Arsenal have been active in the summer transfer window with both arrivals and exits, as they bid to dethrone Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title. The Gunners have now completed the signing of Euro 2024 winner with Spain Mikel Merino from Real Soceidad on a four-year contract. The 28-year-old makes the switch to North London for a reported fee of £27.4million with add-ons worth up to £4.2million and has the option of extending his contract for another. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been a long admirer of Merino, and stated the midfielder’s versatility and experience will…
Author: Somto Isaac
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has insisted he does not know what the future holds but is solely focused on helping the team under new head coach Arne Slot. The 33-year-old is has under a year left his in contract at Anfield and a renewal has not yet been seen in the front view of things. The Dutchman has been integral to the Reds’ success since his then world record move for a defender, when he made the £75million switch in January 2018. Sunday’s 2-0 triumph over Brentford was his 100th appearance for the Merseyside outfit at Anfield, during which…
Antonio Conte admitted he was emotional as he grabbed the first win of his Napoli career as manager in their 3-0 triumph against Bologna, as he believes the game would be a turning point on their season. Napoli were embarrassed in their their first game of the campaign 3-0 at Hellas Verona, who finished three points above the relegation zone last season. “Today we had a great responsibility, that of giving a great response after the second half in Verona,” the 55-year-old said in his press conference. “I had no doubts, these guys are good guys. I see them working……
Vincent Kompany expressed satisfaction and lauded the mentality of his team in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday. Serge Gnabry’s 82nd-minute goal helped the Bavarians to a comeback win, handing Kompany the first win of the campaign following their third dismal third-place finish last term. Jamal Musiala opened the scoring for Bayern on 19 minutes but they conceded a penalty and made a defensive error after the restart to hand the hosts the lead. However, Gnabry and striker Harry Kane linked up well to grab a late winner and secure three points for the record Bundesliga champions. “I enjoyed it, it…
Real Madrid failed to start the defence of their LaLiga title on an encouraging note, after their lacklustre one-all draw at Mallorca. Before that, Eduardo Cammavinga had suffered a scary looking knee injury in training ahead of their UEFA Super Cup win against Atalanta. Los Blancos will now also be without another star midfielder as manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Jude Bellingham sustained an injury in training and will now reportedly be sidelined for several weeks. “Following tests carried out today on our player Jude Bellingham by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the…
A major setback in Arsenal’s title chase last season was their loss to Aston Villa — not once but in both games last season. And Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has now made it clear his side needs to step up, against the side they lost 2-0 at the Emirates and 1-0 at Villa Park, in the 2023-24 campaign. Following their 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend to kickstart their 2024-25 Premier League season, the North London side travel to face Unai Emery’s side who finished fourth in the previous campaign. “They scored and we didn’t, it’s very simple,” Arteta…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed he jumped with no hesitation, on the opportunity to sign Ilkay Gundogan, after the midfielder left the club before the start of last season. Gundogan played for seven seasons at City before leaving for Spain, and he could now make a return in Saturday’s home game against Ipswich Town. “[Gundogan] called me and asked me the situation, the chance to come back and we said yes immediately,” Guardiola said to reporters in his press conference on Friday. “He played really well last season and I know how competitive it is. I love his qualities…
Real Madrid gaffer Carlo Ancelotti was visibly upset following his team’s performance in their 1-1 draw at Mallorca to kickstart their 2024-25 LaLiga season. The 65-year-old highlighted his team’s lack of balance and poor defending as the main causes of their share of the spoils. Ancelotti stated his players lost their focus after gaining control early after Rodrygo’s 13th minute strike — allowing Mallorca salvage a point with Vedat Muriqi’s header after the interval. “Today I am not happy. I think we could have been done much better,” Ancelotti said in a press conference. “We need to be more concentrated,…
New Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has admitted that the number of players at the club is too much, insisting some players will have to leave the club. Maresca’s thoughts revolved around the issue of Raheem Sterling’s future after the Englishman was left out the squad for Sunday’s home game against Manchester City. “I want Raheem Sterling but I want all the 30 players that we have, but there is no space for all of them. So for some of them, they have to leave,” Maresca said following the 2-0 loss when asked about Sterling’s absence. The Italian insisted Sterling’s omission…
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski expressed his utmost pride in his young teammates following their comeback win at Valencia to kickstart their 2024-25 season with a win. The Catalan giants earned a 2-1 win despite missing key names like Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie De Jong — as new manager Hansi Flick handed 20-year-old Marc Casado a debut, playing alongside Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal, who are all 17-year-old’s. However, Barça put up a strong fight to get maximum points thanks to Lewandowski’s brace. “It was very important to start with a win in such a…