Arsenal-Frankfurt (3-0)

Image result for arsenal vs frankfurt

Today we were playing German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. We fielded some very young players, including 18-year-old Bukayo Saka who is highly rated at academy level. This was our first time playing against Frankfurt who finished seventh place in the Bundesliga last season. This summer Frankfurt sold most of their best players which is a good thing for us because some of them were world-class. They sold Luka Jovic to Real Madrid, Sebastian Haller to West Ham, Ante Rebic to AC Milan and Jetro Willems to Newcastle. They have brought in Portuguese forward, Andre Silva, who might give us some problems though.

In the thirty-eighth minute, Saka made a good run from our box. When he reached the half-way line, he nutmegged the man who was marking him then released the ball for Willock. He controlled it, ran a few metres then chipped the ball off the crossbar and into the goal to make it 1-0! He has scored four goals in his last six away games which is very impressive.

Between the sixtieth and seventy-second minute, we made two substitutions. English youngster Smith Rowe went off to be replaced by Pepe, and Ceballos replaced Willock.

In the seventy-ninth minute, Saka made a run forward. Dominik Kohr cut in front of him, fouling him in the process. Kohr was handed his second yellow card of the game and was sent off. Frankfurt were down to ten men now so we had to capitalize on that.

In the eightieth minute, Maitland-Niles replaced Kolasinac. Five minutes later, Pepe cut inside the defence then passed to Saka who was open on the edge of the box. He took a touch then curled the ball past Kevin Trapp! This was Saka’s first goal senior goal for Arsenal and it was an absolute beauty.

Three minutes after Saka’s goal, Frankfurt were caught dilly-dallying outside their own box but were punished by Saka who intercepted the ball. He released Aubameyang who scored easily!

The game finished 3-0, which is honestly a flattering result because without Martinez we wouldn’t have been able to keep a clean sheet. I am very happy though because our youngsters (especially Saka) were given a real chance to shine. Saka is the youngest player to score in the Europa League/Champions League since Ramsey scored in 2008! Hopefully he will turn out to be as good a player as the Welshman has become. Our next game is against Aston Villa and hopefully we will beat them because that would put us in a good position in the table.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Bukayo Saka

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Emiliano Martinez: 8

Callum Chambers: 6

Shkodran Mustafi: 6

David Luiz: 6

Sead Kolasinac: 6

Lucas Torreira: 7

Granit Xhaka: 6

Joe Willock: 8

Emile Smith Rowe: 7

Bukayo Saka: 10

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 8

Arsenal-Watford (2-2)

Today we were playing bottom of the Premier League table, Watford. I was feeling really confident because they had not won a game this season and also they had just fired their manager. They have replaced former manager Javi Garcia with Quique Sanchez Flores who actually managed them in 2015/16. Danny Welbeck, who joined Watford in the summer for a free transfer, could potentially play against us! A win in this game could put us into third place in the table. This game was Ozil’s first start of the season so I was expecting a lot from him because he was playing instead of Willock who is in really good form.

In the twenty-first minute, Ceballos and Kolasinac teamed up on Will Hughes and won the ball. Kolasinac made a run down the flank and then passed the ball to Aubameyang. He took a touch, spun around, then blasted the ball past Ben Foster to make it 1-0! Aubameyang has now scored seven goals in seven Premier League games! I was a bit sheepish because to be honest, the move started with a foul.

In the thirty-second minute, Ozil slipped the ball past the defence to Maitland-Niles. He played the ball to the back post where Aubameyang was waiting to poke it into the goal to make it 2-0. He now has ten from ten Premier League games. That goal put Aubameyang joint third in the goal-scoring chart this season with Raheem Sterling.

In the final minute of the first half, José Holebas fouled Pepe. He reacted badly and soon everyone was in on the fighting. Pepe stuck his leg out at Holebas which is probably not a good idea because Holebas is known as one of the most fiery and hot-headed players in the league.

Eight minutes after half time, we were awarded a goal kick. There is a new rule this season stating that you are allowed to pass the ball to a teammate inside your penalty box from a goal kick. Anyway, Leno passed the ball to Sokratis. He attempted to pass to Guendouzi but Gerard Deulofeu intercepted the ball. The ball bounced off his leg and into the path of Tom Cleverley, who poked it into an open net to make it 2-1. I was really surprised because Sokratis is usually really reliable and doesn’t make many mistakes.

Between the fifty-ninth minute and the seventieth minute, we made three substitutions. I don’t particularly agree with the changes Emery made but here they are. In the fifty-ninth minute, Ceballos was replaced by Willock. In the sixty-sixth minute, Torreira came on to replace Guendouzi. And in the seventieth minute, Ozil went off to be replaced by Nelson.

Nine minutes before the end of the game, Roberto Pereyra (who is one of the most skilful players in the league) ran towards the goal. When he got into the box, Luiz clumsily stuck his leg out and fouled him! It was a penalty! Pereyra sent Leno the wrong way to equalise the game. I was fuming because Luiz has now conceded two penalties in four games, which is terrible for someone who cost £8m.

The game finished 2-2 which is our second game with that score line in a row! I was really disappointed because I was predicting an easy win. The way we threw that two goal lead was really horrendous. Our next game is against German side Frankfurt in the Europa League. Hopefully we can perform better in that game.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 4

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 3

David Luiz: 1

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 2

Sead Kolasinac: 5

Granit Xhaka: 6

Matteo Guendouzi: 7

Dani Ceballos: 7

Mesut Ozil: 6

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 8

Nicolas Pepe: 7

20 Best Premier League Kits Ranked!

The other day I was wondering, there are tons of awesome new kits being released but which ones are the best? Today I am going to be writing about what I think the top 20 best Premier League kits this season are! If you are wondering, though, my top 3 favourite kits (outside of the Premier League) this season are: Inter Milan away, Roma away and PSG away!

Inter Milan, Roma and PSG

20 – Southampton

I just don’t think it looks like a football kit. It more closely resembles a rugby shirt. The red, white and black shirt actually looks okay but the big sponsor in the middle spoils it. The colour scheme of the two other kits just doesn’t look right.

19 – Manchester United

I don’t actually mind the red kit much, but I find the badge a bit strange. The black and navy shirt with pink writing is average, but I don’t particularly like the black and navy. The brown kit, on the other hand, is one of the worst shirts made this season. I don’t understand what it is supposed to be. It kind of looks like a mix between snake skin and the desert floor! Absolute rubbish.

18 – Brighton

There is nothing wrong with these three kits but it is pretty much exactly the same as last season. Nike should really try harder, with the blue and white shirt they made the lines thinner and added some black which is really not enough.

17 – Sp*rs

Exactly the same problem that Brighton had: two out of three of Sp*rs’ kits are exactly the same as last season. I’ll give them credit for making a unique third kit (neon blue), but it’s not my cup of tea. That kit is really the only thing that makes them any better than Brighton.

16 – Norwich

The home kit is actually quite nice but the second and third aren’t too good. The grey shirt looks like something you would wear to work but then you are countering with the ridiculous children’s game sponsor on the sleeve. The red and yellow shirt is a bit hard on your eyes, but if you toned the colour down a bit it would actually make quite a nice kit.

15 – Aston Villa

They haven’t released their third kit yet so they could still come out and release a brilliant kit and prove me wrong, but these two kits are a bit boring.

14 – Burnley

I actually quite like the light blue shirt with that dash of darker blue on the top, but unfortunately (like Aston Villa) the other two are really boring.

13 – Newcastle

I like the black and white kit in which they throw it back to the olden days with the centred badge, but apart from that I think they could have done better. We all know how much Puma like neon t-shirts and this one is certainly not one of the worst ones. I think the blue/green/black jersey could do with more colour.

12 – Sheffield United

Not much to say, JUST BORING!

11 – Manchester City

I will give them credit for trying something new but the yellow and pink one just didn’t work. It looks like if someone ate a strawberry and lemon popsicle then threw up all over a shirt. The home one actually looks surprisingly nice with the purple. I don’t really like the crime-scene tape sleeve but the rest of the black one is pretty good.

10 – Watford

Both shirts are average, and I quite like the red on yellow and black. The half shirt is surprisingly nice.

9 – Bournemouth

The red and black one is pretty much the same as last year’s and the neon green makes my eyes burn. The blue/black/pink one, on the other hand, is one of the best kits made this season. The pink collar caps off a really impressive shirt.

8 – Crystal Palace

I really like the black with the claw pattern running down the middle but the other two are just average and kind of look like last season’s kit.

7 – Everton

I usually don’t like pink shirts but this salmon-pink shirt with the blue collar is really nice. I don’t much care for the really dark blue shirt, but the home shirt with the pattern on the top is really cool.

6 – Liverpool

I love the red one and the white one but I don’t like the black/blue jersey much. The line running down the home one is really nice and the non-existent collar makes it look really good. I really like the red bottom of the sleeves on the white one. The only problem for Liverpool is the black and blue one because the pattern on the front is a bit too much.

5 – West Ham

You saw earlier with Southampton that the top and bottom style shirt can go horribly wrong. West Ham have done it brilliantly, though. The white shirt has a really nice collar and the black one with the pink collar looks really nice. I’m not sure whether Bournemouth copied them or if they stole the idea from the Cherries.

4 – Wolves

The black and orange kits look similar to last season’s but it is slightly better. My favourite kit, though, is the green/red/white kit. It was primarily made because their star player (Raúl Jiménez) is from Mexico and they have formed a huge fan base there. So they have made a kit using the Mexican colours! Smart.

3 – Leicester

This is one of the best selection of kits this season. As I said earlier, I usually don’t like pink shirts but this one is very nice. It suspiciously looks exactly like Germany’s World Cup shirt, though. The gold on the blue shirt looks outstanding and the simple black jersey just wraps it all up well.

2 – Chelsea

The blue shirt, which is modelled after Stamford Bridge, is radical but pulled off very well. The white shirt is very slick and looks good on all of the players. My favourite shirt though is the orange/black one. I think the orange on the collar and edge of the sleeve is very nice.

1 – Arsenal

I’m not even being biased with this decision, our kits are just so good this season! My favourite one is the red one, closely followed by the yellow one. I love the collar on the red one and the simplicity of it and then the fact that Adidas are taking it back to the 1991-93 seasons with the yellow bruised-banana kit. The blue kit is also very stylish and trendy so as a combination these are the best kits this season.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my ranking of the 20 best kits this season. I’m very happy that we have switched to Adidas because our kits this season are outstanding. If we don’t do too well this season, at least we’ll fail looking great!

Arsenal-Sp*rs (2-2)

This blog post is a little bit late, but I will still be writing about our game against Sp*rs. Our North London derby rivals have had a really bad start to the season – losing to Newcastle, drawing with Manchester City and narrowly beating Aston Villa. We on the other hand have started pretty well, beating Burnley and Newcastle but losing to Liverpool. This was a great moment to be playing Sp*rs because we have been playing well and they have not. This was also a perfect time to unleash our new lethal looking front three!

Ten minutes into the game, Erik Lamela received a pass then shot the ball. Leno palmed the ball away from the goal but directly to Christian Eriksen who prodded the ball into an open goal to make it 1-0. I was disappointed because we had been playing really well, Pepe curling the ball just over the crossbar only fifty-five seconds into the game. Eriksen was in high demand this transfer window, with big teams such as Juventus, Real Madrid and Inter Milan interested. I was secretly hoping that he would leave Sp*rs because he is definitely one of their best players.

Twenty-eight minutes later, Harry Winks crossed the ball into the box for Son Heung-min. He took a touch and tried to shoot but Xhaka rashly threw himself at Son and fouled him in the box. Penalty for Sp*rs! Xhaka is a good player but he needs to be smarter about how he gets the ball off attackers. In the fortieth minute, Harry Kane nailed the ball down the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.

In the final minute of additional time in the first half, Pepe played a smart pass through to Lacazette. He went past Jan Vertonghen then smashed the ball past Hugo Lloris! We were back in the game. That goal was really important because we seemed to be losing hope. This was Lacazette’s second goal of the season!

Between the sixty-second and sixty-sixth minute, we made two substitutions. Ceballos came on for Torreira and Lacazette (who injured himself) went off to be replaced by Mkhitaryan.

In the seventy-first minute, Guendouzi lofted a beautiful ball into the box where Aubameyang was waiting to prod the ball into the goal to draw the game level! We had come from two goals down to being in contention for a win. This was Aubameyang’s seventh successive game in the Premier League at the Emirates in which he has scored. Only Henry (9 goals) has scored more goals in a row!

After Aubameyang equalised the game, everyone was really pumped up and we were pushing really hard for a winner. In the seventy-ninth minute, Kolasinac crossed the ball into the box and Sokratis poked the ball in at the back post! The referee checked VAR and the conclusion was that Kolasianc was offside when he received the ball. I was so disappointed because I thought that we had won the game.

In the eighty-seventh minute, we finally got a classic North London derby melee which we all love to watch! Harry Winks and Sokratis got into a wrestling match and eventually everyone was getting in on it.

From left: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nacho Monreal, Mohamed Elneny

So the game ended 2-2. I was very happy that we had come from two goals down to draw the game, but I was a bit disappointed because we had been playing really well but two mistakes cost us three points. On another note, the international transfer window has closed and three players have left. Egyptian midfielder Elneny, who joined us in 2016 from Basel, has joined Besiktas on a season long loan. Spanish defender Monreal, who has been with us for six years, has joined Real Sociedad. Finally, Armenian midfielder Mkhitaryan, who joined us in a swap deal from Manchester United for Alexis Sanchez (now at Inter Milan), has joined Roma on a season-long loan with an option to buy at the end. Having offloaded some dead wood, hopefully we can win our next game which is against Watford. Thanks for reading!

MAN OF THE MATCH

Matteo Guendouzi

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 6

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 7

David Luiz: 6

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6

Sead Kolasinac: 7

Granit Xhaka: 1

Matteo Guendouzi: 10

Lucas Torreira: 8

Alexandre Lacazette: 8

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 8

Nicolas Pepe: 8

Europa League draw

Today was the Europa League draw and I was hoping that we would get an easy group because that would make it easier for us to get through. Unfortunately, though, that is not what we got. In this post I will be writing about the teams that we have been drawn with and the Carabao Cup.

Firstly, I will be talking about the Europa League. As I mentioned, we were not put in an easy group. We are in a group with Frankfurt, Standard Liège and Vitória S.C.

Frankfurt is a German team who finished 7th place in the Bundesliga last season. They were in the Europa League last season and made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Chelsea. Their star player is Croatian forward Ante Rebić. They will be a serious challenge and I think that we will struggle to beat them.

Standard Liège is a Belgian team who finished 3rd place in the Belgian Pro League. Last season they were eliminated in the group stages. Their star player is Moroccan midfielder Mehdi Carcela. I think this game should be relatively easy and we will beat them.

Vitória S.C. is a Portuguese team who finished 5th place in the Primeira Liga last season. They were not in the Europa League last year. Their star player is Portuguese midfielder André André. Like the Standard Liege game, I think we should win this game easily.

Image result for carl jenkinson

On another note, we have been drawn against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup. The last time we played them we embarrassingly lost 4-2. Former Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson who has just joined the Reds could potentially play against us!

Hopefully we will be able to replicate our Europa League form (apart from the final) and do better in the Carabao Cup. Our next game is the North London derby against Sp*rs and I am feeling really confident! My prediction is 3-1 to Arsenal. Thanks for reading!

Arsenal-Liverpool (1-3)

Today we played the reigning Champions League winners Liverpool. Liverpool are one of the strongest teams in the world right now with some really big names in their squad, such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. I was feeling slightly confident, though, because their first-choice goalkeeper Alisson is injured and their second choice Adrian isn’t very good with his feet. This game was our first time playing in our new third strip and also Pepe’s first start as an Arsenal player! This is probably one of the hardest fixtures we will play this season and also we haven’t beaten Liverpool in eight games so I wasn’t expecting too much

The first half was almost fully controlled by Liverpool. We were mainly sitting back and then occasionally hitting them on the counter. In the forty-first minute, we conceded a corner. Trent Alexander-Arnold swung the ball into the box where Joel Matip was waiting to head it in for the first goal of the game. That was disappointing because it was almost half time.

Four minutes after the restart, Firmino slipped the ball through our defence to Salah. He attempted to shoot but Luiz pulled his shirt back. A penalty was given! This is exactly what I was worried about. On his day, Luiz is one of the best defenders in the world, but when he is not having his best day he is very accident prone and makes silly mistakes like this one. Salah blasted an unstoppable shot past Leno and into the top corner to put Liverpool two goals up.

In the fifty-eighth minute, Fabinho hit a beautiful long ball from Liverpool’s box to Salah. He went around Luiz, then sprinted past Monreal and Sokratis, and then smashed the ball in to make it 3-0. At this point the game was pretty much dead and there was no way we could come back so we made a few substitutions. Torreira came on for Ceballos (who didn’t have a great game) and Willock went off to be replaced by Lacazette.

With five minutes of regular time left to play, Xhaka intercepted a sloppy pass from a Liverpool player then knocked the ball to Aubameyang. He swept the ball into the box where Torriera was waiting to smash it past Adrian for our first goal of the game.

Unfortunately that goal didn’t mean anything as we still lost 3-1. Our next game is against Sp*rs and hopefully we can beat them. On another note, a few of our players have been linked with a move away from us. Both Mustafi and Elneny have been told that they can leave the club. The first of the two has been linked with a move to Italian club Roma, and Monreal is reportedly closing in on a Real Sociedad move. Thanks for reading!

MAN OF THE MATCH

Nicolas Pepe

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 6

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 5

David Luiz: 2

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6

Nacho Monreal: 6

Granit Xhaka: 7

Matteo Guendouzi: 6

Joe Willock: 5

Dani Ceballos: 6

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 7

Nicolas Pepe: 8

Arsenal-Burnley (2-1)

Today we played our first game of the season at the Emirates. Ceballos and Luiz made their first starts for the club, while both Willock and Nelson kept their place in the first team! Pepe was on the bench again. I was hoping we could build on our 1-0 win over Newcastle because that would put us in a pretty good position in the league table.

We started the game very well, and we had lots of opportunities. Twelve minutes in, we were awarded a corner. Ceballos swung the ball into the box for Lacazette. He was dragged down but still managed to spin on the ground then blast the ball past Nick Pope for our first goal of the game! This was Lacazette’s first goal of the season and no doubt not his last. In the last thirty-six home games that Lacazette has played in, he has been involved in an amazing twenty-eight goals!

In the forty-fourth minute, Dwight McNeil drove at our defence then crossed the ball. It deflected off Sokratis’ back and into the path of Ashley Barnes. He easily prodded the ball past Leno to equalise the game. It was disappointing that we had conceded because we had been playing so well. It shows that one lapse in concentration can turn the game on its head.

In the final minute of the first half, Monreal received a through ball from Ceballos then passed it to Nelson. He smashed it into the top corner for what we thought was our second goal of the game. But the referee ruled it offside, and for the first time at the Emirates they checked VAR (Video Assistant Referee). Unfortunately he was offside, so the goal was not given.

At half-time we took off Nelson and replaced him with our record signing Pepe. This was Pepe’s first game at the Emirates and he was right into the action with a few attempts.

Nineteen minutes after half-time, Ceballos stole the ball from Johann Berg Gudmundsson. He passed the ball to Aubameyang who cut inside of James Tarkowski then curled the ball past the goalkeeper for our second goal! After Burnley scored they had parked the bus because they probably would have been happy with a draw. So the fact that we had scored was pretty satisfying. Aubameyang has played against Burnley four times and has scored at least one goal in each game – making seven in total!

In the seventy-first minute, Lacazette went off to be replaced by Kolasinac. He and Ozil haven’t played in a while because of a terrible thing that has been going on off the pitch. Both of them have been victimised by gang members in London. There was one incident which was filmed on camera where they were mobbed by two gang members wielding knives. Kolasinac amazingly managed to fight off both of them with his bare fists! Ozil didn’t make the bench because he is apparently sick but Kolasinac is back which is great for us.

For the rest of the game, almost nothing happened except both teams had a few opportunities and Torreira came on for Ceballos. Torreira didn’t play in the first game because he only just returned from the Copa America. He made it to the quarter-final with Uruguay. So we have won the first two games of the season! The last time that happened was in 2009/10 – I was one year old when that happened. Another interesting stat is that this is our eleventh win in a row against Burnley. Dani Ceballos, who had an amazing debut, is only the third Arsenal player to ever record two assists on his debut. The other two are Mkhitaryan and Ray Parlour! Our next game is against Liverpool. It will obviously be a pretty tough game as they are the reigning Champions League winners, but I think that we will probably put up a good fight.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Dani Ceballos

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 7

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6

David Luiz: 7

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 7

Nacho Monreal: 6

Dani Ceballos: 10

Matteo Guendouzi: 7

Joe Willock: 6

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 9

Reiss Nelson: 7

Alexandre Lacazette: 9

Arsenal-Newcastle (1-0)

Today we played the first game of the season. We were playing Newcastle, who have spent this summer bringing in Allan Saint-Maximin, Joelinton and Andy Carroll. We really needed a win as Liverpool and Manchester City had great opening games. We fielded a reasonably weak team which included two English teenagers (the first time that’s happened since 1998!).

The first half of the game was pretty boring with barely anything happening. It was actually a pretty even battle though. Both sides had a few opportunities, but no goals were scored.

Thirteen minutes after half-time, Maitland-Niles did brilliantly to intercept a sloppy pass from a Newcastle defender, then crossed the ball into the box. Aubameyang took a touch then chipped the ball over Martin Dúbravka for our first goal of the game and the season! Newcastle had been defending very tightly so it was good that we could capitalise on their mistake.

Not much else happened in the game except a few players made their Premier League debuts. In the 64th minute, Ceballos came on for Willock (who had been playing brilliantly). In the 71st minute, Nelson was replaced by Pepe and in the 84th minute Mkhitaryan went off to be replaced by Martinelli.

We had won the first game of the season! This was especially pleasing because last season we kept only one clean-sheet away from home which is terrible, and this season we have done it on our first try! It is also good that our reserve team is capable of beating a team as strong as Newcastle. Joe Willock played well today and I think he will be playing a lot against the smaller teams. On another note, our third kit has finally been unveiled and it looks AMAZING! I have inserted the video below for you to watch and the player ratings. Thanks for reading!

MAN OF THE MATCH

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 6

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 9

Calum Chambers: 6

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 7

Nacho Monreal: 6

Matteo Guendouzi: 7

Granit Xhaka: 6

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 2

Joe Willock: 8

Reiss Nelson: 8 ½

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 10

Transfer business

On the eighth of August 2019 at 5pm (UK time), the transfer window slammed shut. Arsenal have signed six players this summer. I have already mentioned Nicolas Pepe, Dani Ceballos, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli in previous posts but today I will be talking about everything else that has happened.

Dominic Thompson, Xavier Amaechi, Daniel Ballard, Eddie Nketiah

Youth!

Firstly I will be talking about youth. Obviously we have already signed 18-year-old forward Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano and 18-year-old defender William Saliba from Saint-Étienne, but we have also sold/loaned tons of other players.

  • Cohen Bramall has joined Colchester for free.
  • Charlie Gilmour has joined Norwich for free.
  • Julio Pleguezuelo has been released.
  • Jordi Osei-Tutu has gone on loan at Bochum.
  • Daniel Ballard has gone on loan at Swindon Town.
  • Vontae Daley-Campbell has joined Leicester.
  • Ben Sheaf has gone on loan at Doncaster Rovers.
  • Xavier Amaechi has joined Hamburg.
  • Krystian Bielik has joined Derby County.
  • Dominic Thompson has joined Brentford.
  • Eddie Nketiah has joined Leeds on loan.

Deadline Day!

Deadline day is always the busiest day of the transfer window and this year we made three deals in one day! We signed two defenders and sold a player. I will be writing about the new players and a little bit about the player who has left.

Kieran Tierney

We have signed 22-year-old Scottish left back Kieran Tierney. We signed him for £25m from Scottish team Celtic. We have been trying to sign Tierney since the start of the window and have signed him on the final day. Tierney had a double hernia operation in the summer and won’t be back for six weeks at least. He made 170 appearances for Celtic and has played 12 times for his country, Scotland. I think that this is a good signing because we need a left back especially as Monreal is getting old but I find it is a bit scary that he is injured because we need a left back now.

David Luiz

Yup, you read that right, David Luiz – our old enemy! We have signed 32-year-old defender David Luiz. We signed him for £8m from Chelsea. Absolutely no one saw this coming as he is a Chelsea player and let’s just say they aren’t our best friends. But for some reason David Luiz decided that he wanted to move to us so he skipped Chelsea training in order to force a move. David Luiz has made 160 appearances in the Premier League. He has also played for PSG and Benfica. He has played 56 times for Brazil as well. I think that this is a brilliant signing because he has loads of experience. In addition, we will be one of the hairiest teams in the world with Guendouzi and Luiz!

Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons has the same haircut as the two players!

Alex Iwobi

Image result for alex iwobi everton

Now time for the saddest part of the post. Nigerian winger Alex Iwobi (one of my favourite players) has joined Everton. We sold him for £35m. I don’t think that this was a good move because he is a good player and still pretty young. In the first team we only have three forwards now, which is not enough. We did make quite a lot of money though so that is something.

To conclude, I think that we have had a very successful summer and will do well next season. Raul Sanllehi (who is our Head of Football) has done an amazing job recruiting these players. I am so excited to see the likes of Pepe and Ceballos in the Premier League. Our first game is on Sunday against Newcastle so hopefully that goes well. Below I will put my predicted top 7 and then our new players’ announcing videos. Thanks for reading!

  1. Manchester City
  2. Liverpool
  3. Sp*rs (I hate to admit this)
  4. Arsenal
  5. Chelsea
  6. Wolves
  7. Manchester United

#PepeIsHere

Image result for pepe

A few days ago a lot of Arsenal fans (including me) were complaining about our lack of transfer activity. BOOM! A week later and we have signed three world-class players. We needed a wide player who can run with the ball (Pepe), an Aaron Ramsey replacement (Ceballos) and someone to fix our leaky defence (Saliba). The only thing I would ask for now is another centre back because Saliba isn’t joining us until next year. Today I will be writing about Nicolas Pepe.

Nicolas Pepe is a 24-year-old Ivorian winger who was born in France. He has played for Angers and Lille. We signed him for a club record fee of £72m which makes him the 20th most expensive player of all time! Fun fact, when Pepe first started playing football he was a goalkeeper! We beat several teams including Bayern Munich, Napoli and Manchester United to the signature of Pepe. He scored 22 goals and had 11 assists last season. He will wear number 19 next season. He has said that he is excited to play alongside Lacazette, Aubameyang and Ozil!

In conclusion, I am very happy with this signing and think that it is a great piece of business. Hopefully he performs as well for us as he did for Lille because that is pretty well.

Pepe’s official unveiling video!