English Premier League side Arsenal have rejected a £50 million bid from rivals Manchester City for Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez.
Sanchez, who scored 24 Premier League goals for the Gunners last season, is out of contract next summer and has reportedly said he wants to play for City manager Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal have rebuffed all approaches for the 28-year-old, and would like City’s Raheem Sterling as part of any deal before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
But Guardiola, who was in charge at Sanchez’s former club FC Barcelona, is understood to want the Chilean as a straight purchase.
England forward Sterling has featured in all three of City’s games so far this season.
However, the 22-year-old is not guaranteed a starting role at Etihad Stadium following the summer arrival of Bernardo Silva from Monaco.
Sanchez had joined Arsenal from FC Barcelona in 2014 for a fee of about £35 million and won the FA Cup for the second time last season.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had said few weeks ago that Sanchez would “respect” his decision and stay.
The Chilean made his first appearance of the season in the Gunners’ 0-4 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday, coming off for Alexandre Lacazette after 62 minutes.(NAN)
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote plans to sack Arsene Wenger if his long-promised takeover of Arsenal is ever successful.
Africa’s richest man, valued at £10billion by Forbes earlier this year, has publically expressed his desire to take over at the Emirates for several years and saw an initial bid to join Arsenal’s hierarchy collapse in 2010.
In an interview with Bloomberg Dangote once more affirmed his desire to invest in the north London side once he completes a major oil refinery project in the Nigerian capital of Lagos.
And any successful bid from the 60-year-old could spell doom for Wenger.
“The first thing I would change is the coach,” Dangote said. “He has done a good job, but someone else should also try his luck.”
It is not the first occasion in which Dangote has promised major upheaval at the Emirates, making similar comments about Wenger in May 2015.
The Arsenal manager would fear no such challenge from current majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, with whom he agreed a two year contract extension at the end of last season.
Kroenke insisted in May that he was a “committed, long-term investor” in Arsenal after his company had rejected a £1billion takeover bid from Alisher Usmanov, who owns a 30 per cent stake in the club.
The offer valued Arsenal at £2bn and Dangote is convinced he could tempt Kroenke and Usmanov into selling up.
“If they get the right offer, I’m sure they would walk away,” he said. “Someone will give them an offer that will make them seriously consider walking away.
“And when we finish the refinery, I think we will be in a position to do that.”
Dangote, an Arsenal fan since the mid-1980s, had been in talks with then-shareholder Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith about a deal seven years ago but saw a deal fall apart.
The commodities tycoon is worth nearly £4bn more than Kroenke though his wealth has been eclipsed by Usmanov in recent years
Super Eagles striker Victor Moses on Sunday scored a goal for Chelsea but unfortunately it was not enough as Arsenal secured a comeback win to lift the Community Shield at the Wembley Stadium.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Community Shield is the season’s traditional “curtain raiser’’ which pitted Premier League champions Chelsea against FA Cup winners Arsenal.
Arsenal has won the trophy three times in four years.
Moses had opened scoring for Chelsea early in the second half after a goalless first half which saw both sides unable to convert their goal scoring opportunities.
Arsenal were caught off-guard at the restart as Granit Xhaka ballooned a clearance from a corner high in the air.
But Gary Cahill flicked it back into the middle of the box as Moses timed his run to perfection, creeping through to drive in from close range and slotting the ball past Petr Cech in the 47th minute.
The goal was Moses’ first for Chelsea in 27 games. His last one came against Tottenham HotSpurs in November.
NAN reports that the Super Eagles’ midfielder, Alex Iwobi, also had a decent performance for Arsenal with some nifty footwork, going closest to scoring in the 49th minute after twirling his way through a couple of players before getting his shot off in the mark.
But the shot was weak and straight at goalkeeper.
He was, however, substituted in the 67th minute alongside Arsenal’s new signing Alexandre Lacazette who also came close to scoring with a shot that hit the post in the first half.
Oliver Giroud and Theo Walcott were introduced as their replacements as Arsenal desperately went in search for the equaliser.
With 10 minutes left to play and just as Chelsea looked poised to win, the game unfortunately took a twist of fate as Chelsea went down to 10 men.
Pedro Rodriguez went late and high with his studs up on Mohamed Elneny.
Referee Bobby Madley had a little think and then pulled out the red card as Antonio Conte expressed his displeasure at the referee’s decision.
It was indeed a crazy couple of minutes for Chelsea as straight from the free-kick conceded by Pedro, Arsenal equalised in the 82nd minute.
Granit Xhaka’s delivery was headed in powerfully by new boy Sead Kolasinac.
There were just 82 seconds between Pedro’s red card and Kolasinac’s goal.
Kolasinac became the first player to open his goal account for Arsenal in the Community Shield since Gilberto Silva in 2002.
It was certainly dramatic and cranked up the atmosphere in the closing stages.
The game, however, ended in a 1-1 draw and went straight into the lottery of penalty shootouts.
With the game going straight into penalties, the Gunners showed their superiority; scoring all their four kicks, while the Blues could only put in one.
Thibaut Courtois and new club-record signing, Alvaro Morata lost their kicks.
Sunday’s win extends Arsenal’s unbeaten record to 9 at Wembley
It was indeed a turnaround as Arsenal secured their first trophy of the season, beating Chelsea 4-1 on penalties.
Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez has paid an emotional visit to a small town in Chile as the forward continues his extended summer break following the Confederations Cup.
The Chilean, who helped fire his country to the Confederations Cup final before being defeated by Germany, visited the very old town of Sauzal, which is home to just over 500 people.
Sanchez, whose Arsenal future is in doubt with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in the running to sign him, took to Instagram to post an emotional video of his trip back to Chile with Leona Lewis’s moving ‘Footprints in the Sand’ song playing in the background.
Sanchez filmed his trip to Sauzal and uploaded it on his official Instagram account
Sanchez captioned his social media post: ‘Everything you do, leave a mark on others. Try to do everything with love and the trail will be beautiful.’
The 28-year-old filmed smoke billowing out of a forest before he was seen meeting the locals. One woman warmly embraced the country’s footballing hero while a young girl was in tears as she managed to get a photo with the Chilean star.
Sanchez was accompanied on his visit to Sauzal by his new girlfriend Mayte Rodriguez and three other close friends as they jetted off to Chile by helicopter.
Sanchez filmed the locals saying goodbye to him as he departed the small town
Meanwhile, the wantaway Chilean’s future is very much up in the air, with Sanchez being constantly linked with a move away from the Emirates.
Sanchez has made it clear he wants to challenge for the Premier League title while also attempting to add a Champions League winner’s medal to his collection.
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is set to sign for Juventus after arriving in Italy for a medical.
Szczesny has spent the last two seasons on loan at Roma but the Poland international now looks poised to join Juventus on a permanent deal.
Juventus on Tuesday posted a picture on Twitter of Szczesny at Turin airport with the caption: “Has just arrived in Turin@13Szczesny13!”
The club followed up with a video of Szczesny introducing himself to Juventus fans.
Szczesny is likely to provide back-up to the 39-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, who has indicated he is eager to play for Italy at the World Cup next summer.
After joining Arsenal as a trainee in 2006, Szczesny spent the first six months of 2010 on loan at Brentford but soon established himself in the Gunners’ first team.
From 2011 to 2015, Szczesny was Arsene Wenger’s preferred choice between the sticks but a lack of discipline on and off the pitch hampered his progress.
In January 2015, two errors contributed to Arsenal losing 2-0 at Southampton and he was later fined £20,000 by the club for smoking in the changing room after the match.
Arsenal signed Petr Cech in June that year and Szczesny was allowed to move to Roma.
He was a regular starter in the Italian capital and helped Roma finish third in Serie A in 2016 and second last season.
Arsenal new import Alexandre Lacazette another Alex in Arsene Wenger’s squad, is hoping to strike a perfect tag team with Nigerian international Alex Iwobi when the new season kicks off in August. The France international who scored in his debut for the Gunners against Sydney FC in continuation of pre-season shape up, had Iwobi to thank for providing the timely assist for the goal that saw Arsenal running away with a 2-0 victory.
Lacazette netted within 15 minutes of coming off the substitutes’ bench to mark his arrival for a club-record fee in style.
Iwobi made a great ground down the right before squaring for the onrushing Frenchman to slot home with a low finish.
”Happy to score my first goal with my new Team !! Thanks Alex Iwobi, great assist. ’’ Lacazette tweeted.
The highly elated new arrival who joined the Emirates Stadium giants for £52 million is likely to get more time to showcase his skill as the Gunners prepare to face more teams in the pre-season tour.
Arsenal take on Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday as in continuation of their pre-season trip to Australia.
Lacazette who made 203 appearances for his former club Lyon between 2010 and 2017 scoring 100 goals in the bargain will be hoping to continue his exploits at the Emirates.
His new found partner in progress Alex Iwobi on the other hand has made about 39 appearances for the Gunners with five goals to show for his effort. Iwobi who has been a Gunner through and through, graduated from the youth team into the senior team in 2015.
IN the end the 80,000 strong crowd couldn’t have asked for anything more – Alexandre Lacazette scoring on his debut as Arsenal beat Sydney FC 2-0 at ANZ Stadium.
The match had a bit of everything. A freak Per Mertesacker goal to open the scoring, a missed penalty from Danny Welbeck and a man-of-the-match performance from Sydney’s Arsenal-loving goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
But all of that was almost forgotten when Lacazette, Arsenal’s $88 million French striker, scored the goal that everyone had been waiting for in the 83th minute. He had said before the game his aim was to repay the record fee Arsenal paid for him in goals, and it took him just 15 minutes to open his account.
Gunners score after 4 minutes
Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates.
So the fans left happy, but both Arsene Wenger and Graham Arnold will know that there is still quite a bit more work to be done before their respective seasons start.
Arsenal brought their stadium announcer from the Emirates and the club’s famous mascot Gunnersaurus to add a touch of authenticity to the occasion. And it’s been that kind of attention to the small details that has set this tour apart from the ones that have preceded it. The Arsenal players have held coaching clinics, made several appearances and have been accessible to the media.
Gunners awarded shocking pen
On the field, Wenger had promised a lively performance and his team delivered on that. There was an urgency to their attack, led mainly by the club’s two 17-year-old’s, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock. Making their debuts for Arsenal, the two youngsters toyed with Sydney’s defence at times and look fine prospects for the club.
Alexandre Lacazette.
But the opening goal, in the fourth minute, came through an unlikely source and in the most unlikeliest of ways. Towering German defender Per Mertesacker hooked the ball over his shoulder and into the net after the Sky Blues failed to deal with Mesut Ozil’s corner.
It was really all Arsenal from there with Sydney barely touching the ball outside of their own half. Chances fell to Danny Welbeck, Cohen Bramall, Nelson and Reiss but Andrew Redmayne was up to the task. Playing against the club he supports and the club he had a two week trial at, Redmayne pulled off more than a few notable saves, including one to deny Willock at point blank range after the Arsenal man strolled through Sydney’s defence.
Per Mertesacker of Arsenal celebrates.Per Mertesacker of Arsenal scores.
There was also desperate defending from Seb Ryall to thwart Welbeck’s attempt, thought the Arsenal striker, only just returning from a long injury lay off, probably should have done better.
But two of the loudest cheers of the first half came when record signing Alexandre Lacazette began his warm up in the corner, and when Matt Simon came within inches of equalising for Sydney. The tall striker didn’t score a single goal last season, but hit the post with a follow up shot after Josh Brillante’s initial attempt was parried by Petr Cech.
Much came the way in creating chances, but Arsenal couldn’t capitalise. Sound familiar, Arsenal fans? It might have been for that reason that the loudest chant from the fans was to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench: “We want you to stay!”, in reference to reports linking him with a move to Liverpool.
Petr Cech of Arsenal congratulates Andrew Redmayne of Sydney FC.
There was a comedy of errors to begin the second half. Charles Lokolingoy’s back pass left Redmayne stranded, Theo Walcott jumped at the loose ball and his shot was saved on the line by Ryall. It was a super save, only the referee adjudged it a hand ball and awarded Arsenal a penalty. Replays – on the stadium screen – showed the ball hit Ryall in the back, nowhere near his hands. But the decision stood and Welbeck stepped up to take the penalty, only to have it saved by Redmayne.
As Sydney started to grab a foothold on the game, Wenger hauled off virtually the entire team and brought on every one of his substites, which of course meant Lacazette ran onto the ANZ Stadium to make his Arsenal debut, and mark it with a goal.
Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi and his Arsenal teammates enjoyed a day with kangaroos and koala bears at Taronga Zoo in Sydney as they continue their pre-season preparations.
Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny are used to trying to feed strikers hungry for goals.
But they and a number of their Arsenal team-mates swapped footballs for food on Wednesday when they enjoyed a day with the animals at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
Arsene Wenger’s side are currently on a pre-season tour of Australia ahead of the Community Shield against Chelsea and the upcoming Premier League season.
The players were introduced to exotic birds at the zoo, which overlooks the city of Sydney
And a number of his players made the most of their time Down Under to explore some of the country’s famous wildlife.
Alex Iwobi, Xhaka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson and Joseph Willock were pictured feeding kangaroos and posing alongside koala bears.
They were also introduced to exotic birds while overlooking downtown Sydney and the famous Harbour Bridge.
The Gunners play two against two local sides in Sydney before moving on to China where they will face Bayern Munich and
Chelsea. Their final pre-season matches see them play Benfica and Sevilla back at the Emirates.
The season’s traditional curtain-raiser against Premier League champions Chelsea will take place at Wembley on August 6, just five days before Wenger’s side begin their Premier League campaign against Leicester.
Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey has met an Australian fan who credits the Welshman with turning his life around by scoring the winning goal in the 2014 FA Cup final.
Sydney-based Gunners fan Rohit Padmanabhan was suffering from depression three years ago, following a split from his long-term partner and the death of his grandmother.
But the dark clouds rolled back after Ramsey fired home the winner against Hull City at Wembley, prompting the devoted fan to get a tattoo of his hero on his forearm.
And as Ramsey and his Arsenal team-mates touched down in Sydney at the start of their pre-season tour, 23-year-old Padmanabhan had the chance to thank the Welshman for saving him.
Padmanabhan was waiting at 5am at Kingsford Smith Airport as the Gunners’ plane touched down and shared a few moments with Ramsey as he walked through arrivals.
He told the Islington Gazette: ‘When Aaron Ramsey told me to walk with him and tell him a little bit of the story behind the tattoo I couldn’t believe my luck.
‘My emotions were all over the place but luckily I got him to sign his autograph right under my tattoo – and immediately got that as another tattoo as well.
‘I told him that he does change lives and that even if he’s vilified by many, I think there’s no-one quite as special as him.
‘He actually said to me: ‘No-one’s done this before’ and asked me what made me decide to get it.
‘He just seemed touched and I was just happy to get my moment with him.’
The inking, on Padmanabhan’s right forearm, features Ramsey’s face and the FA Cup trophy.
That day was certainly a rollercoaster for all Arsenal fans as they battled back from two goals down to Hull to win thanks to strikes from Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Ramsey’s extra time winner.
Padmanabhan recalled of Ramsey’s winner: ‘I felt a surge of unexplainable happiness. I felt I could believe in life again and that hope is one of the most marvellous things to grace this Earth.
‘That’s why I got the tattoo – to remind myself that fate can always have something good in store even in the darkest of times.’
Padmanbhan got the Ramsey tattoo done last week in the knowledge that Ramsey and Arsenal were coming to Sydney for the first leg of their pre-season tour.
They are to play two A-League teams during their visit, Sydney FC on Thursday and Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.
Arsenal stars were put through their paces on Tuesday afternoon as they started preparation for the new Premier League season.
Just over five weeks after ending the previous campaign by lifting the FA Cup courtesy of Aaron Ramsey’s header in a 2-1 victory over
rivals Chelsea, the players were back at their training centre in London Colney, ready to do it all over again.
Taking the session was Arsene Wenger, who put an end to stories about his immediate future at the beginning of the summer by putting
pen to paper on a new two-year deal.
There was also a new face among the ranks, as defender Sead Kolasinac met up with his team-mates for the first time since moving from Schalke on a free transfer.
While Wenger and Kolasinac have sorted their futures this summer, Mesut Ozil is still in limbo as to where he will be come September.
The Germany international is yet to sign a new contract with the Gunners and is the subject of interest from clubs on the continent.
However, Ozil was still present and correct on the first day of training, and seemed to be in high spirits as he joked with Spaniard Lucas Perez.
There appeared a good mood across the camp, which may in part have been down to events away from the camera, with Alexander Lacazette
undergoing a medical at the base around the same time.
Arsenal are set to break their club record to land the Lyon striker, an addition that will fuel confidence among the current crop of players that the lack of Champions League football this season won’t stifle the club’s ambition.
One star who may take some convincing is Alexis Sanchez, who is still on holiday having only just finished international duties with Chile at the Confederations Cup.
The winger is thought to want to leave the Emirates this summer given the lack of top level European football, but the club have not given up hope of persuading their man to sign a new deal.
With Shkodran Mustafi also missing having just lifted the Confederations Cup with Germany, Per Mertesacker was the only one of Ozil’s compatriots at training, as he warmed up alongside Theo Walcott.
Arsenal will head to Australia to start their pre-season, with Wenger’s side set to take on Sydney next Thursday, before meeting Western Sydney Warriors two days later.
They’ll also face Bayern Munich and Chelsea in China before returning home to host the annual Emirates Cup, where they will face Benfica and Sevilla.
They will then officially get the season up and running as they take on Chelsea once more in the traditional curtain-raiser, the Community Shield on Sunday, August 6.
Gunners score after 4 minutes
Gunners awarded shocking pen
