Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #PierreEmerickAubameyang says little to express #NorthLondonDerby joy after being dropped for Arsenal win #ARSENALFC

March 15, 2021
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made his first comments after being dropped for Arsenal's north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners captain was a surprise omission from the starting XI on Sunday afternoon, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting that the 31-year-old was in line to start. However, according to the Athletic, the reason Aubameyang was dropped is because he was late for meeting up with the Arsenal first-team ahead of the north London derby. And speaking to Sky Sports when explaining his team selection against Spurs, Arteta confirmed the decision was disciplinary-related but refused to go into more detail regarding Aubameyang's absence. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "He was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary issue, we have drawn the line and we move on, he’s on the bench," Arteta told Sky Sports. "No, we obviously keep that internal. We have a process we have to respect for every game and that’s it. "It’s a decision made after evaluating everything about what Auba has done and that’s it. "We have other players and we’ve had to change the team recently quite a lot and we have players that are willing to play and deserve the chance, so I am confident with that." In the end, Arteta's decision to take such a stance paid off and without his leading scorer, his side came from behind to seal a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette. With that said, all appears well with the Gunners captain as he has shown his support for his teammates in the aftermath of the north London derby victory. Taking to social media after the game, Aubameyang broke his silence with a seven-word message that Arsenal fans will agree with. "North London is Red and that’s it!!!," he wrote on Instagram. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. All eyes will now be on Thursday's Europa League last-16 second-leg clash with Olympiacos and whether Aubameyang will be recalled or is left out again. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta did suggest that he is ready to move on from the minor indiscretion. "I made what I thought was the right decision," he said. "We draw a line there. Let's move on again. We know how important Auba is for the club. It's been dealt with and let's move on."
Mikel Arteta Arsenal
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #MikelArteta thinks Tottenham have an unfair advantage against Arsenal due to changes in fixture dates #ArsenalFC #THFC #NorthLondonDerby

March 5, 2021
Here are your Arsenal evening headlines for Thursday, March 4. Arteta makes Spurs admission Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that Spurs will have a slight boost ahead of the North London derby due to Uefa's decision to reverse the date of their Europa League home and away ties against Dinamo Zagreb. The decision means that Spurs will have the added bonus of not having to make a 4,000 mile round trip during midweek before the derby against Arsenal, and Arteta says it does give Jose Mourinho's side an advantage. "It does," he said when asked if it gives Spurs an edge. "But unfortunately we're not going to change that. We can raise our voices and we should do that, because we want to have at least two teams that are in equal conditions. "But the decision has been made and that's it. I don't want to use one bit of an excuse going towards that game saying 'ah they have an advantage'. "So, no probably I will use that to take it into our hands." Read the full story here. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Ibrahima Konate transfer hint Arsenal have already been given a boost in their attempts to sign RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate. The Gunners are one of several clubs across Europe interested in signing the 21-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window. Having offloaded Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis in January, the report states that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could lose several more central defenders in the summer amid talk of David Luiz, Calum Chambers, and Dinos Mavropanos all leaving. Therefore, it would appear he wants to sign Konate in order to increase his options that could include Gabriel Magalhaes, Rob Holding, Pablo Mari, and William Saliba at the start of next season. And the chances of Konate leaving RB Leipzig in the summer seem pretty high after the club's CEO Oliver Mintzlaff revealed in January that their future transfer business hinges on further player sales. Read more on Konate here. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Lacazette replacement Arsenal are understood to be eyeing an exit for Alexandre Lacazette this summer while they can still recoup a fee for the French striker. One replacement that has been linked is Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, but there is already an option at the Gunners who could save them millions should they decide not to go for the 21-year-old. Folarin Balogun is still going through contract negotiations with the club, but a new deal for the young striker would be far cheaper than splashing out the reported £21.5million Celtic are searching for to part ways with Edouard. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. There are reports that Balogun's wage demands are in the region of £40,000 per week, which is very high for a player who is still yet to start a senior game in his career. There is little to suggest any validity to these exorbitant claims football.london understands, but if Arsenal were seen to be offering these sorts of wages to young players then future Hale End graduates would be within their rights to demand similar salaries in contract negotiations going forward. But Arteta admits that keeping young stars is something the club need to be doing to keep traditions alive. "[Edu has] been spending a lot of time and energy to try and make that deal happen because it’s important for us to keep our talent in the house," he said.
Arsene Wenger
Posted inFeatured

#PLStories – #ArseneWenger shares story of #SolCampbell transfer coup #ArsenalFC #THFC

January 10, 2021
Arsene Wenger has revealed that his Arsenal players booed Sol Campbell in training in order to try and prepare him for the north London derby in 2001. Campbell became a pantomime villain when he left Spurs to move to their bitter rivals after five years with the Lillywhites. Wenger knew the England centre-back would receive a torrent of abuse when Arsenal faced Tottenham in the derby on November 17, so his team-mates tried to replicate the match situation on the training pitch. Ultimately Campbell came through the match well as the Gunners secured a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane, but Wenger admitted the situation was difficult for his new signing. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel "They did that, and they also made jokes about it,” Wenger told German magazine 11 Freunde when asked if it was true that the squad booed him. "But the situation was really stressful for Sol and he told me afterwards how severe it became. "He couldn't go to certain places for dinner or walk freely in London because of the anger of the Tottenham fans. “In hindsight, I'm not sure if I would sign him again bearing in mind the difficulties he faced." Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Arsenal’s signing of Campbell from their closest rivals came as a huge shock at the time, with both fans and the media caught off guard by the transfer. Reporters turned up, having been led to believe that the club were announcing the signing of Ipswich goalkeeper Richard Wright, only for Campbell to be unveiled. "Until I presented Sol Campbell to the press, nobody could have ever imagined him in an Arsenal shirt,” Wenger said when asked how they managed to keep the transfer a secret. "This transfer remained secret amongst the four of us: him, his agent, David and me. That cannot happen anymore in modern football because there are so many people involved in a transfer. "We walked around the house in the countryside at night. I knew that it would cause heated debates in London, but I was truly convinced by the player. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. "I thought he was capable of facing the adversity. For me, it was easy because everybody was conscious that I had signed a great player. But for him, it was more complicated." Campbell went on to play for Arsenal for five years, from 2001 to 2006, winning two Premier League titles and two FA Cups with the Gunners. He left for Portsmouth and played briefly for Notts County before returning to Arsenal for a short stint in 2010.