AFTV News

By Matt Wright In seasons gone by   an article assessing Arsenal’s defending would make for tough reading.  In fact, the same applies for the first month of the 2021/ 2 2 campaign when the Gunners let in nine goals in their first three games, without reply.  Let’s  not lie. A lot of us were expecting a long and painful nine months after such a torrid start, but thankfully it’s been one to finally rekindle  optimism among the faithful at the Emirates Stadium.  It’s natural that, with Arsenal now favourites to finish fourth in the Premier League, supporters would focus on the attackers that have made this possible – Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli etc.  However, it’s also been reassuring to know that Mikel Arteta’s men are now less likely to point the barrel at their feet and blow their own toes off at any given second.  That decreased propensity for self-destruction at the back is one of the ways in which the Gunners have improved...

Three Arsenal players who could leave in the January  transfer window By Oli Dickson-Jefford The January transfer window is upon us and it could be a busy month or so at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta will likely want to improve his squad further over the next few weeks to help Arsenal in their fight for a top-four finish this season. However, it is not only incoming players that Gunners fans will be keeping an eye on in January with some players potentially heading elsewhere. We take a look at three players who may be saying farewell to the red side of North London this transfer window. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang It is hard to see what future Aubameyang has at the Emirates after the past couple of weeks. Up until a few weeks ago, he was the club captain but he was unceremoniously stripped of that title due to ill-discipline and has been sidelined ever since. The Gabonese striker has not even made the squad for the past six matches and bridges seem to have been burned with Arteta, who ...

Ben White, 23, with former Leeds teammate Kalvin Phillips, 25 Transfer target profile: Ben White By Jonny Bray The battle between Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds United for Ben White was one of the most fascinating transfer sagas of last summer.   Anyone who watched that season’s Championship will know that White is as big a reason why Leeds are where they are as Kalvin Phillips or Patrick Bamford.   White spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds, earning the admiration of the fans and the trust of his parent club.   He’d been a target for Tottenham after impressing in duels against Harry Kane while on loan at Newport County in both legs of a third round FA Cup tie.   White chose a new contract at Brighton and a loan spell at Leeds over a permanent move to Spurs, showing he has the sound mind-set necessary to succeed at the top level.   The England international went from strength to strength, as he played in every game of Leeds’ promotion s...

Are Arsenal back on track? What we learned from the thumping Premier League win over West Brom By Peter White The festive spirit was certainly flowing at Arsenal after back-to-back successes over the Christmas period, and the Gunners carried their recent upturn in form into the New Year with a thumping 4-0 win at West Brom on Saturday night.  Having failed to win their previous seven, successive wins over Chelsea, Brighton and now the Baggies have lifted Mikel Arteta’s charges to 11th in the table - swiftly reigniting hopes of securing a European place. It’s certainly amazing how much can change in the matter of just a couple of weeks, with the free-flowing, confident play on show throughout a scintillating display at the Hawthorns a far cry from some of the turgid stuff fans were put through earlier in the campaign.  The hugely impressive Kieran Tierney set the tone for a comfortable night in the Black Country with a stunning solo effort in the 23rd minute, before Bukayo Saka...

Another sad Sunday: All the fallout as Arsenal fall to a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby  By Adam Le Roux  If ever there was proof needed of how much the tide has been changing in North London recently, Sunday’s match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be the prime example. A Spurs side brimming with confidence brushed aside Arsenal with ease in the first meeting of the two rivals this season, despite the Gunners having the lion’s share of the ball. They got well and truly Mourinho-ed. With over two thirds of possession, the visitors controlled the game for large parts, but as has so often been the case this season, finding the breakthrough proved elusive. The hosts meanwhile, made the most of their time with the ball at their feet, with Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane finding the net in the first half to put them in the ascendency. And from there, the Gunners never really looked like getting back into the game, as they succumbed to th...

  Arteta suitably satisfied after 1-0 win against Manchester United By Peter White Boss Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal’s first win at Old Trafford for 14 years is evidence his team are on an upward trajectory, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half penalty proving enough to edge a hard-fought battle with old rivals Manchester United. The Gunners travelled to the North-West without an away win against a fellow 'big six’ side for nearly six years, but having already fallen at Liverpool and Manchester City in the fresh campaign, that wait finally came to an end against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges. Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka might have scored before United midfielder Paul Pogba fouled Hector Bellerin in the box, allowing captain Aubameyang to net the decisive spot-kick in the 69th minute. And while the result lifts Arsenal to ninth in the league, Arteta is confident his players are continually buying into his philosophy, and insists a win on the road to such a heavywei...

Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal: five key talking points as Gunners slip to 1-0 defeat at Etihad Stadium By Will Jennings Arsenal slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Manchester City but the shoots of improvement continue to emerge for Mikel Arteta and his ever-evolving side. Saturday evening’s defeat at the Etihad Stadium marked the Gunners’ 29th consecutive loss away at a ‘big six’ side but Arteta, still only in the Arsenal hotseat since December, looks to be narrowing the gap between his team and their rivals. Arsenal went down 3-1 against defending Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield and while a trip to City marked another defeat, the away day capitulations seen so frequently under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery now appear a thing of the past. The Gunners created a raft of opportunities against Pep Guardiola’s side as Bukayo Saka, Nicolas Pepe and the usually clinical Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were all denied by an impressive Ederson in the City goal. We picked out five of ...