AFTV News

What are Arsenal’s pre-season plans? By Tum Balogun  With the unusual timing of this year’s World Cup in Qatar, the first half of this season’s footballing calendar is about as condensed as humanly possible.  Many Premier League clubs, including the Gunners, will be returning to pre-season training as early as next week ahead of a busy Premier League campaign which begins 5th August.  Mikel Arteta’s men will be looking to integrate the summer recruits into the team’s system and get some crucial running into their legs for the intense year ahead.  Where are they going?  Arsenal will be participating in two foreign camps before a final pre-season fixture back home at The Emirates.  The first, shorter, trip takes them to Germany ahead of a US tour which is split between Baltimore, Maryland and Orlando, Florida.  The Gunners could yet add more fixtures to the light schedule to guarantee sharpness at the start of the campaign.  Who are they playing?...

Four Leeds United players Arsenal should try to sign this summer by Brian Matovu This weekend Arsenal return to the Emirates to face Leeds United in what is a huge game for the Gunners as they aim to take one step closer to securing Champions League football for next season. Arsenal are in pole position to clinch the final top-four spot but face stiff competition from north-London rivals Tottenham who are just two points off them and will play host to the Gunners next week, in what is set to be a winner-takes-all fixture. However, the game is just as big for Leeds United who are right in the middle of a relegation dogfight with Burnley and Everton, with all three sides battling it out to avoid taking up the final relegation spot. But ahead of such an important clash for both teams, let’s take a look at four players from Leeds that Arsenal could make a move for this summer to boost Mikel Arteta’s squad ahead of next season. 1. Raphinha This comes as no surprise with everybody licking ...

By Oli Dickson Jefford One of Arsenal’s biggest transfer targets in the next couple of windows will likely be a new striker with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both entering the latter stages of their careers. And, with Aubameyang’s commitment and discipline publicly questioned by Mikel Arteta ahead of the 3-0 win against Southampton, this might be something Arsenal look to sort shortly. Someone who has been linked to the club for a while now is Everton star Dominic Calvert-Lewin, though the England international is currently sidelined with injury. In his absence Richarlison has been leading Everton’s attack and he caused havoc for Arsenal’s backline last Monday, and now many Gunners fans are keen to see him move to North London, With rumours linking both Toffees stars to the club, who would be the best fit for Arsenal? The case for Calvert-Lewin Perhaps Calvert-Lewin’s biggest selling point is his greater consistency. It took a while for him to grow into the striker...

Preview: Arsenal V Southampton  By Jack Lacey-Hatton After a difficult start to the week at Goodison Park on Monday night, Arsenal need to recover quickly when they host Southampton at the Emirates on Saturday. The last minute loss to Everton felt harsh but Mikel Arteta’s team failed once again kill the game off when in the lead, while the outcome could have been very different had Eddie Nketiah not hit the post at 1-1. Even so, it was a below-par display and although Southampton have struggled recently, Arsenal will need to step things up to get a better result this weekend. Being back at home should bring some comfort.  The Gunners have excelled at the Emirates recently, winning seven from their last eight in all competitions on home soil, including three in a row in the Premier League. Visitors Southampton are also wounded after throwing away three points in the dying seconds of their game against Brighton, after Neal Maupay fired home an equaliser.  The Saints are now...

By Oli Dickson Jefford Arsenal slumped to a third defeat in four league matches with a 2-1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Monday. Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal the lead just before half-time but Richarlison equalised before a stunning finish from Demarai Gray in the 92nd minute sealed three points for the Toffees. Everton had not won in the league since September meaning this result eases some pressure on Rafa Benitez, but there will be some serious questions asked of the Gunners. We take a look at five of the biggest talking points of last night’s encounter on Merseyside. Should Godfrey have been sent off? Everton dominated most of the match, but would things have been different had Ben Godfrey been sent off? One of Everton’s most criticised players this season, Godfrey appeared to stamp on the side of Takehiro Tomiyasu’s face in an incident that led to a VAR check. The check cleared the defender but the incident provoked a strong reaction, with Sky Sports’ Gary Neville and Jami...

By Oli Dickson Jefford Arsenal will hope to rebound from two defeats in their last three matches when they head to Goodison Park to take on Everton tonight. The Toffees won both meetings between the two last season but with Rafa Benitez’s men on a poor run of form, Mikel Arteta will certainly be targeting three points. Ahead of what is an important match for Arsenal’s European hopes and Everton’s hopes of kick-starting their floundering campaign, we take a look at three memorable matches between the two. August 2009: Everton 1-6 Arsenal We start with an opening day demolition job by the Gunners in which they terrorised the Toffees for the full 90 minutes. After a quiet start, it was an unlikely goalscorer who opened proceedings with Denilson hitting the back of the net from 25-yards out with a stunning curling effort. And there were two more surprise names on the scoresheet before half time with headers from Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas giving Arsenal a comfortable 3-0 lead at h...