalscorer in a game against QPR, which he lost because Richard Dunne scored first. However, he denies ‘match fixing’, an offence which can bring a lifetime football ban.

Barton has always had a reputation of being football’s bad boy. He got sentenced for six months in prison after hitting a man twenty times and leaving a teenager with broken teeth; he assaulted Ousmane Dabo; got banned by Rangers after a training ground altercation; and has tweeted many abusive things about people.

Moving on, Barton has not only placed bets on football. He has placed them on many sports, and said that even when he was a boy his family allowed him to bet on things like the Grand National.

The 34-year old joined Burnley this January after his nightmare stay at Rangers, and will never play professionally again after the ban.