Arsenal fans have been busy discussing who their club could sign this summer following the appointment of Unai Emery as Arsene Wenger’s successor last month, and they were quick to deliver their verdict via social media when the @ArsenalFanTV Twitter account suggested Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, rated at £63m by Transfermarkt, as a potential target.
It seems likely that the new Gunners manager will look to bring in a new midfielder following the departure of Santi Cazorla, with the club being heavily linked with Nice’s Jean Michael Seri and AS Roma’s Lorezno Pellegrini, and Verratti could be another option.
It will certainly be difficult for the north London outfit to prise the Italy international away from the Ligue 1 giants seeing as he is a key first-team player for them, as well as the fact he still has three years remaining on his contract at the Parc des Princes.
We asked Arsenal supporters to vote on our poll to see whether their club should try and sign Verratti or not this summer, and a whopping 90% of them said the Gunners should attempt to bring the 25-year-old to the English capital.
With Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere both offered new deals and with Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny – as well as number of youngsters – already to choose from in the middle of the park, Emery certainly has a lot to consider before he brings a new midfielder to the Emirates.
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Paul Lambert has said Gabriel Agbonlahor will have to wait to open talks over a new contract at Aston Villa, reports the Birmingham Mail.
Agbonlahor’s contract expires in the summer of 2015, and Villa’s current longest serving player has admitted he would love to sign an extension and see out his career at Villa Park.
The forward was last handed a new contract by former Villa boss Gerard Houllier in November 2010, and while he still has a year and half to run on that deal, Agbonlahor has made no secret of his desire to sign an extension at his boyhood club.
Agbonlahor has said he would gladly play at Villa until he retires, claiming it would be ‘weird’ to wear the colours of any other club.
However, manager Paul Lambert is reluctant to open discussions over a new deal just yet, claiming there is no rush to secure the striker’s future.
“When you look at 15 months it’s still a long time in football,” Lambert said.
“In years gone by you used to never find out what was happening to you until about a week before the end of the season.
“Then all of a sudden it goes full circle and it’s 15 months or two years. It’s just strange in football.
“I understand what he’s saying but I think there’s a long, long way to go before anything like that. I think he’s enjoying his football.
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“I think you look at all these sort of things at the end of the season, for everybody.”
Arsenal have recovered from going a goal down against Montpellier to win their Champions League opening clash 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Younes Belhanda put the Ligue 1 outfit into an early lead from the penalty spot, but the Gunners rallied and two goals in three first-half minutes from Lukas Podolski and Gervinho ensured victory.
Steve Bould took control of the team due to Arsene Wenger’s touchline ban, and was relieved that his side held on to claim victory.
“It gives you a headache! But we’ve won and the lads have been fantastic,” the assistant manager told Sky Sports.
“That was tough, it was really tough. In the first half we played really well and deserved to come in ahead. In the second half we looked tired physically and dropped a little bit and they played well.
“A lot of our players have had internationals and been travelling. It was warm here, hot and humid and it’s a difficult place to come and play, so we’re delighted.
“It is a really tough place to come and play and we kept the crowd quiet until 50 minutes onwards.
“The lads did what they were asked to do, they defended well and kept the ball well. But we struggled with that in the second half and that made it difficult,” he concluded.
Arsenal travel to take on Manchester City on Sunday.
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Rafael Benitez and Newcastle are absolutely desperate for a new number nine this summer, so should they take a punt on Salomon Rondon?
Newcastle made three loan moves in January to save their season, and two of the three deals had a massive impact on not just keeping the Magpies up, but moving them into the top ten.
Kenedy and Martin Dubravka are both wanted back permanently on Tyneside, but the same cannot be said for Islam Slimani, who was already injured when he joined on loan from Leicester.
The Algerian striker is clearly not the answer to the Magpies’ goalscoring woes, but could it be worth taking a punt on another striker of that mould?
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Rondon was relegated with West Brom, but found his form under new manager Darren Moore, grabbing three goals and two assists in a run of six games near the end of the season.
The Venezuelan international had a lengthy goal drought before finding his form again, but his pace and power could certainly aid the Magpies’ attack.
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Rondon is far from the world class goalscorer fans are crying out for, but he could be a much cheaper and more realistic option.
So, Newcastle fans, would you be happy with a bargain move for Salomon Rondon? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
Everton left-back Brendan Galloway could have his loan spell at Sunderland cut short, according to the Sunderland Echo.
What’s the story?
The 21-year-old made his first-team debut for the Toffees in 2014, but since then he has failed to kick on and grab a regular spot in the team.
The left-back had a loan spell at West Bromwich Albion last season and is currently on a temporary deal at Sunderland.
Things are not quite going to plan, though, as Galloway has made just 10 appearances, only two of which have come under new manager Chris Coleman.
The Sunderland Echo claims that Everton may bring back the young player and send him elsewhere to get regular game time.
Should he call it a day at Everton?
Despite his young age, most footballers at the top level are already showing their respective clubs their promising talent at the age of 20/21.
Galloway’s inability to force his way into the Everton squad could be cause for concern.
Considering that the left-back cannot hold down a place in a Championship team also questions whether he will make it at the top level for Everton.
If Sam Allardyce does not believe that Galloway is able to challenge for a position in his XI, then perhaps it best for both parties to move on.
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The left-back will then have an opportunity to boost his career at a permanent base rather than moving from one club to the next on loan.
Liverpool’s impressive start to the Premier League season has surprised everyone.
This time last year the Reds were in eleventh place with only three wins to their name. 12 months on, Liverpool have improved drastically.
Second in the table, eight points better off and two points from top spot is something that every Liverpool fan wants to see, so it’s no surprise that every red is full of optimism this season. However, will Brendan Rodgers’ change of formation potentially damage the rest of his side’s season?
Before the 2-0 away to defeat to Arsenal at the start of the month, Liverpool’s formation of 3-5-2 was working wonders. Victories over Manchester United, West Brom and Aston Villa were earned because of this tactical tweak. But the defeat to Arsenal highlighted how exposed Liverpool can be at the back when playing against certain opposition. This then lead to the Northern Irishman changing his formation to 4-3-3 when Fulham visited Anfield last week, and even though the Cottagers were exceptionally poor, the formation worked as Liverpool went on to win the game 4-0.
Before the end of 2013, Liverpool will face Everton, Hull, Norwich, West Ham, Tottenham, Cardiff, Manchester City and Chelsea; games which will show the squad’s strength as we are fast approaching the congested part of the season. And with these games being played over a period of five weeks, Brendan Rodgers has announced that he will be making huge changes to the team, once the festive season is upon us.
“I have said to the players that between now and January we have one game a week,” Rodgers said.
“The players are working very well and very hard on a daily basis but I need to give oxygen to some players, so they can see a light at the end of the tunnel. It is important that I use the players well.”
This comes after centre back Kolo Toure was replaced by Daniel Agger in the 4-0 drubbing over Fulham last weekend. This was the first time since 1st September that Toure had missed a league match for Liverpool, and his replacement Agger, was making his first appearance for the Reds since October.
However, the 40-year-old defended the move by stating it was just rotation.
“Kolo has been sensational since he has been in but Daniel Agger is a top player. I just need to balance the team out when I can,” he added.
I think many fans are jumping the gun to suggest that rotation and a change of formation will hamper an entire season. Brendan Rodgers is a clever manager who likes to experiment with the players he has got at his disposal, and if he were to drop points due to a change of formation from the previous game, he will do his best to rectify his mistake.
Liverpool are going to drop points this season regardless what formation they play, and with the fixture pile up soon upon us, this can be a chance for the fringe players at Liverpool to get their chance in the starting XI, to prove to Rodgers that they deserve to be in that Liverpool first team. Players such as Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Ibe, Tiago Ilori, Aly Cissokho, Martin Kelly and Joe Allen are just some of the stars that the former Swansea and Reading manager will be experimenting with over the next few weeks.
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Liverpool fans should be looking forward to a great season which lies ahead, because if they continue to play how they are, Champions League football is on the horizon.
Could Rodgers’ tinkering be Liverpool’s downfall this season?
Arsenal will have a fight on their hands to keep hold of Theo Walcott if they cannot agree a new contract with him before the January transfer window, as Inter and Juve want the winger according to Mirror Football.
The England international attacker is in the last year of his current deal at the Emirates Stadium and has rejected a new five-year deal from Arsene Wenger’s men.
After watching Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie manufacture moves away from the north London club, it is believed that Walcott is weighing up his options and could sign a pre-contract agreement with another club in January.
Serie A sides Juventus and Inter are thought to be keeping tabs on the situation, whilst big-spending French side Paris Saint-Germain are also in the frame.
Walcott was initially wanted by Manchester City and Liverpool in the transfer window just gone.
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Only two officials have refereed more Premier League games than Martin Atkinson this season, which tells all about the high esteem he’s held in by the PGMOB – who appoint the referees for every Premier League game.
There’s no questioning Atkinson’s experience, having worked in the English top flight for some 13 years now, but if there’s one flaw to what the Yorkshireman brings to his trade, it’s the bizarre contradiction between what happens inside and outside the box during his matches.
Indeed, while Atkinson ranks eighth for fouls per game and third for yellow cards per game throughout the 20 referees to work in the top flight this season, his ranking for penalties is comparatively much lower – with just three referees averaging less penalties per match this term.
And there are two ways of looking at that return. One is that Atkinson doesn’t ruin games by giving away needless spot kicks; the other is that he’s reluctant to make big decisions, even when they’re the right ones. Perhaps the biggest example of that was in the last Manchester derby, when Atkinson didn’t award a penalty despite Ashley Young obviously fouling Sergio Aguero with a lunge inside the box.
With Atkinson taking charge of Chelsea’s visit to Newcastle this weekend, that could prove to be a real point of frustration for the Blues. They desperately need a win to stand any chance of qualifying for the Champions League and only three players throughout the entire of the top flight have won more fouls than Eden Hazard this term, but it appears they’ll need a stonewall penalty for Atkinson to award one in the box this weekend.
Perhaps more worryingly for the Blues, both of their games with Atkinson officiating this season have ended in defeat, but the 47-year-old does provide one huge Chelsea boost heading into the visit to Tyneside; 41% of the Premier League games Atkinson has officiated this season have ended in away wins, which is actually the second-highest bias of any referee to oversee more than one top flight game in 2017/18.
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At a ground where Chelsea haven’t won in the Premier League during their last four attempts, Atkinson’s away win bias might just balance out their bad luck.
It does appear likely that Liverpool will lose Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona this month.
The Reds managed to prevent the Brazilian playmaker from leaving during the summer, but all of the signs are pointing to Coutinho making the switch to Camp Nou.
Liverpool have already spent £75m on Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk this month, but the club’s supporters are desperate for more business to be completed, especially if Coutinho moves to Barcelona before the end of the month.
Riyad Mahrez is still believed to be keen on leaving Leicester City, and the 26-year-old has been in sparkling form for the Foxes this season – scoring seven times and registering eight assists in 22 Premier League appearances.
Liverpool fans have identified Mahrez, who is valued at £27m by transfermarkt.co.uk, as the perfect player to replace Coutinho.
There is no getting away from the fact that it would be a massive blow if Coutinho left Anfield, especially considering Liverpool’s brilliant form in recent weeks.
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However, it seems that the club’s supporters would accept the Brazil international seeking pastures new if in-form attacker Mahrez was the player to replace him.