Transfer News

CHELSEA CHASE OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN

Even whilst Chelsea manager Antonio Conte tells press conferences that he remains confident with the situation at hand despite the season opener loss to Burnley in the Premier League, and the Italian says he is not worried about the lack of more signings this summer, Chelsea are doing everything in their power to land Arsenal starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The defending champions have spent around £130 million to get four players so far this summer, but more players from the title-winning squad have left, and the 3-2 shock loss at Stamford Bridge increased the pressure for the manager to add players.

Transfer News

Arsenal Rekindle Pursuit of Juventus Centre-back

Despite Arsenal having some great success in the transfer window so far, it has lacked the impetus expected from Arsene Wenger in what could be his last couple of seasons at the Emirates. They signed Sead Kolasinac for free to shore-up the defence and left-back position and spent a club-record fee to bring in Alexandre Lacazette to finally give Arsenal a true striker.

Now, reports from Italy claim that the Gunners are in pursuit of one of Juventus’ prized centre-backs, Daniele Rugani. With Arsenal’s last two games showing Arsene Wenger utilising the three-at-the-back formation to great effect, defeating Chelsea in both of their last competitive matches to win two trophies, they could do with a centre-back who is more experienced in the role.

Juventus can’t afford to lose Rugani

Daniele Rugani has been in the Juventus system since February 2015, and the club has been moulding him into their next centre-back star. Having been blooded into the first team over the last couple of seasons, the Italian champions have effectively put their trust in Rugani for the upcoming campaign.

This comes after the huge-spending AC Milan managed to claw top centre-back Leonardo Bonucci away from Juventus and the champions decided not to sign a replacement following the transfer. They did get Medhi Benatia from Bayern Munich during the Kingsley Coman negotiations, but since Bonucci left, Juve haven’t signed and kept another centre-back.

This puts the 6’3’’ 23-year-old in a prime position to get a lot more game time, and that appears to be the way in which Juventus are going with him. So, losing him this late in the transfer window could be catastrophic to the team. Due to a fantastic summer of signings, AC Milan have closed in to 13/2 in the Serie A betting. Juventus are still clear favourites, but given the immense talent fluxed into AC Milan, perhaps the odds should reflect a closer race as the challengers certainly have the tools to have a good run at the title.

It’s hard to ignore both Juventus’ six-season winning streak of Serie A and the immense team that AC Milan have built, so this could make for the most competitive campaign for years, which Juventus will not want to be pulled into. Keeping their future star Daniele Rugani is a must if they wish to remain dominant, so they’re very unlikely to let him go.

Arsenal heading in the right direction

The fact that Arsenal are being linked to centre-backs, especially someone as talented and tactically-sound as Rugani, is a great sign and will hopefully bear fruit before the end of the transfer window. Unfortunately, however, it seems extremely unlikely that the Italian giants would let Ruagni leave – they simply need him too much this season.

Much of the other transfer talk surrounds attacking players such as Thomas Lemar, Lucas Moura, and Ousmane Dembele, most likely because of the Alexis Sanchez situation. But, if Arsene Wenger wants to continue down the three-at-the-back route, he will want to sign a central defender experienced with the tactical structure of the formation, instead of relying on full-backs to get the job done over the long season.

If the Gunners do end up getting Daniele Rugani, it would be a fantastic signing, but it looks rather unlikely at this point.

Arsenal News

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.

Arsenal News

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.

Arsenal News

Petr Cech is not worried about Arsenal’s 5th place finish

For the 1st time in 20 years, Arsenal has not managed to secure a top 4 position in the English Premier League.


This means that the team of Arsene Wenger will not be able to qualify and compete in the upcoming season of the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal can participate however, in the UEFA Europa League.

Petr Cech is not worried about what many consider to be yet another underwhelming season and the Czech shot-stopper has stated that he is certain Arsenal are going to bounce back.

“If you have one off year in 20 years, it’s not a problem. I think the club has a strong foundation, strong organization and everything to be out for one year and come back straight in, like Chelsea did last season. I think it helped them not to be involved in Europe this season, because they could keep all their energy for the league.”

Transfer News

ALL CHANGE UP FRONT

It looks like we’ll have a comletely transformed strike-force next season, with the press going wild with speculation and rumours!

Arsenal are reportedly close to completing the signature of Alexandre Lacazette from Olympique Lyon this summer. The 26-year old was a prime candidate to join Atletico Madrid but after the La Liga outfit lost their transfer ban appeal, things changed. Reports in England and France say the Gunners could complete the deal for Lacazette in the next 48 hours. Le Progress claims the French club president Jean-Michel Aulas has approved of the deal and it could be completed soon.

Another rumour of players joining the club (this time by Calciomercato) is that the Gunners are close to announcing the deal for Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez. The 26-year old Algerian had an underwhelming season at the club last year and seems intent on exiting the Kings Power Stadium this summer. The Gunners wanted him last year but he opted to remain with the Foxes after their fairy tale season.

Arsenal News

Forward’s agent speaks out amid Arsenal transfer speculation

Arda Turan’s representative has insisted that his client is not going anywhere amid the alleged verbal agreement to join Arsenal in the summer transfer window.


A recent report from Haberturk suggested that the north London outfit had agreed terms with the Turkey international ahead of his £25m from Spanish giants Barcelona.

The 30-year-old joined the Catalonia-based club from Atletico Madrid back in the summer of 2015 but their transfer embargo restricted him from participation until 2016. He has since endured one of his toughest spells in professional football with former boss Luis Enrique utilising him as backup to his starting lineup. Both Neymar and Lione Messi are irreplaceable owing to their ever-growing status, and this has seen Turan earn a regular role off the substitutes’ bench.

Haberturk recently suggested that the Catalan giants had given the green light for Turan to complete his preferred move to London in the summer, but his agent Ahmet Bulut has poured cold water to the speculation by suggesting that the attacker is happy where he is, he told AS:

Arsenal News

Summer Signings for Arsene to Consider

As we approach the official start of the summer transfer window, all the talk at Arsenal seems to be concerning players who may leave the club. Both Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been linked with the exit door in recent days and it’s certainly true that Arsene needs to trim some of the deadwood at the Emirates as the 2017/18 campaign starts to appear over the horizon.

More importantly, the squad needs some fresh faces and that was clearly evident throughout a disappointing league season so who is in the frame at this stage?

Arsenal News

WENGER SAYS NO TO DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL AT ARSENAL

Long-time Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dismissed the idea of working under a director of football at the Emirates despite the sky high level of dissatisfaction from fans.


The club wants to create the new role, as other top sides, whether Wenger agrees to stay or not.

Arsenalhave reportedly started looking out for potential candidates. The director of football at German side Borussia Dortmund Michael Zorc, the head of international recruitment at Arsenal Francis Cagigao, and former Gunners star and current technical director at Ajax Marc Overmars are some of the likely candidates.

After Arsenal yet again failed to deliver a real challenge in the Premier League, the Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis is keen on restructuring the club this summer. Wenger himself said he did not fully understand the meaning of Gazidis’ statement when he said there situation was a “catalyst for change.” The relationship between Wenger and Gazidis is believed to be strained. However, Wenger has said clearly that he would not stay under a director of football.

“No. I don’t know what ‘director of football’ means. Is it somebody who stands in the road and directs play right and left? I don’t understand and I never did understand what it means. Sorry, no. I’m not prepared to talk about that.

Arsenal News

Arsene Wenger Predicts Tough Time Ahead for Spurs in New Stadium

Arsene Wenger says that it is likely that Spurs’ progress will be halted by the move to a new stadium.


The club have been one of the most improved division over the last two years. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has been able to bring success to the club without spending a lot of money. However, Wenger says that the club will be facing a cash crunch when they move to the new £750 million stadium at the start of the 2018-19 season. This brand-new stadium will have the ability to manage Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in terms of capacity while being able to do significantly better in every other regard.

Arsenal moved into the Emirates stadium just over a decade ago and faced a lot of issues with regard to finances. Wenger was unable to spend much money in the transfer window, and he predicts that Spurs will face a similar situation after the move to this brand-new stadium.