AFTV News

Did the first month of the season cost Arsenal Champions League football? By Tom Masters With the Premier League season done and dusted last Sunday, it is time to reflect on what ultimately proved to be a slightly disappointing season for Arsenal.  Missing out on Champions League football to rivals Tottenham, after losing to their fiercest rivals and to Newcastle United towards the end of the season, left a bittersweet taste in the mouth. But was it perhaps form earlier on in the season that cost the Arsenal a place among Europe’s elite?  There is a saying in the game that the first month of the season is not going to win you the title but it absolutely can lose you the title, and this can also apply to the Gunners quest for a return to Europe’s premier competition for the first time in five years.  So the question is, did the first month of the season cost Arsenal Champions League football?    What happened?     On Friday 13 August 2021, the new ...

How highly do Arsenal’s attack rate in the Premier League this season? By Jack Lacey-Hatton Arsenal’s attacking unit has undoubtedly been key to Mikel Arteta reigniting a Champions League challenge this season. You only have to hear Gooners at grounds across the land singing loudly and proudly about Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, to know how fundamental the team’s forward stars have been to the upturn in results this season. Even the departure of the previously talismanic captain and number nine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, midway through the campaign, hasn’t overly impacted upon Arsenal’s resurgence. While goalkeeper, defence and midfield have also improved this season compared with the last, to varying degrees, the collective ability at the top of the pitch has made a huge difference. But how does Arsenal’s attack compare with the rest of the Premier League so far?   Goal return Perhaps the priority area to strengthen in attack over the summer transfer window will be the goalsco...

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 ...

Player profile: Salah Oulad M’Hand By Jonny Bray Salah Oulad M'Hand is an 18-year-old midfielder with a bright future at the Emirates. Despite his incredible potential, he remains a bit of an unknown entity in North London, even though he's already been included in first-team squads this season. He's yet to make his senior first-team debut, but the fact that Mikel Arteta gave him the opportunity to travel with the squad to Leeds and Nottingham Forest indicates that he's firmly in the Spaniard's plans. Oulad M'Hand is part of a very exciting generation of Arsenal academy products, and it's made even more exciting by seeing how well the current crop of academy prospects are doing. With Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka ripping it up for Arsenal while players like Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are doing well at new clubs, there's never been a more exciting time to be coming through the academy in North London. What has his career been like so far? D...

  Has Mikel Arteta shown that the process is working? The Spaniard is entering a key phase in his Arsenal career. By Oli Dickson Jefford ‘Trust the process’ is certainly Mikel Arteta’s favourite sporting cliché.  Amid times of near-crisis the Spaniard has reverted back to this philosophy to ease the pressure on himself - and things might now be paying off. There is greater positivity around Arsenal this season than there has been in recent years, and definitely more so than any other period of Arteta’s reign. Has Arteta made an impact? Perhaps the biggest positive of Arteta’s time as Arsenal manager, and one of the biggest positives this season, has been the development of the club’s younger players. Academy graduates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have dazzled, leading Arsenal’s attack which has been particularly potent. Gabriel Martinelli is also much improved and looks like a really good centre forward, while summer signings Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu...

By Oli Dickson Jefford FIFA 22 was released almost three months ago but many will be unwrapping it on Christmas Day and looking to take on the challenge of career mode in the next couple of months. And for Arsenal fans, it will be an exciting journey, with several players having a high potential rating. Over the next few months, which Gunners should fans be targeting? Bukayo Saka Saka has been one of Arsenal’s biggest stars on the pitch this season and he could be a key pick for your FIFA XI this campaign. The England international already has a rating of 80, making him one of the highest-rated Gunners in the game. However, the 20-year-old has the joint highest potential rating of 88, meaning he could be a huge asset when playing. Martin Odegaard The Norwegian midfielder is another Arsenal ace who could prove to be a valuable asset for FIFA players with his high potential. Odegaard has an overall rating of 82, which is matched by Alexandre Lacazette and only beaten by Pierre-Emerick Au...

  Was 2021 a good year for Arsenal? By Jonny Bray It’s a confusing time to be a Gunners fan.  We broke into the top four with a win against West Ham, we’ve got some of the best young players in the country in our squad, and it seems like things are on the up. At the same time, having been burned by over a decade of disappointment in north London, it’s hard to trust that the club are genuinely going in the right direction. To make matters worse, it’s been a rollercoaster of a season on and off the pitch. Captaincies have been stripped, great goals have been scored, the side have been spanked by some of the best teams in the world, and we finally sorted out our defence. But was 2021 a good year for Gunners? Have things improved significantly, or are fans just looking for the positives in another disappointing 12 months?   Good   First things first, Arsenal are in a good place on the pitch at the end of 2021. Yes, there have been some tough results along the way, but wi...

Should Kieran Tierney be captain of Arsenal after his performance against West Ham? By Jonny Bray Since joining from Celtic, Kieran Tierney has been absolutely superb on and off the pitch for Arsenal. He’s been a consummate professional and a fan favourite while crucially putting in performances on the pitch that have shown why so many Scotland fans rate him above his compatriot Andy Robertson. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being stripped of the captaincy yesterday, the hunt is on for Arsenal’s next captain, and fans and pundits alike believe Tierney is the man for the job. The Scottish left-back showed precisely why in the 2-0 win against West Ham. With the shadow of Covid-19 looming over the Emirates, the 24-year-old gave the Gunners faithful a performance to remember. But was it a performance that showed exactly why he should be captain of Arsenal? He showed his leadership quality Despite taking an arm to the face from the clumsy Vladimir Coufal, Tierney was an inspiring figure las...

Gunners bidding to banish Anfield demons under Saturday night lights By Will Jennings Mikel Arteta leads his troops into battle bidding to finally put an end to Arsenal’s Anfield horror-show. The Gunners gaffer was last playing when Arsenal won a league game at Liverpool in September 2012 and will hope to repeat the feat in today’s Saturday evening kick-off. Arteta, 39, has revolutionised an Arsenal side after a stuttering start to the season and his players arrive on Merseyside riding the crest of a Premier League wave. Arsenal are defending a ten-game unbeaten run and after being bottom of the table during the first international break of the season – rivals Tottenham were top – have clambered to within touching distance of the Champions League places. The Gunners have managed just two points from their last eight matches at Anfield, however – conceding a staggering 28 goals in the process. But Jurgen Klopp’s team aren’t exactly in great form themselves, losing 3-2 at West Ham last t...

International Action Wrap By Angus Wright Goalkeepers   Bernd Leno (Germany)   Leno did not manage to get any minutes in either of Germany’s wins as Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen were selected ahead of the Arsenal keeper in both their 9-0 win over Liechtenstein and their 4-1 win over Armenia respectively.   Aaron Ramsdale (England)   The in-form keeper made his England debut and had a quiet night as England ran riot in a 10-0 win against San Marino. He made one simple save but had little to do in his first England appearance.   Defenders   Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan)   Tomiyasu had a successful international break, keeping two clean sheets in 1-0 victories over Vietnam and Oman. Japan are now in a good position to qualify for the World Cup, sitting second in their group.   Kieran Tierney (Scotland)   Tierney played a pivotal role in both clean sheets as Scotland secured a home-leg playoff spot. His goal-line clearance after Craig Gordo...