FSGIST

Arsenal are reportedly facing a struggle to clinch a potential transfer deal for Sporting Lisbon wonderkid Tiago Tomas. The 18-year-old looks a hugely promising talent after breaking into the Sporting first-team this season, scoring six goals at senior level already. Despite Arsenal supposedly being in talks over a deal for Tomas for months now, it looks like their failure to qualify for Europe next season could cost them this signing, according to the Sun. The Gunners will surely not have quite the same pulling power that they used to after such a rapid decline in the last few years, with the club a far cry from what they were for so much of Arsene Wenger’s reign. A signing like Tomas could’ve made a big difference for Arsenal’s long-term prospects, but it seems the Portuguese youngster might not make the move to the Emirates Stadium after all. The Sun report that Tomas has a £52million release clause, though Arsenal may have tried to get his fee down. READ ALSO: Arsenal Told To Pay ...

Real Madrid have reportedly slapped a €60 million price tag on midfielder Martin Odegaard, who Arsenal are keen on signing on a permanent basis this summer. According to a report from Defensa Central, Arsenal will have to shell out a massive amount of €60 million if they want to secure the services of Norwegian international Martin Odegaard on a permanent transfer from Real Madrid in the upcoming transfer window. Odegaard signed for Real Madrid in January 2015 as one of the hottest young prospects in Europe despite being just 16 years of age. He made his senior debut for the Merengues in May that year but continued to play for the club’s Castilla outfit for the next eighteen months or so before sealing a loan move to Dutch club Heerenveen in January 2017, where he spent a year and a half. Odegaard was then shipped out on loan again for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, to Vitesse Arnhem and Real Sociedad, respectively. He absolutely thrived with the latter club, emerging as one of the b...

 Arsenal have been unlucky with few signings When Unai Emery joined Arsenal in the summer of 2018, he was clear as to which positions the club needed strengthening. Five additions were made under his watch in the form of Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Stephen Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. All the signings gave one indication: improvement in defense. While the Gunners defense hardly looked any better than the previous season’s, Guendouzi and Torreira were the ones who attracted a lot of eyeballs. The pair’s impressive on-pitch performances were echoed in their market value, as it increased to a whopping £95 million combined, according to Transfermarkt. Everybody hailed them as coups and Arsenal received a lot of plaudits for their recruitment. However, three years down the line they are desperate to sell them. With the reports that are doing the rounds, both are available for around a meagre £15 million each. Many supporters argue that the Arsenal board ...

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has done little to talk down the recent transfer rumours suggesting that he could be a target for Roma. The Switzerland international has been a key player for Arsenal for a number of years now, though it would also be fair to say he’s never quite won the fans at the Emirates Stadium over due to his inconsistent performances and tendency to make costly individual errors. It might well be a good move for Arsenal to cash in on Xhaka this summer, though at the same time it might be more unnecessary change for Mikel Arteta at a time when he and the whole club could probably do with some stability. Still, it seems the player himself is not ruling out a move away, as he talked up new Roma manager Jose Mourinho and told the Gunners he’s ready to talk when the time comes. Speaking to Swiss publication Blick, the 28-year-old said: “Of course I read [about the interest]. But now I’m one 100 per cent focused on the national team here. “That’s more important than Ar...

Ryan Bertrand has turned down the chance to sign for Arsenal in order to join Europa League side Leicester on a free transfer. According to the Football Insider, Arsenal have missed out on the race to sign the Southampton defender. The Englishman is believed to have accepted the contract put forward by Leicester City, one of the clubs who were rivalling the Gunners for the defender’s signature. A recruitment source apparently told Football Insider of the 31-year-old’s decision on Thursday evening. Missing out on Bertrand means Arsenal’s look-out for a back-up left back continues. The links to former Chelsea man’s were not welcomed by many Arsenal supporters. But the news made sense due to the fact that he is home grown and vastly experienced. Brendan Rodgers’ is a huge admirer of Bertrand and was thought to be the deciding factor in the deal being concluded. The Foxes look set to have snapped up their first signing of the summer, while Arsenal look to add atleast one body before the co...

                                                                       Bayer Leverkusen are ready to make their move to try and land William Saliba from Arsenal this summer. The Gunners made the bold move to sign the 20 year-old from St Etienne two summers ago, before allowing to spend 18 of the next 24 months out on loan in France. Despite spending the opening months of the last campaign in North London, Saliba strongest involvement for the senior side was sitting as an unused substitute in the Community Shield and League Cup, which ultimately played it’s part in his decision to depart on loan in January. The working relationship between Sali...

Arsenal and Real Betis are claimed to be in talks over the possible loan of Hector Bellerin. The 26 year-old is expected to leave the Emirates this summer as the Gunners look to overhaul the squad, and Betis have emerged as keen potenitial suitors with ABC de Sevilla claiming talks over a loan are in progress. This season’s standout star Emerson Royal will leave to join up with Barcelona, a pre-agreed arrangement prior to his arrival in Spain from Brazil, leaving them in need of a new option at right-back. Bellerin lost his first-team role in North London this season, with Calum Chambers being picked ahead of him on numerous occasions following his return from injury. A return to Spain could now become a reality for Hector after he moved to the club a decade ago to join up with our academy, before breaking into the first-team in 2013. Bellerin hit the ground running when getting his chance as an 18 year-old, but his progress has stalled in recent seasons, although that could largely ha...

 In a season when Arsenal have looked blunt going forward, Aubameyang has still ended up scoring 10 goals in the league, while boasting 19 goal involvements in 38 appearances in all competitions. That’s 0.5 goals/assists per match for the Gabon international. Although it’s decent return, judging by his previous tallies in France, Germany and then England, it is nowhere close to Aubameyang’s own standards. In 2019/20, he had an impressive 32 goal involvements in 44 appearances. In the previous four seasons the 31-year-old’s number were at an astonishing 39, 38, 45 and 51. So why has the man behind the huge smile and shiny cars looked out of his depths this season? That can be down to three Ps: Personnel, Position and Pandemic. Personnel:  Imagine a doctor going in the operation theater to operate a person’s heart. If he doesn’t have the proper tools to do it, the surgeon won’t be able to do the operation effectively. We can run parallels to that with Arsenal. The team started t...

The Norwegian midfielder has seen a loan spell at Emirates Stadium come to a close, but he could be back in 2021-22. Mikel Arteta admits that Arsenal will be holding talks with Real Madrid regarding another deal for Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian midfielder has seen a short-term loan at Emirates Stadium come to a close and is now due back at Santiago Bernabeu, where he is under contract until 2023. Change is being mooted in Madrid, which could offer Odegaard a clean slate, but Arteta is eager to have the 22-year-old back at his disposal next season. What has been said? Quizzed on his plans for Odegaard after seeing Arsenal miss out on European qualification, the Gunners boss told reporters: "We have a very clear and strong opinion on what we’d like to do. "He’s not our player, we will have discussions in the next few weeks. We respect he’s a Real Madrid player and will have those communications. "We’ve tried to make everything that we could to get Martin performing for t...

Arsenal have been urged to seal the transfer of Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham as he looks set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer. The England international has barely featured for Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as the club’s manager back in January, and he failed to even make their matchday squad for yesterday’s game at Aston Villa. This surely spells the end for Abraham, and pundit Trevor Sinclair believes he could give the Gunners something a bit different up front. The 23-year-old is certainly an underrated talent who looks like he deserves more of a chance at Chelsea, particularly as Timo Werner has been so disappointing up front this season. Arsenal might do well to take a gamble on Abraham, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette not exactly setting the world alight this season. Mikel Arteta surely needs to make a number of changes after this disappointing season, and Sinclair named Abraham as a potentially good option for the north Londoner...

The ‘dynamics’ of this summer’s transfer market could favour a move to England for Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, according to a report from the Daily Mirror. The Mirror’s piece notes that Camavinga could be targeted by the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal, and gives plenty of insight into how the saga might play out. Camavinga is one of Europe’s most exciting young players and it will be intriguing to see where he ends up next, but it’s unclear how likely a move to Arsenal is at this moment in time. MORE: Real Madrid star’s agent spotted meeting club sporting director Le 10 Sport first linked the France international as a top target for the Gunners this summer, but David Ornstein later commented on The Athletic that he had been told a move was highly unlikely. Still, the Mirror state that Camavinga could end up in the Premier League due to the fact that Real Madrid are prioritising forwards like Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland this summer. It’s also suggested ...

 Hector Bellerin may well have played his final game for Arsenal, as he’s now expected to miss the last couple of matches of the season through injury. James Benge reported that the injury Hector Bellerin picked up in Arsenal’s previous fixture against Chelsea is expected to keep him out of the last two games of the season. Arsenal then stated, “Hector sustained bruising to the bone in the lower leg during last week’s match at Chelsea and continues to be reviewed. Hector is unavailable for Wednesday’s match, but is working hard with the medical team ahead of Sunday’s match against Brighton. Benge added that whilst Mikel Arteta convinced Bellerin to stay last summer, both sides have now accepted it’s time to part ways. There have been no decisions on where the right-back will end up, but he’s looking to move on in the upcoming window. As a result, it’s very possible that Bellerin’s substitute appearance in the win at Stamford Bridge was his final game for the club. For now, the focu...

  Arsenal goalkeeper, Bernd Leno has been named in Germany’s squad for the Euros later this year. The German has had an inconsistent season which started with a fight to remain Arsenal’s first choice. They kept the former Bayer Leverkusen man on and cashed in on Emiliano Martinez, who joined Aston Villa. The Argentinean has looked the better option as he stars for a Villa side that has impressed in the Premier League this season. But Leno has been inconsistent and occasionally causing a goal with an error or even scoring an own goal against the Gunners himself. Despite that, the German national team handlers have named him in their squad for Euro 2020. They have released their team list for the competition which kicks off at the end of this season, through the DFB’s Twitter account. Leno has been named alongside Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer and Kevin Trapp of Eintracht Frankfurt. He is not the only Premier League player to make the cut with the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz ...

Atletico Madrid are said to be interested in signing Alexandre Lacazette and would consider a swap deal. But which players could be potential targets for Arsenal?  "At the moment it’s pretty difficult, unpredictable as well in terms of places as we are very restricted at the moment," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted last December. In the aftermath of the global pandemic, football clubs all over Europe are expected to have limited funds for transfer dealings. This could mean player swaps or exchanges becoming a common occurrence over the next couple of seasons. In light of this, Gunners' French forward Alexandre Lacazette has just one year remaining on his current contract and with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid reportedly monitoring the situation, it could be wise for Arsenal to request a swap deal with one of Atleti's current stars. But which players should they target? Mario Hermoso With David Luiz set to leave the Emirates in the summer, Arsenal will be searc...

After being named in Turkey’s provisional squad for Euro 2020 this summer, Ridvan Yilmaz has told the media he wants to join Arsenal. Besiktas left-back Ridvan Yilmaz was recently called up to the provisional 30-man Euro 2020 squad by his national team, Turkey. Given how strong the team is at the moment, that’s no mean feat. Speaking on a live TRT Spor broadcast (via Fanatik), Yilmaz spoke about the call-up, before confirming he’s hoping to make money for his club with a transfer to the Premier League and Arsenal. “I learned on the live broadcast that I was selected for the National Team,” Yilmaz said. “It was a dream for me to be selected for the National Team and it has come true. “I want to leave Beşiktaş by making money. My heart is in favour of England. I want to play for Arsenal, the Premier League team.” Unlike most rumours concerning random players revealing they want to play for Arsenal, this may well be one the club should genuinely consider. 19-year-old Yilmaz has made 20 ap...

                                                                                On the mission to secure midfielders this summer Arsenal have been linked with only a few despite their obvious needs, with full-backs and centre-forwards being majorly mentioned. Over at Sheffield United Sander Berge is one of the few, with reports stating the Gunners are making their move. Relegated clubs are always easy pickings for Premier League sides. Despite the parachute payments from dropping down into the second tier, selling some of your prized assets is commonplace to help reshape the look of the squad for an immediate promotion push. Norwich, for example, did brilliantly in keeping...

Arsenal look to have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma ahead of the summer transfer window. The Mali international has shone in the Premier League in recent times, and now looks set to earn himself a big move as top clubs show an interest. Arsenal are one of Bissouma’s main admirers, and it seems he can now leave Brighton for a bargain £40million this summer, according to a report from the Sun. The Gunners would do well to spend that kind of money on a top class partner for Thomas Partey in midfield, with doubts remaining over the qualities of players like Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny. Bissouma’s form shows that he could be a significant upgrade, though the Sun also mention Liverpool as keeping a close eye on the 24-year-old. It might be tricky for Arsenal to win a transfer battle like this one, as the struggling north Londoners might not have the same pulling power they once did. A talent like Bissouma will surely want to be playing in Europe...

Across all of the loan players who’ve left Arsenal at some stage this season, none have been as successful as Joe Willock. Albeit only a six month deal and moving to a club that were battling relegation, what he’s done at Newcastle has been spectacular. Whichever way this is framed, Willock’s loan move has gone about as perfectly as it could have. Scoring in the Magpies’ 4-3 loss to Manchester City on Friday, the 21-year-old became the youngest player to score in five consecutive Premier League appearances since none other than Jose Antonio Reyes in September 2004. A wonderful statistic in every way. He’s now on six goals in 12 outings for Steve Bruce’s side, including crucial strikes against Liverpool, West Ham and Tottenham. In total that’s goals against five of the current top seven. Arsenal set new Joe Willock transfer fee after stunning loan spell at Newcastle with five goals in five Premier League appearances Allowed to leave solely on the premise of being granted regular minutes...

All the signs are pointing to Arsenal having an extremely busy summer transfer window after having had a massive clearout of the deadwood at the club in the last two windows, and that has now been confirmed by the transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on “The Arsenal Lounge” podcast. When asked about which positions Arsenal will be looking to strengthen this summer, he was very clear about what he expects to happen. He said: “I can guarantee you 100% that they are working on some positions in particular. Right-back, centre-back, midfielder and number 10, if Odegaard will leave, since February. So they are already talking with people, with agents and with clubs to be prepared. The market this summer will be particular, as always when we have the Euros or the World Cup, the summer will be the end of May or the start of June, they will start something and I expect Arsenal to do something at the beginning of the market,” Romano said. “At the beginning of the market, Arsenal will be ready to do som...

  Such was the impact Emile Smith Rowe had at Arsenal that the debate over whether another creative midfielder would be needed in January emerged. Would the arrival of a fellow No. 10 stunt his development or act as welcome competition. The main reason for the arrival of Martin Odegaard was neither. He wasn’t going to be directly battling it out for the sole creative slot in the team. For all intents and purposes, Smith Rowe made his Premier League debut in that 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day. We can frame it as that. Mere weeks into his spell in the Arsenal first team, the burden this 20-year-old was shouldering had to be shared. Frodo needed Sam, Emile needed Martin. Having gone from fielding nobody in the No. 10 position to appointing an academy star with that responsibility in a bid to prevent the slump further. Even if nothing should have been expected from Smith Rowe, he was passed the creative mantle to carry himself. Arsenal see Emile Smith Rowe thrive from Martin Odega...

  Why I Don’t Want Arteta To Be Sacked by Dan In my lifetime this is the most worried I have been about the club I love and if it will ever return to its former levels? So please understand that this is bigger than me saying ‘I told you so.’. Last summer I was called negative for questioning peers who were predicting this squad were good enough to mount a title challenge. When I pointed out that Stan Kroenke’s response to our worst start in decades was to slash the wage bill, I was accused of having an agenda. When I factually pointed out we have gone backwards since Mr Wenger left, I got called names. My loyalty was even questioned when I would challenge readers on arrogant statements that (before the Liverpool game) we were going to win every match in the run in. I have read players be over-hyped, youngsters who haven’t achieved anything called great players, etc. What you would have never heard me say or seen me write is that Mikel Arteta needs to be sacked. I’ll challenge state...

 Arsenal are claimed to have made an offer to sign Paris Saint-Germain defender Thilo Kehrer. The Gunners are currently have a wealth of options at centre-back, and will be analysing their squad in strong detail ahead of the new season, with the current campaign not having gone to plan in the slightest. Our Europa League exit at the semi-final stage on Thursday has confirmed that we will not be picking up any major trophies this season, while our hopes of qualifying for European football is extremely doubtful at this stage. With this in mind, the club is claimed to have already made an offer to PSG for their defender Kehrer, a versatile defender who has been used at both centre-back and right-back this term. The bid however is surely not likely to be accepted, with Paris Fans (via Le10Sport) claiming that an offer of €9 Million has been tabled. PSG made the bold move to sign the 24 year-old from Schalke only three summers ago, paying a reported €37 Million for his signature, and co...

The Gunners captain has endured a difficult campaign, but still has the chance to be the hero in the Europa League semi-final against Villarreal. It is almost two years to the day since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired Arsenal to the Europa League final. The Gabon international has had plenty of huge moments for the Gunners since his move from Borussia Dortmund, but none more so than on May 9, 2019, when he silenced a raucous Mestalla in sensational fashion. Trailing 3-1 from the first leg of the semi-final at Emirates Stadium, Valencia were full of momentum after an early Kevin Gameiro goal, but Aubameyang sucked the life out of the Spanish side and their supporters with a fabulous equaliser on 17 minutes. Just over an hour later and he was sitting in the away changing room posing for pictures with the match ball following a breathtaking hat-trick which had handed Arsenal a 4-2 win and booked their spot in the final. “I think it was my best performance since I’ve been here at Arsenal,”...

Mat Ryan joined Arsenal from Brighton on loan in January, and he hasn’t hidden the fact that he considers this to be a step up in his career. He already had to apologise to his parent club’s supporters for some comments he made immediately after the move. Speaking this week, Ryan was more tactful in his assessment of Brighton but continued to insist that Arsenal are on another level. “All due respect to Brighton, they’re a great club with great facilities and have some great players and I enjoyed the setup and competitiveness also as well,” Ryan said. “But, as you touched on, there’s the magnitude of the clubs. The budget and resources that a club like Arsenal has and the players and quality of players it can attract, and it’s no more evident than on the training pitch. “Some of the individual qualities that are out there are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. “I think I’ve improved in that aspect, being day-in-day-out with these players, witnessing what they’re doing, the speed at w...