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...

  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....

Transfer profile: Fabio Vieira By Ben Hart   Vieira, whoah. Vieira whoah. Arsenal fans could soon have the chance to belt out one of their favourite songs once more.   Seemingly out of nowhere, Arsenal are set to sign Porto’s Fabio Vieira. The Portuguese club confirmed the sale on Friday and his official unveiling should soon follow.   That could coincide with the release of Arsenal’s second or third kit, neither of which have been officially released yet.   Here we take a look at the type of player Arsenal are acquiring and where he could fit into Mikel Arteta’s side.     Player history   Born in the city of Santa Maria de Faria, located 23km south of Porto, Vieira was always destined to play for the club he grew up supporting.   He joined the Porto academy at the age of eight and his stand-out season at youth level came in the 2018-19 UEFA Youth League.   Porto beat a Chelsea side containing Marc Guehi, Tariq Lamptey, Billy Gimour and Conor...

Season Review: End of Season Awards By Jack Lacey-Hatton With the Champions League final and Championship play-off final rounding off the European club season this weekend, it won’t be long before attentions turn to 2022-23. Some supporters will see the last twelve months as a positive step forward for Arsenal and manager  Mikel Arteta, while others will be keen to move on after a missing out on the top four right at the end of the season, to fiercest rivals Tottenham. But before we start assessing summer transfer rumours and counting down the days till the next fixtures are revealed, 18 by the way, first we need to handout the Arsenal FanTV unofficial end of season awards. Ahead of the club's official Player of the Season award to be announced next week, here are our own picks after a rollercoaster season at the Emirates.   Player of the Season Bukayo Saka Sometimes you have to remind yourself where Arsenal would be without Bukayo Saka. The 20-year-old has once again ...

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...

Who were Arsenal's best performers during the international break? By Jonny Bray Arsenal stars have been lighting up the international stage this week, with several playing critical roles for their sides.  Some have scored or set up goals in international friendlies, while others qualified for this winter's World Cup.  And with the historic tournament in Qatar fast approaching, what better time to look at Arsenal's best performers from the international break? Martin Ødegaard It is almost impossible not to put Martin Ødegaard on this list after his Norway side beat Armenia 9-0 in a friendly.  Norway look like a team that could become a significant force on the European stage in the future, now that they have world-class talents like Ødegaard and Erling Haaland.  The 9-0 win came after a 2-0 victory against Slovakia, where Ødegaard once again played a central role, scoring the second in the 80th minute. The 23-year-old has been in brilliant form for the Gunners all se...