Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog. In this episode James and I are in Los Angeles, losing track of time, but enjoying the California sunshine. We chat about our time here, before turning attention to Arsenal’s game against Bournemouth on Wednesday, and some of the young players […] The post Arsecast Extra Episode 595 – 26.07.2024 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog ..read more

Good morning everyone! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Andrew Allen as much as I have the last couple of days, but he’s passed the torch (more on the Olympics later) to me to accompany you through today and the weekend. There hasn’t been much in the way of news since the friendly against Bournemouth, so […] The post When ESR had us Rockin’ All Over the World appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog ..read more

Chief among Mikel Arteta’s early realisations as Arsenal coach was that Granit Xhaka was not a deep lying playmaker. When Xhaka was signed in 2016, Arsene Wenger seemed to struggle to define the player, first describing him as a ‘box to box’ player, before situating him at the base of the Arsenal midfield. Xhaka, somewhat […] The post Different Faces appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog ..read more

Morning all, as I start writing this it’s 5.45 am in London. On the other side of the world, Arsenal have just beaten Bournemouth 5-4 on penalties having drawn 1-1 after 90 minutes. I’ve not watched any of it, so cue the doorbell music while I figure out what happened… *30 minutes later* Right, I’ve got the gist of things via the club’s match report and some bitty highlights from some of the Arsenal aggregators on Twitter.  Here goes… The lineup Having predicted yesterday that we’d go strong from the outset, Arteta selected more of a mix-and-match outfit. Karl Hein started in goal ..read more

Good morning from London where I’m trying to figure out whether I should treat today as a matchday or not.  For those in the UK, kick-off against Bournemouth – the first match of our US tour –  is at 3.30 am tomorrow, so technically it’s not. At the same time, it’s the last chance I’ll get to preview the game as it’ll be over by the time I’m up to write tomorrow’s blog.  I’m teetering on the edge of the “he’s 28 until he becomes 29” vortex, so it’s probably best to move on.  I’m not sure about you but I’ve been hoovering up the USA Tour content following a remarkably quiet ..read more

Morning. There are a few bits and pieces going on, starting with some quotes from Mikel Arteta ahead of the game against Bournemouth on Wednesday evening. Having come so close to the title last season, the challenge begins again, and the manager says his team will have to improve in order to become champions, saying: Perfection in this league requires different standards to relate that world to winning the Premier League. That’s what we need to do, we need to upgrade everything we’re doing and improve in every area. That’s what we’re trying to do. It’s a tall order, of course, because if yo ..read more

Morning, welcome to a brand new week. The Arsenal team left London for the US yesterday, and a 26 man squad was announced via the official website. Because of the international tournaments, it’s a real mix of senior and younger players. Last year there was just one young player with the squad, this time you can count 13, with some names a bit more familiar than others. There’s extra room in the defensive line-up because Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu both have injuries. The former we know from his time at the Euros, the latter is – if not quite a surprise – not one we had heard about in ..read more

There are a couple of bits for a quick Sunday update, starting with news that the long-awaited signing of Riccardo Calafiori looks set to go through in the next couple of days. Various reports suggest the agreement between the various clubs is complete, the player will travel to London to complete a medical and all the formalities, and will become a Gunner. It’s such an interesting signing, because as we head towards a new season, we think about what we might do differently from last. Mikel Arteta has spoken often about wanting to be more unpredictable, and the Italian international certainly ..read more

Morning, a few bits a bobs going on this morning. First, there’s more on Emile Smith Rowe with Crystal Palace reportedly ‘preparing’ a bid of up to £35m (including bonuses) for the midfielder. However, the same report says Arsenal will reject the offer, with Mikel Arteta keen to keep the player. I don’t know quite what to make of that, because as I’ve said, how a manager uses a players tells you plenty, and although there were a few signs of life last season (the start against Luton and calling on him from the bench on the final day), it’s gone pretty stale for Smith Rowe at Arsenal. Perhaps ..read more

Morning all. There’s not much going on. The Guardian report that Arsenal ‘remain’ in talks with Bologna over Riccardo Calafiori, but the stumbling point appears to be the fee. Which, as I mentioned yesterday, is a fairly important part of getting any deal done. The issue seems to be how much we pay up front, a situation which is somewhat complicated by the fact Bologna signed a sell-on clause with Basel, his former club, which sees them get 50% of any deal. Now the Italian club want to renegotiate that, or get more cash in a lump sum, or something else. Who knows? Certainly not all the transf ..read more