Mikel Arteta – CaughtOffside

Opinion: Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale needs to give Arteta a taste of his own medicine

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:20:37 +0000

With just a few weeks until the opening of the January transfer window, Arsenal custodian, Aaron Ramsdale, needs to find a backbone and give Mikel Arteta a taste of his own medicine.

The England international has been treated appallingly by his manager, with Arteta’s suggestion that David Raya was being brought in as competition rather than as the new number one, per the official Arsenal website, already shown to be an out and out lie.

The former Brentford stopper was obviously brought to the club with the clear intention of being their main man in goal and the sooner that Ramsdale understands that the better.

France 24 also noted Arteta’s words as he attempts to keep hold of Ramsdale beyond January.

“We will always try to do our best to help them, but this is a team sport that needs 24 players that have to fulfil a role. And the role that you have in August, it might be very different from the one you have in March,” he said.

“So making early decisions, in my experience, is not something good at all and as well because the team has certain needs that have to be accomplished. And in order to do that you cannot do it with six, 10 or 14 players. It is impossible. So you need everyone and Aaron has a really important role in the team.”

No amount of guilt tripping should stop Ramsdale from essentially sticking two fingers up at Arteta and getting himself a No.1 position elsewhere in order that not only is he playing regular football again, but that he has a genuine chance to be part of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.

‘Looking after number one’ has never been a more accurate phrase. Ramsdale owes Arsenal nothing and he certainly doesn’t owe Arteta anything either.

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It’s accepted that teams evolve and manager’s want different things, that’s always been part of football, but to go about things in such an underhand manner reflects incredibly badly on the club and its manager.

Ramsdale can do better than being a pawn in Arteta’s game.

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£60m-rated 23-year-old set to spark bidding war between Arsenal and Man United

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 07:53:13 +0000

At present, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side look in healthier shape than Erik ten Hag’s Man United outfit, however, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe expected to be taking over the sporting side of the business imminently, that gap could soon be narrowed.

One of the main areas where the Red Devils need a change is in their recruitment policy for playing staff.

Though the likes of Casemiro and Raphael Varane are serial Champions League winners, they are also the two top earners at the club despite being nearer the end of their careers than the beginning.

Capology note that the Brazilian earns a whopping £350,000 per week, with Frenchman, Varane, not too far behind on £340,000 per week.

If the club are able to rid themselves of that extensive salary burden, it will allow them to compete with the Gunners for £60m-rated Wolves ace, Pedro Neto.

According to TeamTalk, both Premier League clubs as well as their Saudi Pro League counterparts are interested in the player, however, the outlet also note that Wolves won’t let him leave for less than £60m.

Whilst that is a considerable outlay for any club, given that the player is only 23 years of age and playing as well as he has at any point during his career to date, it could prove to be a bargain in the longer-term, particularly as transfer fees continue to rise.

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Arsenal team news vs Brentford

Connor Holden — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 21:09:49 +0000

Brentford (11th in the Premier League) take on Arsenal (3rd in the Premier League) on Saturday 25th of November, at the Gtech Community Stadium, at 17:30 PM (GMT).

The last time these two sides faced, Arsenal beat Brentford 1-0. The only goal being scored by Reiss Nelson in the 8th minute.

Brentford lost their last Premier League game, losing 3-0 to Liverpool at Anfield. Goals from Mohamed Salah (x2) and Diogo Jota securing the win and three points for Liverpool.

Arsenal won their last Premier League game, beating Burnley 3-1 at the Emirates. Goals from Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko for the Gunners, and a goal from Josh Brownhill for Burnley. Fabio Vieira was also sent off in the 83rd minute for Arsenal.

How to watch Brentford vs Arsenal

Date: Saturday, November 25th, 2023
Kickoff: 17:30 PM (GMT)
TV Network: BT Sport
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium

Team News:

Arsenal will be without Fabio Vieira who is suspended after his red card against Burnley, as well as Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Jurrien Timber through injury, and David Raya who can’t face his parent club. Ben White, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard will both undergo further fitness testing to determine their availability for Saturday.

Predicted XI:

Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev, Mee, Pinnock, Collins, Ajer, Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen, Wissa, Mbuemo.

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba, Tomiyasu, Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard, Martinelli, Nketiah, Saka.

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Video: Arsenal boosted as major star spotted back in training

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 20:56:09 +0000

Arsenal were given a timely boost on Thursday as captain, Martin Odegaard, was seen back in training.

The Gunners are away at Brentford on Saturday evening and the start the weekend level on points with Liverpool and one point behind leaders Man City.

The top two play each other in the early kick-off and if they can only draw and Mikel Arteta’s side pick up three precious points, they’ll top the table once again.

That’s likely to be the focus before the kick-off at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has returned to training ahead of the club's trip to Brentford on Saturday ?

Aaron Ramsdale is expected to make his first league start since early September ? pic.twitter.com/VY4lXp3HOt

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 23, 2023

Pictures from Sky Sports News

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“Clause will be triggered” – Arsenal’s first permanent signing of 2024 already “guaranteed”, says expert

Mark Brus — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:30:52 +0000

Arsenal will trigger the clause to make David Raya’s transfer to the club permanent in 2024, according to a post on X this afternoon from transfer news guru Fabrizio Romano.

Arsenal signed the Spanish shot-stopper on loan from Brentford back in the summer, and he’s quickly established himself as the new number one in Mikel Arteta’s side, despite the presence of Aaron Ramsdale in the squad and his fine performances as the club’s first choice last season.

See below for details as Romano says it’s already guaranteed that Arsenal will take up the option to sign Raya permanently, with a long-term deal already in place for the goalkeeper…

? Understand Arsenal have decided to seal David Raya deal in 2024 — it’s all guaranteed as buy option clause will be triggered for £27m.

Raya already signed potential long-term contract as #AFC player for June 2024 — all done. ???

Brentford accepted this structure due to FFP. pic.twitter.com/59eBNip3iK

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 23, 2023

Raya has mostly impressed for Arsenal, but he’s also had one or two unconvincing moments, so it will be interesting to see how this decision looks in a few months’ time.

Exclusive: Premier League creator says Arteta was wrong to blame Arsenal defeat on officials

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 15:13:16 +0000

It’s been a little while since Mikel Arteta savaged the officials that oversaw Arsenal’s match at Newcastle, but his tirade is still reverberating.

Such was the depth of the Spaniard’s ire, that he was clearly prepared to take a punishment from the powers that be if it meant he got his point across.

A point which he made during, immediately after and at his press conference:

"It's embarrassing. It's a disgrace. That's what it is, a disgrace."

Mikel Arteta is NOT happy with the decisions that went against Arsenal in their defeat to Newcastle ? pic.twitter.com/wRB4F3Hdvl

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 4, 2023

One of the co-creators of the Premier League, Jon Smith, who also happens to be an Arsenal supporter, thinks that Arteta has taken things too far on this occasion.

“I am dismayed by referees being pilloried, physically in some cases and certainly mentally. I just think it sets a really, really, really bad example,” he said in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.

“[…] I’m a big fan of Mikel Arteta, but against Newcastle, he was wrong. Very wrong. If you have a referee, he’s in charge and he may make mistakes. We all do. And that’s just the way that it is.

“Just like in rugby, I think the referees should have a microphone attached and I think the crowd should be able to listen to it in real time. One abusive word or phrase – which doesn’t need repeating here – and they’re off, and the crowd will know exactly why.”

Smith also felt that the Premier League could benefit from using the semi-automated VAR technology which was debuted at the 2022 World Cup.

For some unknown reason, the English top-flight are still refusing to use technology which appears to be much more accurate than that which PGMOL are currently trying and failing to use properly.

“I love what they did in the 2022 World Cup with the semi-automated offside technology which is basically AI and it tracks the limbs. By the way, I don’t think a stud on the striker’s right boot should determine if he’s offside or not and I think there has to be a redefining of handball. It’s handball, not ball to hand,” Smith continued.

“The semi-automated offside technology and the technology that runs alongside that I think is fantastic and is the way forward. The Premier League doesn’t employ that by the way.

“There should be a replay of the incident on the big stadium screen two or three times and somebody commentating on it so there’s some sort of crowd engagement.

“That wonderful Tottenham game… there were times it took four or five minutes for a decision. you could’ve gone to get a hot dog, come back and find the situation still wasn’t resolved.

“I don’t think I’m qualified as a referee to say how they should or shouldn’t use the technology, but all I know is that the technology is there, and the advanced technology that FIFA used is there, and it works – now.

After the debacle at White Hart Lane and what both Jurgen Klopp and Arteta have said, the game has clearly reached a turning point.

Both managers were clearly wrong, but it would’ve also been wrong for them to have just accepted the decisions at the time.

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Agent’s column: Arteta was wrong, Man City must be punished IF they’re guilty, VAR must be improved and more

Jon Smith — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:34:02 +0000

In his fortnightly exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jon Smith, one of football’s first-ever agents and a man who was an integral figure in the forming of the Premier League, discusses Everton’s 10-point deduction, why VAR has to stay, why Mikel Arteta was wrong – and more!

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£1.2m for a 15-year-old is vulgar but if all teams can choose from the same selection pool, what’s the problem?

Finley Gorman’s purchase by Man City has seen some real pushback given that he’s only 15 and £1.2m in transfer fees is a little excessive, but do I think there should be a cap on transfer fees?

I am one of the people that helped to start the Premier League. It’s all about the competition, and it has been enormously successful because it’s the best footballing competition in the world.

I mean, people around the world didn’t know what Reading was, they thought it was a book you read. They never knew where Wigan was until it was in the Premier League. There were even people arriving on trips from Asia to see Wigan.

So, rather than stymie transfer fees as such and tell clubs what they can and cannot spend their money on, I am in favour of there being an overall cap on money spent.

Not necessarily on money spent aligning to your turnover, although, obviously that has to have some bearing on it because Manchester United’s overheads are bigger than Luton’s, but but you can’t have Manchester City, United, Liverpool or whoever being able to outbid the Burnley’s of this world just because they can.

Otherwise you end up like La Liga when there’s probably three, maybe four teams at the very top and 16 others that can only really compete at a certain level at any given time.

I think there has to be a mechanism whereby the great and the good are pretty equal in terms of their ability to sign players.

However, after signing young players, then their wellbeing has to be supported.

Some of the biggest, saddest moments in my 40 years in football have come when that lovely young kid who’s an Arsenal fan actually gets signed by Arsenal and he’s a hero at school because he’s an Arsenal lad… but he gets to 15 and he’s just not what they want or he’s not good enough…

There’s no real mental support for kids who suddenly find that their life has been devastated. It’s scary. You’re grappling with coming to terms with exams, your own sexuality, and suddenly you’re a failure at 15.

You’re not of course, because you did really brilliantly by being where you are and there’s absolutely life outside of Arsenal Football Club, but that’s where I’m coming from.

There should be a much more considered process and guardianship of young footballers coming through the system where they’re helped into it, helped through it and helped out a bit if they move elsewhere on their journey.

Football could learn a lot from the way rugby conducts itself

I am dismayed by referees being pilloried, physically in some cases and certainly mentally. I just think it sets a really, really, really bad example.

I even see it when watching kids play football on a Saturday. It’s not just the kids arguing with the referee, it’s the parents too, and in one case I saw a referee being pushed a few weeks ago. I thought that was beyond belief – and he wasn’t sent off. The parents are encouraging it, shouting abusive language at the referee.

I’m a big fan of Mikel Arteta, but against Newcastle, he was wrong. Very wrong. If you have a referee, he’s in charge and he may make mistakes. We all do. And that’s just the way that it is.

Just like in rugby, I think the referees should have a microphone attached and I think the crowd should be able to listen to it in real time. One abusive word or phrase – which doesn’t need repeating here – and they’re off, and the crowd will know exactly why.

You cannot let the violent society we live in translate onto a football pitch. I’ve never known my country to be so violent in all my 70 years. It’s a ridiculous world we live in now and it’s not going to get any better any time soon.

Our football leagues need to lead from the front. It’s the most watched, entertaining and enjoyed physical activity on the planet other than sex, so time to lead by emotional example here.

I do think an orange card or sin-binning would be a great idea too because the game has to keep evolving and it would hopefully calm things down a bit more. I believe that there should be some penalty, so maybe 15 minutes, 20 minutes, whatever it might be – especially if it’s the last 20 minutes.

I think that’s something that I would absolutely encourage the Premier League to look at.

I like VAR, it’s here to stay, but vast improvements must be made

I like VAR but I know that a lot of people don’t.

In the past I’ve been working with nation states at World Cup tournaments when the ball has definitely crossed the line. I’ve seen it cross the line but the referee was 30 yards behind play and didn’t see it, nor did the assistant referee.

They’ve gone out of the competition at that stage and probably lost millions of potential income for their Federation because of a poor decision.

So I love what they did in the 2022 World Cup with the semi-automated offside technology which is basically AI and it tracks the limbs. By the way, I don’t think a stud on the striker’s right boot should determine if he’s offside or not and I think there has to be a redefining of handball. It’s handball, not ball to hand.

The semi-automated offside technology and the technology that runs alongside that I think is fantastic and is the way forward. The Premier League doesn’t employ that by the way.

There should be a replay of the incident on the big stadium screen two or three times and somebody commentating on it so there’s some sort of crowd engagement.

That wonderful Tottenham game… there were times it took four or five minutes for a decision. you could’ve gone to get a hot dog, come back and find the situation still wasn’t resolved.

I don’t think I’m qualified as a referee to say how they should or shouldn’t use the technology, but all I know is that the technology is there, and the advanced technology that FIFA used is there, and it works – now.

There were a few space disasters before man landed on the moon. I think we’ve got to be cognisant that it may take a year or two, but I think they’ll get it right.

It’s important they do and I absolutely believe the crowd should be involved in the engagement of the process.

Multi-club ownership isn’t wrong but has to be policed properly

In principle, I agree that there should be some sort of management of multi-club ownership player swaps, because it gives rise to an advantage to those clubs against competing clubs who don’t have that accessibility to players and deals that perhaps are not as financially helpful.

If you’re lending within your own group, you’re not really going to charge each other that much and the money gets reinvested into the group again.

Of course, there’s ways around it. Let’s just say there are major funds, most of whom I know, who are seeking to own multiple football clubs, and some of the investors in those groups are sovereign wealth funds.

So in other words, potentially, you have a country as an owner of a football club, dealing with a fund – of which that country’s sovereign wealth fund, which is different from the state ownership vehicle – actually means that is overly helpful to the initial club.

I think clear, clearly defined capital ownership shows that there are no hidden ownerships in that mix, and if even if there are, by the way, that’s okay. Don’t forget Watford have been doing this for years with Udinese. Nobody’s complained, and it’s worked quite well for them.

Providing it’s understood that it’s not a whole team, just one or two players every season or something like that, it’s absolutely financially advantageous for the clubs in that equation, beyond just the ability to move a player about.

Everton should absolutely be punished… as should every other club if they’ve broken the rules

Let’s talk Everton for a moment. The rules are there for a reason and they should be obeyed.

There’s been some unfortunate circumstances around Everton but it’s not the most heinous crime of the lot by comparison to what’s alleged at Man City.

I think the 10 point deduction is a salutary moment because it will make make clubs sit up and take notice and think about what they might have done in the past.

For example, we’ve had Paris Saint-Germain allegedly skirting merrily around certain regulations and financial fair play, and apparently having no sanctions at all.

With Manchester City I’d like to put on record that I love the advancement that City have put into the football club ownership in their group .

However, if they have breached the regulations 114 or 115 times, then they should be punished, and I’m a little concerned that we’ve heard nothing about that. But if they’re innocent, they’re innocent. They shouldn’t be pilloried because they’re wealthy either.

If the regulators have got any teeth in the future, they have to be seen to bite now, because now is the moment where everyone’s eyes are looking at it.

I am concerned that the governing bodies are becoming relatively benevolent for obvious reasons of requiring the financial support from some of the sizeable sovereign funds that are around, less so to the big hedge fund owners – but even they get a doff of the cap occasionally.

So, I am concerned that if Qatar, Saudi Arabia or whomever want to change the rules, they’ve got more access to people at the top of the game than others.

It needs to be literally a level playing field for everyone to have access to the lawmakers or else the supporters will start to drift away – and at that point, you lose the heartbeat of the game.

Lastly, the 10-point deduction affects Everton’s supporters as much as it affects the ownership.

So I think if if the financial value of a club has been enhanced by you breaching the regulations, in other words, you financially benefited, then a sizeable percentage of the punishment should be financial. Points is part of it yes, because it hurts, but the penalties should also be financial.

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Exclusive: Chelsea and Arsenal showing “far more interest” in midfielder transfer than Liverpool, says expert

Mark Brus — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Chelsea and Arsenal are showing a stronger interest in the potential transfer of Corinthians wonderkid Gabriel Moscardo than Liverpool at the moment, according to Neil Jones.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Jones explained that Liverpool are more likely to target someone a bit more experienced, especially if they’re coming from South American football.

While Moscardo looks a hugely promising young talent, it remains to be seen if he’d be quite ready to make the step up from playing in the Brazilian league to being a first-teamer for one of the top clubs in the Premier League.

Jones suggested that Liverpool’s preference for South American talents is to see how they get on in Europe first, as was the case with signings like Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino, Alisson and others.

Moscardo looks like he could fit the bill for Chelsea, however, based on their recent policy of signing some of the best young players from all over the world, including a number that have some from Brazil.

Gabriel Moscardo in action for Corinthians

Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano names “dream” Arsenal transfer target and one possible alternative

Mark Brus — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 08:20:28 +0000

Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has named Douglas Luiz as Arsenal’s priority midfield transfer target this January, though he also says that Ruben Neves could be an alternative in that area of the pitch.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano discussed Arsenal’s interest in Luiz, who has impressed a great deal at Aston Villa, with Mikel Arteta clearly a fan of the Brazilian.

However, it’s also clear that Arteta has a past interest in Al Hilal star Neves, who previously impressed during his time in the Premier League with Wolves, with Romano explaining that the Gunners boss has discussed his name with director Edu in the past.

With Luiz likely to be difficult to sign from Villa in the middle of the season, Romano has suggested that Neves could be a possible alternative for Arsenal due to their long-standing admiration of the Portugal international.

Douglas Luiz in action for Aston Villa

“Ruben Neves continues to be linked with Arsenal, and I think these stories come from the fact that Mikel Arteta has always been a big fan of the player. He has always appreciated him, since he was at Wolves, and his name has come up a few times in recent years whenever Arteta had discussions about targets with Arsenal director Edu,” Romano said.

“I think that’s why there are these links, but at the moment there are no negotiations, and in fact the dream target for Arsenal in midfield is Douglas Luiz. It’s a complicated deal, though, because Aston Villa are having a fantastic season and they don’t want to sell an important player like Luiz in January.

“I think it would take very important money to make Villa change their minds about Luiz, so he’s Arsenal’s dream target – they see him as a perfect midfielder with a big future, but unless they are able to come in with a very big package of money, it’s going to be very difficult for them to get this deal done.

Video: Former Arsenal supremo David Dein slams Mikel Arteta for VAR rant

Jason Pettigrove — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:39:40 +0000

David Dein is synonymous with the Arsene Wenger era at Arsenal and the success that the club earned under his watch.

A man of fierce intelligence and the highest of standards, Dein isn’t happy with current Gunners manager, Mikel Arteta, after his recent VAR rant.

Speaking with Henry Winter and Shaun Custis on talkSPORT, Dein noted how the Spaniard had tarnished the image of the club and, were he still in charge, Dein wouldn’t have allowed what transpired after the Newcastle game to happen.

Pictures from talkSPORT

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