Mesut Ozil: Arsenal exit raises questions about player power and at what point clout becomes baggage January 18, 2021 The case of Mesut Ozil – signed to rapture and fanfare, ushered out the door to relief all round – is a very modern transfer tale. After Arsenal pulled off the surprise signing of Ozil in summer 2013, shirt sales increased 12-fold and tickets at Emirates Stadium became even harder to come by. The club [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Amazon and private equity target Serie A; Arsenal pick Garlick; sponsors keep faith; and boosts for electric racing January 14, 2021 Amazon’s foray into broadcasting Premier League matches could be a taste of things to come in Italy. The retail behemoth has held talks about buying the domestic rights to show Serie A on its Prime Video platform, according to multiple reports. Amazon has already secured a foothold in the Italian market, snapping up some Champions [...]
‘Powerful’ Arteta will succeed at Arsenal: CEO December 12, 2020 Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has backed under-fire manager Mikel Arteta to turn the Premier League club’s fortunes around after a dismal start to the season. Spaniard Arteta has come under increasing pressure followintg the north London club’s slide down the standings, with Arsenal languishing in 15th after losing five of their last seven league [...]
Trevor Steven: Born again Tottenham are genuine Premier League title contenders December 4, 2020 As Tottenham prepare to host Arsenal this weekend, the north London rivals could hardly be in more contrasting form. Spurs sit top of the Premier League after 10 games, 13 places above their neigbhbours, so the momentum is firmly with them. And I put that down to three main factors: Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and [...]
Gunnersaurus could be saved from redundancy after Mesut Ozil offers to pay mascot’s wages October 6, 2020 Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has offered to “reimburse the full salary” of the club’s mascot Gunnersaurus just 24 hours after the footballing dinosaur was revealed to be at risk of redundancy. Tweeting on Tuesday, the German international said: “I was so sad that Jerry Quy aka our famous & loyal mascot @Gunnersaurus and integral part [...]
Coronavirus and football: What happens if the Premier League is cancelled? March 14, 2020 As Liverpool’s footballers emerged from the dugout at Anfield on Wednesday evening, fans stretched their hands down towards them from the flanking stands in search of a high five. Most players ignored them. Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s second highest goalscorer of the season and African player of the year, reached up to grant one supporter his [...]
Trevor Steven: Strike pair can give Arsenal edge over Chelsea in Baku May 28, 2019 There is very little in the way of form to go on when teams have a 17-day gap from their last fixture to their next, as is the case for Chelsea and Arsenal in Wednesday’s Europa League final. Instead, a match like this is usually decided by fine margins and small advantages. I have a slight [...]
More at stake for Arsenal and Unai Emery than Chelsea and Maurizio Sarri in Europa League final between managers with points to prove May 28, 2019 When Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri pitched up in London a year ago they did so with something to prove. For the Spaniard, it was that his failure to deliver the clean sweep of honours that Paris Saint-Germain’s hierarchy craved owed more to the unique ecosystem of France’s richest club than his own shortcomings as [...]
Arsene Wenger on his future, being a tech investor, science taking over football and his dream of an Arsenal university May 24, 2019 When Arsene Wenger said his goodbyes to Arsenal, bringing down the curtain on a 22-year tenure which transformed the club and left an indelible mark on English football, he was adamant about one thing: he was not hanging up that manager’s coat with the pesky zip for good. But weeks turned into months and now, [...]
Trevor Steven: Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool united by outstanding coaches and refusal to give in May 7, 2019 However the Premier League concludes on Sunday, I don’t think the competition has ever seen two better teams than Manchester City and Liverpool. Both are a credit to the division and could easily be champions in any other season. And thank goodness for Liverpool for hanging in there and keeping pace with City until the [...]