The Nation Newspaper

Tag: arsenal

  • Adebayor flaunts £18,000 Can-Am Spyder trike

    Adebayor flaunts £18,000 Can-Am Spyder trike

     

    Players from clubs throughout the Premier League returned from their summer holidays on Monday to begin grueling pre-season schedules ahead of the new season.

    But for one former star of English football,Emmanuel Adebayor. the time to have fun off the pitch is not over quite yet.

    And Adebayor, who currently plays for Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir, is making the most of it by enjoying a ride on a futuristic £18,000 Can-Am Spyder trike.

    ‘Team Adebayor’ posted a photo on their Instragram page of the 33-year-old on the white three-wheeled vehicle with the caption: ‘Have a good start to the week everybody.’

    The striker seems to like his quirky methods of transport. He boasts an impressive car collection and has previously uploaded photos of him riding a SpyRider two-wheeled transporter. On Monday he was sat on a 2016 Spyder RT, which starts from $23,449 (£18,109) and boasts 115 horsepower and torque of 130Nm.

    Adebayor has been spending time in his native Togo over the summer as he continues to support aid and development in the African country through his SEA Foundation. On Sunday the 33-year-old posted a photo of a recent meeting with the country’s president Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe.’

    ‘This summer is all about giving,’ the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram as he donated 12million CFA Franc (£16,067) to help fund a renovation project of a school in the neighborhood in which he grew up.

    ‘I want to make this learning place clean and accessible to all young folks in the area. May God protect us on this journey,’ he wrote.

    The former Arsenal and Manchester City striker has been out of English football since leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the 2015/16 season.

  • Arsenal ready to top £50million for Lacazette

    Arsenal ready to top £50million for Lacazette

     

    Arsenal are poised to shatter their transfer record by paying more than £50million to sign French striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon.

    Sources in France say the 26-year-old, who scored 37 goals in 45 games last season, has told friends he believes a deal worth more than £50m including add-ons is close to being agreed.

    Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had claimed earlier this week that Lacazette, who has spent his entire career with the club, was not likely to move but Arsenal, whose transfer record is the £42.5m they spent on Mesut Ozil, have refused to give up the chase.

    Meanwhile Alexis Sanchez claims he knows whether he will stay at Arsenal or leave this summer – but the Chile forward is refusing to make his decision public.

    The 28-year-old has one year left on his deal and has yet to commit his future to the Premier League club amid interest from the likes of Manchester City.

    He is on international duty at the Confederations Cup with Chile, who face Germany in the final on Sunday. When asked whether his future remains uncertain, the forward said: ‘It’s clear but I can’t tell you.’

    Sanchez was ready to quit Arsenal this summer after being dropped for the defeat at Liverpool as his relationship with Arsene Wenger and his team-mates became strained.

    However he scored 24 Premier League goals last season and the Gunners are determined to keep hold of him.

  • Arsenal eager to top €18m bid for M’Baye Niang

    Arsenal eager to top €18m bid for M’Baye Niang

     

    Arsenal are reportedly keen on AC Milan winger M’Baye Niang, as they now look to make a late push to get ahead of Everton in the queue to sign him.

    As noted by Calciomercato, the 22-year-old is set to leave Milan in a deal potentially worth up to €18m with Everton heavily linked with acquiring his services.

    However, despite claims in England that he was undergoing his medical and was edging ever close to completing a move to Goodison Park, he has yet to reach an agreement on personal terms with Ronald Koeman’s side while he took to Instagram stories on Friday to reveal that he was on holiday and not on Merseyside.

    In turn, that has seemingly opened the door for other interested parties to make a late bid, and as per the Hertfordshire Mercury, it appears as though Arsenal are ready to offer competition to Everton for Niang’s signature.

    The talented winger spent the second half of last season on loan at Watford, but as seen during his time at Milan, he suffered with a lack of consistency which in turn led to the decision to not make his move to Vicarage Road permanent.

    In truth, it’s a slight surprise to see Arsenal linked with a move as ultimately he hasn’t shown on a consistent basis that he can deliver for a top club, but nevertheless, this report would suggest that Arsene Wenger is keen on the pacy forward and could now make a move to push Everton out.

  • Arsenal star Bellerin pledges support to Grenfell Tower victims

    Arsenal star Bellerin pledges support to Grenfell Tower victims

     

    Arsenal star Hector Bellerin has shown solidarity with the victims of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire by vowing to donate £50 for every minute he plays at the European Under 21 Championships to help support them.

    The death toll caused by the tower block fire in the north Kensington currently stands at 30 with as many as 76 people still missing. The tragedy has moved thousands to donate money and items to help victims.

    As revealed in a post on his Instagram account Bellerin has joined them and called on others to do so too. Posted alongside a picture featuring messages of goodwill to victims of the tragedy, Bellerin wrote: ‘For every minute I play in #U21EURO I’ll donate £50 to help Grenfell Tower victims. Please support in any way you can’.

    Bellerin is regular starter at full-back for Spain’s Under 21 side and just playing every minute of their group three games at the tournament in Poland would see his donation reach £13,500.

    Should they progress to the semi-finals, with Bellerin again playing 90 minutes, that would see the donation reach £18,000. Progression into the final and another full game would see Bellerin’s contribution reach at least £22,500.

    Given the generous nature of the pledge you would think Bellerin would include any extra time, so that figure could increase further.

    Bellerin follows fellow Premier League star Raheem Sterling in donating to Grenfell Tower victims.

    Manchester City winger Sterling, who grew up in North West London and began his football career at Queens Park Rangers, located just a mile from the Kensington estate, made a ‘substantial’ contribution according to a BBC report.

  • Arsenal let go of Yaya Sanogo

    Arsenal let go of Yaya Sanogo

     

    Arsenal flop Yaya Sanogo’s spell at the Emirates Stadium is over after the club confirmed he will be released this summer.

    Premier League clubs are beginning to confirm their retained lists for next season – whether players who are out of contract this summer will stay or be released.

    Sanogo is not the only senior Premier League striker seeking a new club, after Everton announced they are releasing Arouna Kone.

    Sanogo made 20 competitive appearances for Arsenal, including in the 2014 FA Cup final victory over Hull City, but only scored one goal for the club.

    The French forward moved to London from Auxerre in 2013, but had not scored for Arsenal since November 2014, when he struck against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

    He spent long spells out with injury and away from Arsenal on loan, and earlier this week said he would be leaving the club permanently, saying his ‘adventure’ had ended.

    Arsenal also said they have released academy players Stefan O’Connor, Kristopher da Graca and Kostas Pileas.

    A statement on the club website said: ‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank Yaya, Stefan, Kristopher and Kostas and wish them all the best for the future.’

    Kone made marginally more impact at Everton than Sanogo managed at Arsenal, scoring 10 goals in 62 appearances.

    Youngster Conor McAleny, who played three times for the Blues, has also left Goodison Park after not being offered a new deal.

  • Mertesacker gives retirement notice

    Mertesacker gives retirement notice

     

    Per Mertesacker has revealed he intends to retire and is in talks with Arsenal over remaining at the club in a non-playing role.

    The towering centre-back struggled with a knee injury during the 2016-17 season, and made his first start in more than a year as Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win the FA Cup last weekend.

    The 32-year-old was called upon by Arsene Wenger with Laurent Koscielny (suspended), Gabriel (injury) and Shkodran Mustafi (illness) all unavailable and he turned in a commanding display as the Premier League champions were denied a double.

    It looks set to be the final game of Mertesacker’s career; with the World Cup-winning former Germany international admitting he cannot handle the rigours of the modern game

    “I was extremely lucky with my career and I want to finish on a high,” Mertesacker told Sport1.

    “I am motivated, but I cannot play every three days any more. I don’t want to stretch my luck.

    “I recently told him [Wenger] that I am tired, mentally wasted. The first time in my career I thought it makes no sense anymore, that I’ll retire. No matter how hard I practiced I didn’t get a chance.

    “At Arsenal you are replaceable so quickly as a player, I don’t want to stand in someone’s way. Winning the FA Cup was an extreme close which I could not expect.

    “Arsenal want to keep hold of me and there are already talks. It will be in the business operations. I will stand on the other side.”

    Mertesacker joined Arsenal from Werder Bremen in 2011 and has since made 210 appearances for the club in all competitions, winning three FA Cups.
    Mertesacker in his super form was known to be commanding in the air but he is also sound in defending on the ground. He often uses his strength to shrug opponents off the ball and his standing tackling ability to win

  • Wenger targets top quality’ signings

    Wenger targets top quality’ signings

     

    Arsene Wenger wants to add “top, top quality” signings to his Arsenal squad after agreeing a new two-year contract to remain as manager.

    Months of speculation over the Frenchman’s future were ended with the announcement of a new deal on Wednesday, the 67-year-old’s attention now publicly turning to next season.

    Wenger is desperate to use Arsenal’s strong end to the 2016-17 campaign, which saw them rally to lift the FA Cup – giving him a record seventh win in the competition – to make a fast start next year.

    He feels the Gunners must seek to streamline the playing group, with a focus on adding only those stars who can make a big impact on the club’s fortunes.

    “First of all, we have a very heavy squad at the moment so maybe we might lose some players,” he told Arsenal Player.

    “We want to keep the strength we have and build on that. We will work very hard to find the additions of top, top quality.

    “I believe that our squad is very strong and we will only look for top-class people who can strengthen our team now. The basis is there so we need the additions who will make a real difference.

    “We look at the top, top quality available. We have seen in the recent games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United that we are a very strong team.”

    7 – Arsene Wenger has won seven FA Cup trophies as a manager; the most in the history of the competition.

    Asked about which areas he wants to strengthen, Wenger said: “For us it’s very important that we only consider the players who can really make a difference, no matter where it is.

    “We forget that we have top-quality people already and, if you look closely at the players who left us, every player who came here became a better player.

    “You cannot say [that] about every player who left us. We have a very good record with the team and the improvement of the players here. We have to continue that but we are also looking everywhere to become even better.

    “We have created a dynamic that is very positive and we want to build on that and transfer that positive end of season [form] to the new season.

    “We finished the season in a very convincing way. We won 10 of our last 11 games and that is absolutely difficult. We played against all the difficult opponents, so we finished the season in a very strong way with a very strong dynamic. That’s why I told you that we want to transfer that into the new season.”

  • MOSES SENT OFF AS ARSENAL WIN FA CUP

    MOSES SENT OFF AS ARSENAL WIN FA CUP

    HE saved the best for last, Arsene Wenger. Or, at least, his team saved their very best performance of their season for their last game.

    A mesmerising Arsenal side outplayed the Premier League champions; they should have won be a far greater margin, hitting the woodwork three times; they played like a Wenger side, but one from twelve years ago. They had panache, obduracy, commitment and zeal.

    Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 13th time and it means Wenger is the most successful manager in the competition’s history with seven victories.

    The Gunners had controversially taken the lead in the fifth minute through Alexis Sanchez, but the linesman had his flag up for Aaron Ramsey, who was stood in an offside position. Ramsey did not touch the ball, allowing Sanchez to run through and slot in.Arsenal dominated the first half and could have doubled their advantage but Danny Welbeck struck the woodwork with a header and Ramsey chested the ball against the same post on the follow-up.

    Victor Moses forced David Ospina into a fine save in the second period, before the Chelsea wing-back was given a second yellow card on 68 minutes for diving in the penalty area.

    With 14 minutes remaining, the Blues got back into the game through Diego Costa’s shot that bobbled in, but Ramsey headed in the winner just two minutes later. The Welshman had also scored the winning goal in the 2014 cup final against Hull.

    Arsenal could have had another late on, but Mesut Ozil struck the post from inside the area.

    Wenger had major selection issues with Laurent Koscielny suspended and both Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel injured, so centre-back Per Mertesacker was given his first start of the season. The German defender put in a dominant display to keep Costa quiet.

    Chelsea failed to gain revenge for the 2002 final, which Arsenal won 2-0, and the result ends their run of four consecutive final victories.

  • Aaron Ramsey header hands Gunners FA Cup glory

    Aaron Ramsey header hands Gunners FA Cup glory

    Arsenal ended a season of frustration and uncertainty with FA Cup glory, denying 10-man Chelsea the double as beleaguered Arsene Wenger became the most successful manager in the competition’s history.

    Having stumbled home fifth and missed out on Champions League qualification, criticism of the Gunners boss has reached unprecedented and unpalatable levels.

    Wenger has continued undeterred and, ahead of talks about his future next week, oversaw a record seventh FA Cup triumph on Saturday, with Aaron Ramsey securing a memorable 2-1 win moments after Chelsea’s Diego Costa had cancelled out Alexis Sanchez’s controversial strike.

    Victor Moses’ sending off after taking a tumble added intrigue to a final that enthralled from the outset, when an offside call against Sanchez was rightly overruled – although his handball in the build-up was missed.

    The first half could have been so much worse for unusually disjointed Chelsea, with Gary Cahill having to clear Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck efforts off the line, while the latter saw a header come back off the post and Ramsey directed the rebound on to the woodwork.

    Desperation soon crept into Chelsea’s improved second-half display and Moses took a tumble in the box searching for a penalty, only to be deservedly handed a second yellow card.

    The Blues responded manfully as Costa somehow beat surprise selection David Ospina, yet Arsenal were not to be denied a 13th FA Cup.

    Ramsey, the match-winner in 2014 against Hull, ran through to head home as Antonio Conte’s men went close to a famous double, without a celebratory cigar.

     

  • Arsenal miss out on Champions League first time since 1997

    Arsenal miss out on Champions League first time since 1997

    • Sanchez FA Cup final doubtful

    Arsenal have missed out on Champions Leaguequalification for the first time since 1997 after falling short in their bid to overhaul their rivals and make the top four.

    Arsene Wenger’s side went into their home game against Everton with their destiny out of their hands, relying on either Liverpool or Manchester City to drop points if they were to make it into the top four.

    But victory over the Toffees was not enough, as comfortable wins for Liverpool and Manchester City booked their places in next season’s Champions League.

    The Gunners will now play in the Europa League for the first time since 2000, when they were eliminated at the Champions League group stages but went on to finish runners-up to Turkish giants Galatasaray.

    Arsenal last failed to qualify for the Champions League in Arsene Wenger’s first season, 1996-97 when they missed out to Newcastle United on goal difference, and have earned a place in Europe’s top club competitions in every full season under their current manager.

    Their failure to make the top four could have a major impact on Arsenal’s transfer plans in the summer, with an analysis of the club’s financial position by the Supporters’ Trust estimating dropping into the Europa League will cost £25million.

    It may also make it more difficult for Arsenal to hold on to star forward Alexis Sanchez, who is a target for Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain and Chelsea as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.