AFTV News

AFTV top five post Wenger era signings By Will Castle It’s been a turbulent time for Gunners fans since Arsene Wenger bowed out of management in 2018, calling it a day after 22 memorable years in North London. In four seasons since the Frenchman’s departure, supporters have witnessed managerial changes, player scandals and mass protests against the ownership - a ll while failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. However, under Mikel Arteta, things are beginning to look on the up again, and this is in large part due to a handful of fantastic signings, most of whom have been at the centre of Arsenal’s rebuild in recent seasons. While Arsenal have also had their fair share of flops walk through the door in the last few years, let’s file through the dirt and take a look at Arsenal’s top five signings since Wenger’s emotional farewell.   5) Aaron Ramsdale (£25m) The arrival of Aaron Ramsdale in 2021, off the back of back-to-back drops to the Championship with Sheffield United an...

What have we learnt from the first three episodes of All or Nothing By Matt Wright It’s finally dropped. We’ve known for a year that Arsenal were to be the latest subject of the glitzy All or Nothing series for Amazon Prime and now we’ve finally seen the results.   Depending on how much you enjoy their brand of behind-the-scenes (albeit the scenes their subject wants you to see) documentaries, you’ve either been anticipating or dreading the release.   Now the first three episodes are with us – the rest are being released on August 11 and 18 – here is what we have learnt so far…   The elephant in the room   OK, let’s address the sneak peak that went viral, particularly among opposition fans, this week: Mikel Arteta having speakers at the training ground playing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in the build-up to Arsenal heading to Liverpool in an attempt to prepare his players for the (often overrated) Anfield atmosphere.   It’s certainly an unorthodox approach. It’s ...

Should Arsenal sell Bernd Leno to Fulham  By Jonny Bra When Aaron Ramsdale joined Arsenal from Sheffield United last summer, many thought he was set to be the second choice.  The 24-year-old had not set the world alight at the Blades and had divided opinion during his time with Bournemouth.  There had been murmurs among the press that Bernd Leno wanted out of North London, but few believed the German would leave or that Ramsdale would become our long-term first choice. But the England international hit the ground running and immediately displaced his highly-rated German counterpart. Now, Ramsdale is comfortably the club's first choice. And with United States national team goalkeeper Matt Turner joining from MLS side New England Revolution during the summer, Leno could find first-team football hard to come by next season. So, should Arsenal sell Bernd Leno to Fulham?  Or could he still help Mikel Arteta's side as the season progresses?  Arsenal should sell Leno ...

  Who was Arsenal’s best signing last summer?  By Tum Balogun Arsenal’s summer window is shaping up to be an impressive one with arrivals Marquinhos and Fabio Viera through the door and there are some more exciting additions on the horizon.  The Gunners recruitment has been maligned for some time now but the summer window of the 2021/22 season is already looking like one of the club’s finest in recent history.  One year on, let’s take a look at how they worked out.  6. Nuno Tavares  The 22-year-old left-back joined from Benfica and made a decent start to life in London, providing cover for the often-injured Kieran Tierney. But a disappointing performance in the 4-0 away defeat to Liverpool in November brutally exposed the youngsters deficiencies and led to him making just two appearances off the bench in 12 league games from December to April.  In total he made 22 appearances last term, and even scored in the 3-1 win against rivals Manchester United....

Who is Arsenal's player of the season? By Alec McQuarrie As the season draws to a close and Arsenal look to be in the driving seat to secure Champions League football for next season, it’s time to decide who has been the Gunners’ standout player. And it’s not a simple decision. Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White could all stake a claim, having been exceptional in their own ways. Odegaard has offered a level of creativity and guile not seen since Mesut Ozil fell out of favour. But the Norwegian has been found guilty of drifting out of matches and only truly revealed his top form from November onwards. Aaron Ramsdale, despite his under-par post-shot xG numbers – measuring the likelihood of a save from each shot on target – has imbued confidence in his defence that was sorely missing with Bernd Leno in net. His distribution has also been a revelation and is key to any Arsenal keeper’s repertoire. Eyebrows were raised at the £50m paid for Ben White, but as Virgil Van Dijk ha...

By Oli Dickson Jefford Though we will not be getting a summer World Cup as usual, this year’s showpiece in   Qatar   will come around sooner than expected. After a run to the semi-final in 2018 and last summer’s run to the Euro 2020 final, expectations are high and there is certainly a good enough squad to challenge for the title. Arsenal have produced an array of English talent and with several home-grown players in the team currently, several key players will be targeting a spot in Gareth Southgate’s starting XI come November. With competition high in some positions, whether any of these players feature heavily remains to be seen - but should they be backed by Southgate? Aaron Ramsdale - Yes Obviously, there is the rest of this season and the beginning of the 2022/23 season to go before Southgate has to make a decision, but currently Aaron Ramsdale is the most in-form English goalkeeper. Ramsdale has surprised everyone with his performances at the Emirates this season, with ...

  3 potential captains for next season The captaincy at Arsenal has been something that has changed hands all too regularly in recent times. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of the armband in December, being replaced by Alexandre Lacazette. However, with the French forward’s own future at the club uncertain ahead of his contract expiring in the summer, it is likely that Mikel Arteta will pick a new captain in the summer. We look at three players who could be in line to take the captaincy next season. Kieran Tierney The current vice-captain, Tierney would be an obvious choice for Arteta in the summer as he is already part of the leadership group. The Scot is a complete professional on and off the pitch and has already captained his country on one occasion. Tierney is also a part of the long-term plan under Arteta having signed a long-term contract in 2021 with his performances also suggesting he’ll be around at the Emirates for some time to come. This commitment could make him...