AFTV News

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...

Who are Arsenal's greatest late signings? By Peter White It barely seems five minutes since Arsenal rounded off a disappointing 2020/21 campaign with a 2-0 win at home to Brighton in May, but today marks the Gunners' return to Premier League action.  Boss Mikel Arteta will be vying to improve on a miserly eighth-place finish last time out, that saw the 13-time English champions fail to qualify for European competition for the first time since the 1994-95 season.  But a fresh start paves the way for fresh hope, and an away clash at newly-promoted Brentford under the Friday night lights will offer a glimmer of what to expect from the north Londoners in the Spaniard’s second full season in charge.  Arsenal’s cause this year will be aided by the recruitment of new signings Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares, but with over two weeks to go until the August 31 transfer window deadline, the Emirates faithful are hopeful of further additions being made.  Earlier...

What could the potential signing of Bernardo Silva from Manchester City bring to Arsenal?  By Jonny Bray Manchester City have an embarrassment of riches in almost every position on the field.  The summer signing of Jack Grealish in a deal worth £100 million has added to an already outstanding squad of players.  However, something has got to give.  City cannot continue to sign star after star without trying to balance the books.  But Riyad Mahrez had his best season since he joined last year, Phil Foden has broken into the side in the last 12 months, Fernandinho and Rodri are crucial to Pep Guardiola's system, and Kevin De Bruyne is  Kevin De Bruyne.  This leaves a select few players who could be cut out of Pep's plans at the Etihad this season.  Of the players reportedly available, Bernardo Silva, is undoubtedly the most prominent name and easily the most exciting prospect.  He's linked with a move to Arsenal in FourFourTwo, The Sun, The Manc...

Mesut Ozil, 32, playing for Arsenal prior to his move to Fenerbahce  Arsenal's greatest ever deadline day signings   Arsenal have an enviable record in the transfer market.  Yes, there have been disasters; however, Gervinho, Marouane Chamakh, and all the players signed in 2011 distract from a remarkable history of identifying top-level talent at a very affordable price.  For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Arsenal's recruitment was the envy of European football, and even as his powers as a tactician started to fade, Arsene Wenger still identified gem after gem. Even following his departure, Arsenal have still proven capable of pulling off a coup in the market.  For example, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's fee of £56 million is a large amount of money.  Still, in hindsight, that amount of money for a proven 30-goal-a-season striker in his late twenties is an insanely good deal.  If you don't believe me, look at the numbers being thrown around for Harry K...

Emile Smith Rowe v James Maddison - comparing the two No.10s  By Jack Lacey-Hatton It could be argued Arsenal’s best piece of business so far this summer is not a new signing. Rather, the new contract securing the future of prodigious talent Emile Smith Rowe may, with time, look like a very shrewd move from club management. The 21-year-old was one of the Gunners’ few consistently impressive performers in a disappointing 2020-21 season, and thoroughly deserved a new contract. Mikel Arteta has now handed him the number 10 shirt, a sign of how highly the manager values Smith Rowe. But Arsenal are also still strongly linked with another English old fashioned ‘number 10’ – James Maddison. The Leicester City playmaker could still arrive at the Emirates before the transfer window slams shut in a few weeks. So how do the two players compare and, crucially, would they be able to play together?   Goals and assists Since breaking into the Premier League back in 2018...

Matteo Guendouzi the goner: bad blood with Mikel Arteta means Frenchman's time at Emirates Stadium is up By Adam Le Roux The writing is on the wall, Mikel Arteta has effectively packed Matteo Guendouzi’s bags for him and sent him off into the night. He is yesterday’s news to the Spaniard.  The Frenchman’s days at the Emirates have looked to be numbered for a while, having been whisked off to Hertha Berlin at the first possible opportunity last summer, due to an apparent fallout with his boss.  But with the season getting nearer to its climax, there doesn’t seem to have been a change in the relationship between the pair, with the bad blood still bubbling under the surface.  It looks like a summer move is the only solution. But will Arsenal regret letting the midfield general leave on the cheap, with his all-action style something that the Gunners have been crying out for in the middle of the park?  Guendouzi is a goner  There was a time when Matteo Guendouzi’s na...

Rating Arsenal's January transfer business By Peter White After such a turgid start to the 2020/21 season, Arsenal have enjoyed a fruitful January with Saturday’s goalless draw at home to Manchester United ensuring they completed the month unbeaten in the league.   Rewind to December 22 and the Gunners had just endured a 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, while a run of no wins in seven in the Premier League had them looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone.   Boss Mikel Arteta has emphatically turned things around since then though, with an eyebrow-raising 3-1 win over Chelsea just four days later proving the springboard for a rapid upturn in fortunes that has seen Arsenal emerge as real contenders for a top-four place.   A valuable point against the Red Devils - without the likes of Bukayo Saka, Kieran Tierney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Arsenal ranks - means they head into February unbeat...

How will we remember Mesut Ozil's legacy at Arsenal as the German midfielder departs the Premier League to sign for Turkish side Fenerbahce By Adam Le Roux Well, that’s that then. After all the talk, all the hearsay, all the moaning, all the groaning, all the will he, won’t he, and everything else in the last six months…. Mesut Ozil has left the building.  After seven years at the Emirates the German midfielder has packed his bags and set sail, with a move to Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce his escape route out of London.  The writing had been on the wall for a while for the 32-year-old, with Mikel Arteta leaving him out of his Premier League and Europa League squads ahead of the new campaign, leaving him no option but to look for somewhere else to play his football.  From being the star of the show to persona non grata, Ozil has had more ups and downs in the past year than most players have in their whole careers, with his departure from the club not befitting of a pla...

The midway mark: how good has Arsenal's January transfer window been so far as Mikel Arteta looks to bring in new faces to improve the Gunners' Premier League season? By Adam Le Roux The month of January never goes by in the football world without plenty of drama, with comings and goings all over the shop, and non-stop rumours circulating about the latest player to be linked with a big move.  And in that respect, Arsenal are no exception, with plenty of hearsay about ins ands outs at the Emirates throughout the month, as Mikel Arteta looks to revitalise a squad that started the season so badly.  At one stage, the Gunners looked like they needed a complete overhaul,, and while victories over Chelsea, Brighton and West Brom after Christmas have changed the mood around the team somewhat, the need for a new arrival or two is still clear for all to see.  And as we reach the halfway mark of the January transfer window, we take a look at the done deals, the doubtful ones, and th...