Category: Football

Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal career is heading for a sad end

Morning.

As expected Arsenal named their Europa League squad yesterday without Mesut Ozil or Sokratis in it. The restrictions on foreign players meant that Mikel Arteta had to choose two players to sit out our European campaign – a decision he has to make about our Premier League by October 20th too – and those were the two casualties.

It’s not a surprise based on what has happened this season. Neither player has been involved in a match-day squad, not even for the Carabao Cup, and there were efforts to move Sokratis on before the transfer deadline. It didn’t happen, but for some time it’s been obvious he has been some way down the manager’s pecking order.

When it comes to Ozil though, the lack of surprise doesn’t negate the fact it’s a big story, a major issue. He remains our highest paid player, in terms of stature and ‘star’ … Read the rest

'Outmanoeuvred': Leading agents lift lid on Man United's botched negotiations – report

Manchester United’s players and leading European agents think the club’s recruitment system is inadequate, according to inside sources.

The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell has had ‘conversations with numerous intermediaries in recent days’ and found that there was ‘an overwhelming consensus that United would perform better if they hired a best-in-class sporting director.’

Whitwell quotes a leading European agent as saying ‘the problem of United is they do not have a clear sport strategy.

‘When you talk to United, you are not talking to football people. This is a pity because they are such a big club, such a historical club.’

Meanwhile, the same reporter claims to have been told by a United dressing room source that ‘several players feel the club “did not fight to the death” to enhance the squad for Solskjaer this summer and that the “sporting direction” at the top of the club has too often been … Read the rest

(Video) Connor Coady gives beautiful interview and Reds wonder what could have been

Connor Coady scored his first England goal last night, and the Wolves captain gave a memorable interview post-match.

He spoke brilliantly to ITV – and you can check it out in the video below:

Coady was a highly-rated member of the Liverpool Academy and under Kenny Dalglish, it looked like he might get a proper chance in the first-team.

But Brendan Rodgers came in and Coady dropped down the pecking order and had to make his name in the lower leagues instead.

Now a Premier League and international star, many Reds on Twitter questioned if the … Read the rest

Worrying signs at Man United as star blames toxic dressing room for forcing him out of the club

It’s amazing to think that things were actually looking very positive for Man United after the Covid-19 shutdown earlier in the year.

Bruno Fernandes made a huge difference to the team and they were actually quite exciting to watch for a while, but they’ve done nothing to build on that this summer and looks like the downward spiral is beginning again.

There’s little sign of positive feeling on the pitch after some dreadful performances and a questionable transfer strategy, but some reports are now suggesting that all is not well in the dressing room either.

READ MORE: Photo: Man United fans get a first look at Edinson Cavani in the club shirt

Our colleagues at Stretty News picked up on a report from Italian outlet La Repubblica, and it looks like Romelu Lukaku has lifted the lid on how bad things are behind the scenes.

He blames Paul Pogba … Read the rest

Andrea Pirlo tipped to emulate Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane

Andrea Pirlo was a surprising pick to replace Maurizio Sarri as the manager of Juventus this summer.

The former midfielder has no senior managerial experience other than his current role and it is obvious that the Bianconeri are simply taking a chance on their former player.

His appointment echoes that of the likes of Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane who were both given the chance to manage their former teams.

Both managers have gone on to achieve great things and repay the faith shown in them, and Dynamo Kyiv boss, Mircea Lucescu has tipped Pirlo to emulate them.

Lucescu, who managed Pirlo in the 90s claims that he knew the midfielder would become a manager one day and he is not surprised that he has achieved that status.

He then added that the former Juve star can be as big as Guardiola and Zidane because he was a successful footballer … Read the rest

Marketing

Assessing the outright success of a transfer window before your new players have had a chance to settle in and, you know, play, is a tricky assignment. One can only look at it from a purely administrative point of view at this stage- which areas did Arsenal identify according to our understanding and in which areas did Arsenal manage to recruit?

There is a cautionary tale about judging on any other basis. Last summer Arsenal absolutely needed a high end-product wide player and they bought one at great expense in Nicolas Pepe. It didn’t make the team any better (which is not to ‘blame’ Pepe personally, you understand). We will have to wait and see exactly how the pieces fit and allow all of the variable factors that determine the success of a transfer to eventuate.

Arsenal acted quickly on the majority of their signings. Matri, Soares and Willian were … Read the rest

'Treating him like crap'- Man United fans bemoan treatment of star

Manchester United fans were not too pleased to see Sergio Romero was excluded from the first team’s Champions League squad, directing their concerns to the club.

The Argentine goalkeeper was said to be the subject of interest from Everton but those at Old Trafford were against the move.

It’s believed that had to do with the Toffees’ offer being a loan move and not a permanent transfer and so United rejected it.

Romero’s wife reacted by publicly publishing a rant online, which many fans found rather amusing yet saddening.

Many felt the experienced keeper had earned his right to whatever move he desired given his service to the club over the years.

Fans said the following:

“Romero, we the fans appreciate you and wish the club and manager gives you the respect that you deserve…”

“Feel bad for Romero, he had done nothing wrong yet he is surplus to requirement.”… Read the rest

Liverpool handed boost as Shaqiri tests negative for COVID-19 after previously testing positive

Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri has tested negative for COVID-19, just days after testing positive for the virus, the Swiss FA have confirmed.

The winger will now travel with the rest of the Switzerland squad to take on Spain in the forthcoming Nations League fixture in Madrid, pending UEFA’s approval.

It was announced only two days ago that Shaqiri had tested positive for COVID-19 and the winger was forced into self-isolation.

Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mane also contracted the virus in the last two weeks, but are expected to recover in time for the Merseyside Derby after the international break.

Shaqiri had been linked with a move away from Anfield all summer long – but despite … Read the rest

Worrying signs for Chelsea as vital new signing picks up an injury on international duty

There’s never a good time or situation for an injury to occur, but this might be one of the worst for Edouard Mendy.

He’s just joined Chelsea and he’s trying to establish himself in the team, while this international break is pointless for Senegal as it’s just meaningless friendlies that nobody really cares about, so these reports will be worrying:

Describing missing games “at the very least” is never a good sign because that shows that it’s not clear how bad the injury is just now, and Chelsea could really do with Mendy recovering quickly.

He might not be the highest profile or the most exciting addition to Frank Lampard’s squad this summer, but he’s certainly the most important … Read the rest

Seven Juventus players have broken the coronavirus bubble

Juventus have been living in self-isolation after they found two coronavirus cases last Saturday.

However, Football Italia is reporting that seven of the club’s players have broken the bubble to return home or to join their national team for the international matches.

The players could face fines for leaving, but the club didn’t stop them and they will have to take responsibility individually now.

The report claims that Gianluigi Buffon and Merih Demiral had decided to leave the bubble in the team’s camp to return home on Monday.

Rodrigo Bentancur, Juan Cuadrado, Danilo, Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo left to join their national teams for the international window.

Juventus has followed the right protocol by informing the ASL members who have relayed the information to the prosecutor’s office with the name of the defaulting players.

The report adds that it isn’t such a big deal for the players as they … Read the rest