Arsenal will reportedly turn to Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler in the summer to help solve their ongoing problems between the sticks, according to the Mirror.
The Gunners have struggled to secure a dominant custodian since the departure of Jens Lehmann back in 2008, with Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski sharing the keeping duties this season.
Both players can be brilliant on their day but are inconsistent and prone to lapses in concentration that lead to errors.
Boss Arsene Wenger relied on David Seamen for years but has been unable to find another keeper to match the former England star, but reports in the English press claim he will now turn to the former Bayer Leverkusen shot-stopper to try and solve the problem.
Adler has won 11 Germany caps and reports claim he would cost in the region of £10million but, with another trophyless season at the Emirates Stadium, it might be money well spent.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Arsenal forward Gervinho is “totally convinced” new signing Oliver Giroud will score enough goals to make Arsenal fans forget about Robin Van Persie, according to the Mirror.
Arsenal are yet to score a goal or record a victory this season, having being held to goalless draws by both Sunderland and Stoke since the sale of their captain to Manchester United.
It is clear Giroud – a £10 million signing from Montpellier – along with fellow new boy Lukas Podolski, have a massive task on their hands replacing the former Arsenal talisman. However, Gervinho is certain that with a little patience the goals will come.
The Ivory Coast international explained: “I hope the fans show patience towards Giroud and also look at his overall contribution to the team.
“We must all support him, because there’s big pressure.
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that the goals will come. I am totally convinced.
“To substitute a player like van Persie who scored nearly 40 goals in a season is not easy.
“Giroud couldn’t score goals in the opening games but that’s to be expected because it will take him time to adapt in the system and style.”
Gervinho is speaking through experience, having taken a while to settle into English football since his move from Lille last summer. He continued:
“It took me a long time to adjust so I know what it is like.
“But Wenger will give Giroud confidence because he believes in his ability and quality.
“A squad like Arsenal’s needs quality players at this level and they must be allowed to succeed without pressure.
“I talk every day with Olivier and he’s not been worried by the absence of goals in his first matches. It’s just a matter of time.”
Arsenal’s quest for a first goal of the season does not get much easier, as they travel to Anfield on Sunday. Last season’s fixture saw the Gunners come away with a 2-1 win courtesy of two strikes from Robin Van Persie. Gervinho admits he wishes the Dutchman had not left the Emirates, but insists Arsenal are capable of moving on without him.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
He told French radio station RMC Sports:
“Personally, I wouldn’t have wanted for him to leave for Manchester United. But our world doesn’t end with Robin.
“We are players with a lot to develop and we can have a good season by which time van Persie will be forgotten. That is the truth.”
As reported by The Daily Mirror, Celtic are interested in signing Arsenal goalkeeping prospect Arthur Okonkwo this summer.
What’s the story?
Celtic have found success in recent seasons bringing the likes of Olivier Ntcham, Patrick Roberts and Dedryck Boyata to Glasgow from the fringes of the Manchester City squad, and other clubs in the Premier League have an abundance of talent not quite at first team level who can become important players for the Hoops.
One player with significant talent that could make the switch to Glasgow this summer is Arthur Okonkwo.
That’s according to The Daily Mirror, who say the 16-year-old goalkeeper could leave Arsenal after reaching a contract stalemate at the Emirates.
The paper say that the Hoops and RB Leipzig are both targeting the youngster as a result and could land him on a free transfer.
Who is he?
Despite being just 16 years of age, Okonkwo is already 6ft 5in tall and is regarded as one of Arsenal’s best prospects with The Mirror reporting he is expected to push into the Gunners’ senior squad over the next two years.
The youngster has already trained with the first team and having also won youth international caps with England, is clearly regarded as a player with significant potential.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Craig Gordon is still number one at Celtic Park and a teenager is unlikely to replace him immediately, but with the Scotland international coming towards the end of his career, could Okonkwo be a valid long-term replacement?
On a free transfer, it’s a risk-free move and the youngster could be the latest to find success in Glasgow moving from the fringes of one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
Arsenal’s 2015 has been terrific. The Gunners are now on the back of an eight-game winning streak, which has brought the possibility of the Premier League title very much into view… despite their stuttering start to the season.
Although 1-0 at Burnley may not appear to a breath-taking result, such a win against a relegation-threatened team battling for safety makes it a momentous performance, especially with the gap to Chelsea at the summit of the division having been closed to four points with it.
So aside from the title dream still flickering away, what else can we take from the victory? Well, here are THREE interesting points.
[interaction ]
Ramsey could be a great…
https://vine.co/v/euZmY9nrHuZ/embed/simple
150 games. Despite being just 24-year-old and having endured a horrific leg break, Aaron Ramsey ahs already notched 150 appearances for the Gunners. A fair few stars down the years have failed to reach such a tally, which shows just how good the Welshman is. And on the momentous occasion he netted the vital goal, showing great composure to smash in a finish Olivier Giroud would have been proud of.
Could he be a potential Gunners great? Maybe…
Ozil is back
He may not have been ‘headline grabbing’ in his performance, but Mesut Ozil quietly went about his job at Turf Moor, and looked impressive. The German has always been a technically adept player, but he finally looks to be physical enough for the English game, which is shown by a good performance away at a battling, relegation—threatened side.
Coquelin is getting better and better
When he went back to the Emirates’ Stadium from Charlton in December, few, if any, fans predicted the performances he’s produced since. The Frenchman has provided the anchor Arsenal have lacked for so long now, performing well in the often thankless anchor role. Today he was stunning again, mobbing up in front of his defenders, while keeping his distribution solid. Top job, Francis.
Reading boss Nigel Adkins believes the Royals must beat his former club Southampton to keep alive their hopes of staying up.
The Royals slipped to the bottom of the league on goal difference last weekend after Adkins’ first game in charge following the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, a result which leaves the Berkshire club seven points from safety.
The former Scunthorpe boss admitted it would always be a big ask to get something at the Emirates Stadium and felt Reading’s fight against the drop realistically didn’t start until this weekend’s match with the Saints.
Adkins is set to put aside personal feelings for the clash with his old club in order to make sure Reading get the three points they need to keep their hopes of survival alive.
“We talk about the long term situation that we’ve got, the way I want to go and play, but first and foremost, the here and now – we’ve got to go and win the game on Saturday,” Adkins told Reading’s website.
“We are where we are at this moment in time in the Barclays Premier League and we need to win. The next game is always the most important one, it’s the first home game for myself and Andy Crosby, and we’re really looking forward to the game.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
As reported by The Mirror, West Ham are interested in signing Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes this summer.
What’s the story?
With the Hammers fans having to endure another difficult season, manager David Moyes is expected to make significant changes to the first team squad at the London Stadium if he stays on as manager.
One player that could be on his way is Barcelona man Andre Gomes.
That’s according to The Mirror, who say the player is open to a move to the Premier League but that West Ham face competition from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for his signature.
Rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, can the Irons convince him his future is with them?
A good addition?
Andre Gomes is a player on the fringes of the Barcelona first team this season, although is apparently a valued member of the squad, getting plenty of action from the bench with 30 appearances in total.
With close to 200 appearances between spells at Barca, Valencia and Benfica, it’s clear he is a player of quality that would likely add class and composure to the middle of the park at the London Stadium.
It’s the kind of elite experience that doesn’t usually find its way to the West Ham United first team.
As you’d expect from a Barcelona player he has excellent technical passing ability and a football intelligence that could add a new dimension to their midfield play.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
If he’s available this summer then he’s someone the Hammers should be pursuing.
Saturday’s win over struggling Sunderland was West Ham’s first Premier League win since January 18th, putting an end to a dismal run of form that was in stark contrast to the Hammers’ start to the season. More importantly though, it has put paid to their hopes of European football for next year.
The West Ham fans have never warmed to manager Sam Allardyce. His style of football doesn’t match the Hammers fans’ expectations of how their team should play. Maybe this is fair enough, though it’s possibly a picture of Allardyce that is coloured by his time at Bolton and his pragmatic approach to getting the teams he inherits to achieve their objectives.
Either way, the locals aren’t happy, and now even the club’s top brass are starting to pile pressure on the manager.
Karren Brady, who is West Ham’s vice-chairman, is reported in the Telegraph to have written that West Ham are ‘underachieving’ and that it is up to Sam Allardyce to ‘identify the reason and rectify it.’ Clearly she is not happy with West Ham’s current form, and she feels that the high league position that West Ham occupied until Christmas was not overly inflated for their current squad.
Sam Allardyce responded to these comments after the win on Saturday, telling Sky Sports that although his team haven’t been getting the results, their performances have been very good. He said: “We’re not under-performing, we’re under-results-getting so she’s wrong in what’s she’s saying.”
Big Sam’s comments seem to rest on either a misunderstanding or a misquotation of what Brady said. She didn’t say that the team were ‘underperforming’, but that they were ‘underachieving.’
[ad_pod id=’football-friends’ align=’center’]
Allardyce is probably right to a certain extent – West Ham’s performances in defeat haven’t been terrible of late, though they haven’t been at the same level as they were before Christmas. But Brady did say underachieving – nothing to do with performance. If they are playing well enough to win and not managing to do so, that is almost a perfect definition of underachievement. If the team has been performing well, only one win since mid-January is definitely underachievement.
But there’s a bigger issue at stake here, and that’s Big Sam’s contract and his future at the club.
The mirror are reporting that Eddie Howe, the manager of (maybe overachieving?) Bournemouth, is being eyed up by the West Ham board as a replacement for Allardyce in the summer. Howe’s team have been wonderful this season in the Championship, playing attractive and attacking, passing football, retaining possession when they can and looking to release strikers with through balls. Surely that’s the kind of football Irons fans have in mind for their team, and the principle reason that Allardyce is unloved is because he doesn’t provide that. With Big Sam’s contract up in the summer, this move makes a lot of sense.
But in that Sky Sports interview, Allardyce seemed to drop a hint that he is eyeing new recruits in the summer. He suggests that the poor run of results recently is down to the size of the squad he has at his disposal, and that means they need to strengthen in the summer.
Maybe Allardyce is simply stating a truth here. Maybe he’s not looking to buy in the summer, and instead will just leave at the end of his contract and find somewhere new, though it is strange that he’d say something like that – it’s the kind of thing managers say when they’re looking for the owners to dig into their pockets and stump up some cash. But maybe he’s just defending his record and defending his players.
Either way, there is certainly much intrigue at the Boleyn.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Sam’s position doesn’t seem to be a tough one, though. If the board and the fans are both against him and his contract is up in the summer, what does he stand to gain by staying?
A solid end to the season would keep his stock as a Premier League manager high, and ‘the most sophisticated manager in the league’ may well himself have some new suitors come May.
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has refused to suggest the race for the Premier League title is over, despite his side extending their gap over Manchester City to 15 points.
The Red Devils took full advantage of City’s 2-0 loss at Everton by claiming a 1-0 victory at home to old Trafford on Saturday.
With only nine games remaining apiece, many have predicted that United have all but secured English football’s top prize.
But, Vidic is adamant that the battle for the league title is far from finished, citing last season’s late drop in form, where they surrendered an eight point lead, as an example of what can happen:
“It is a big gap and we shouldn’t let that change. We have the title in our hands,” he told Sky Sports.
“What happened last season is the reason why sometimes you can feel the fans get nervous.
“But I don’t think we should allow that to happen again. We can’t allow that to happen again.
“But we still have some tough away games at places that are traditionally hard for us so nothing is finished yet.”
City won the league title with the final kick of the campaign last time out, as Sergio Aguero netted an all-important winning goal against QPR.
Chris Smalling echoed Vidic’s thoughts, stating that nothing can be taken for granted:
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“Last season is a massive incentive to make sure we hold on to this lead.
“We can’t rest on our laurels. We have to make sure we finish it well before the season is over.”
Newcastle United took a massive step towards English Premier League safety on Saturday after a 1-0 win at home to Huddersfield Town.
Needing a victory to ensure they don’t get drawn further into a relegation battle, Rafa Benitez’s side produced the goods thanks to a late goal from Ayoze Perez.
The Magpies ended the day seven points clear of 18th placed Southampton, with five teams separating the two sides. With just seven games remaining that gives them a healthy enough cushion that should be enough to ensure they don’t drop down the Championship.
Fans were delighted with the win and singled one individual out for particular praise – midfielder Mohamed Diame.
The 30-year-old wasn’t the most popular figure with Newcastle supporters earlier in the season after a number of poor performances but he’s been one of their most important players in recent months and performed excellently against Huddersfield, the driving force in the middle of the park.
Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his display…
St Patrick’s Day is here, making it a time to celebrate all that comes from the Emerald Isle. While the Republic of Ireland have not truly been a dominant force in football, the nation have supplied the Premier League with a one-man entertainment show… Roy Keane!
The no-nonsense ex-Manchester United man is one of the true characters of the English game, and while his approach is not always orthodox, he has created some moments all footy fans will remember.
We’re sure he’ll be enjoying the festivities of this special day later, and here’s some advice we thing Keano would dish out…
Don’t take any s***
Keane takes no prisoners, it’s key part of his whole persona. If something’s wrong, he’ll let you know, just like he did with Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy in 2002. According to team-mate Niall Quinn, Keano hit back at his boss with this outburst when criticised in a squad meeting…
“You’re a f****** w*****. I didn’t rate you as a player, I don’t rate you as a manager and I don’t rate you as a person. You’re f****** w***** and you can stick your World Cup up your arse. I’ve got no respect for you. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country! You can stick it up your b*******.”
He also hit out at Alan Shearer!
Revenge is a dish best served angrily!
If someone wrongs you, let them know! Man City’s Alf Inge Haaland fell foul of Keane, literally, after the then Man City man had inflicted an injury on the Irishman years before…
“I’d waited long enough. I f****** hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***. And don’t ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries.
“Even in the dressing room afterwards, I had no remorse. My attitude was, f*** him. What goes around comes around. He got his just rewards. He f***** me over and my attitude is an eye for an eye.”
Say it how it is…
Don’t pull any punches… here are some examples of Keane doing just that!
“I don’t think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it.”
“Sometimes you wonder, do they understand the game of football? They have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don’t realise what’s going on out on the pitch.”
Let any idiots know they’re idiots
Anyone says something stupid, let them know! As Roy did with Adrian Chiles when debating how much rain constitutes a downpour…
Have a laugh!
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
At the end of the day, have a good time. Keane can be serious, but even the Irishman had a good laugh when chatting on air with Gareth Southgate about a ‘clash’ the pair had in their playing days