AFTV News

Bukayo Saka, 19 How Bukayo Saka showed the country what Arsenal fans already knew  By Jonny Bray   The reaction across the country to Bukayo Saka’s inclusion in the starting line-up against the Czech Republic last week bordered on being disrespectful.     Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, and Raheem Sterling are all outstanding attacking players, but the response completely disregarded Saka’s obvious talents.  Since then, Saka, 19, has been England’s stand-out player for two consecutive games, starring against the Czech Republic before carrying England through a dark period at the start of the first half against Germany.     This begs two questions.     Why was the country so quick to dismiss Saka’s obvious talents prior to his last two performances and what did he do to change these opinions so quickly?     It’s been clear to anyone who watched Arsenal last season that he’s taken the outstanding form that saw him become a ke...

                                    After another defeat to Aston Villa for Arsenal, has Mikel Arteta learned from his mistakes from earlier in the Premier League season? By Adam Le Roux This feels like Groundhog Day. Sat here ripping apart another Arsenal defeat to Aston Villa, where the Gunners didn’t look worthy of taking a point from Dean Smith’s side, let alone all three. Watching the match on Saturday felt just like watching the match on November 8, where Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins toyed with Mikel Arteta’s side, like three older kids playing with their brothers at the park. Many Gooners would have gone into the weekend feeling confident of a reaction from their side after the horror-show against Wolves in midweek, but it wouldn’t have taken long for that hope to be dashed. As has so often been the case this season, Arsenal were manufacturers of their own downfall once agai...

Why Mikel Arteta would rather have Emile Smith Rowe than Jack Grealish in his Arsenal team  By Adam Le Roux Remember way back in November when Aston Villa came to the Emirates and absolutely tore Arsenal apart on their own turf? Yeah, how could you forget. It was a harrowing day for the Gunners, who were ripped to shreds by a potent Villa front line, with Ollie Watkins helping himself to a brace in the 3-0 victory. That started a run of seven Premier League matches without a victory for Mikel Arteta’s side, as Arsenal continued to slide down the table before picking up form after Christmas. That fateful day three months ago saw Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley run riot in the capital, with the pair having the home defence on strings throughout the 90 minutes, and the hosts’ lack of creativity looking as prominent as ever. But since then things have turned around for the men in red and white, with Arsenal’s own academy graduate being pivotal to the change in fortunes at the Emirates. ...

Could the international break be exactly what Arsenal need? Three things to take away from the 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League By Adam Le Roux Let’s face it, Arsenal deserved that defeat. They just weren’t good enough. All over the pitch, Aston Villa dominated, pressured, and pulverised Arsenal into submission, the hosts just couldn’t hack it.   This is a team that only managed to stay in the division on the last day of last season, a much-improved version maybe, but still, Arsenal shouldn’t be surrendering so meekly to them on their own turf.  The warning signs were there, when John McGinn rifled in after 48 seconds, Mikel Arteta knew his side were in for a game, but even that didn’t wake them up, and they looked lackadaisical throughout.   Even when Bukayo Saka turned the ball into his own net and Arsenal went a goal behind, the urgency seemed half-hearted at best, with Alexandre Lacazette pounding a header over the bar, and Rob Holding fi...