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Arsenal News

Vieira: The Pretenders and Contenders to his Throne

July 2005. The month and year that Patrick Vieira left Arsenal to join Juventus. The deal was a reported £13.75m and left many Gunners’ fans in shock. The central lynchpin of the Invincible team had been cast aside with no replacement seemingly on the way.

For many, the Frenchman’s departure is a symbol of everything that followed for Arsenal over the next 12 years. A dominant, all-round midfielder who was a genuine leader. Gone. The Arsenal midfield hasn’t been the same since. Of course, it’s not quite that simple. To suggest Vieira was never replaced is a little misleading. In the last 12 years, Arsenal have had a selection of world-class midfielders, albeit of a different ilk from the towering Frenchman.

There is no doubt that Arsene Wenger has made more than a few questionable decisions during his reign. But blaming him for not replacing Vieira with a like-for-like player somewhat misses the point. The root of Arsenal’s failings in the league and Champions League stem further than a lack of leaders.

Arsenal News

WALCOTT HEARTFELT LETTER TO ARSENAL FAN

Gunners winger passed on his condolences to some loyal Arsenal supporters following the death of their child, whom they had named after the Arsenal star, Theo.

Walcott and the club were widely praised online and in the media when it emerged that Walcott had sent a heartfelt letter to some grieving parents following the death of their son, who was named Theo in recognition of the Arsenal star.

Arsenal News

Wenger cool on Sanchez’ Future

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has played down speculation about the current goal drought affecting his top scorer from last season, Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean forward has only two goals to his name so far this term which were against Koln in the Europa League and against Everton in the Premier League. He scored 30 goals in all competitions last term.

The lack of goals is the latest in a string of troubles for the gifted striker recently. In the summer he failed to get his move to Manchester City. A £60m offer was there on the table on transfer deadline day but the Gunners were unable to get a suitable replacement which forced Sanchez to stay.

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Arsenal boss: Jack Wilshere is ‘more mature’ and ready to step in

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has claimed that midfielder Jack Wilshere is a more mature man after going through a series of injuries.

The England international is likely to make his first start of the season when the Gunners entertain Doncaster Rovers in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday night.

Wilshere has managed just a cameo in the Europa League this season with Wenger playing the waiting game with his midfielder. Prior to the Doncaster game, Wenger admitted that Wilshere has hardened them with the string of injuries sustained over the years, and he is not far off from making his Premier League comeback.

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The Season So Far

Twenty-one years. Normally when you reach such a landmark there is nothing but celebration and enthusiasm for what the future may hold. It couldn’t be more different for Arsene Wenger, 21 years now at the helm of an Arsenal ship that is seemingly listing more as each season passes.

Fans at the Emirates are again arguing over Wenger in or Wenger out. The same deja-vu plagues the club each season it seems and it also plagues every journalist, seemingly copying and pasting the previous seasons transcripts over transfer policy/ambition/Kroenke & Usmanov.

We are now a quarter of the way through the season and again the same patterns seem to be arising for the Frenchman. So how have the first two months of this campaign shaped up? What to make of the new signings at the club? Was he right to let Oxlade Chamberlain leave? And what of Sanchez and Ozil?

The truth behind the Lacazette celebration

As Arsenal continue their fight back after a shaky start, record signing, Alexandre Lacazette has revealed the secret behind his trademark ‘trumpets’ goal celebration.

The £50m man who joined the Gunners from Lyon in the summer has been a revelation so far with 4 goals from 6 starts including two against West Brom on Monday night. All his goals have been at the Emirates and after each one he runs to his new adoring faithful and appears to blow a trumpet. It’s caused a stir amongst the Arsenal diehards and left many wondering why he does and where it comes from.

Arsenal News

Alexandre Lacazette makes goalscoring promise to Arsenal supporters

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has insisted that he will look to score goals in key games where former strikers have failed to succeed.

The France international joined the Gunners from Lyon for a club-record £46m fee earlier this summer and has since opened his goal tally for the club.

Lacazette scored just 94 seconds into his league debut against Leicester City but was unfortunate to have his goal chalked off for offside in the 1-0 loss at Stoke City. The Frenchman has maintained a tally of over 20 goals in each of his last four seasons, and he is aiming to take this form forward by scoring in the crunch games, he told Sky Sports: “I’m going to score goals at key times in games where Arsenal may have struggled in previous seasons. I’m going to win us games.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has stressed that his compatriot is still adapting to the rigours of the Premier League, but he will soon get back to his old self, he said: He is still in an adaptation period to the team and to the league. He is a bit surprised by the intensity of it all in training and in the games. He will get there because he is brave and he is intelligent.”

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Arsene Wenger confirms Alexis Sanchez is ill amid exit talk

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has insisted that Alexis Sanchez is indeed suffering from flu which could restrict his participation in first-team training.

A recent report from The Mail suggested that the Chile international could be pushing for a move elsewhere after he posted an Instagram image with the caption of being ‘sick’.

However, the Gunners manager has clarified that his main attacker ‘has flu’ but he will nevertheless arrive at the English capital tomorrow. The 28-year-old is therein expected to resume training in a couple of days with Wenger maintaining his stance to not sell Sanchez this summer.

Wenger said: “He has flu, yes. I had him on text yesterday. He will come back as soon as possible and we were in touch with him and his doctor and he has no basic problem apart from the fact that he should come back tomorrow, but he comes back on Tuesday.”

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Arsenal striker could join Premier League rival this summer

France international Olivier Giroud could make a move to Everton this summer after Borussia Dortmund decided to keep hold of Pierre-EmerickAubameyang for the campaign.

The Bundesliga outfit had been strongly linked with a move for Giroud over the past week, but this interest is likely to diminish with sporting director Michael Zorc citing that Aubameyang would stay put at the club.

According to The Telegraph, the Toffees are now favourites to wrap up a deal for Giroud, who is valued at around £20m by Arsenal.The French marksman was a regular starter from the substitutes’ bench over the course of the previous campaign, and the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette has increased speculation of him leaving the Emirates.

Giroud has continued to show his commitment to the north London club, but the offer of regular first-team football at a domestic rival could be hard to refuse – with the World Cup coming along next year.

The striker has earned a regular spot alongside Antoine Griezmann in the France setup, and the lack of first-team action could hinder his prospects of maintaining his role with a young Kylian Mbappe and Lacazette providing competition.

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Alexis Sanchez refuses to confirm Arsenal Stay

Arsenal attacker Alexis Sanchez has placed doubts over his Gunners future after he refused to suggest where his commitment would lie at the start of the 2017/18 season.

The Chile international enjoyed his best-ever club campaign last term as he notched 30 goals and 15 assists across all competitions.

Sanchez, 28, has just a year left on his existing Emirates deal, and it is widely suggested that he could favour a reunion with former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. In a press-conference prior to the Confederations Cup final, Sanchez was asked whether he could play alongside Claudio Bravo at Manchester City, for which, he replied: “Good question! Right now I’m focused on the Confederations Cup. When this is finished I will see if I stay or go. I don’t know.”

Asked if he had already made his future decision, he added: “Yes, it’s clear. But I can’t tell you”. The attacker is said to be holding out on a record wage package at the Emirates in order to realise a potential reunion with Pep at the Etihad. There is also a different story to the speculation with suggestions that Sergio Aguero could be offered in a straight-exchange deal involving both clubs.