My Arsenal Blog

In a rather strange move, Arsenal and France striker Alexandre Lacazette has taken a dig at Premier League crowds, stating that he missed the Ligue One crowds, as they were better than their English counterparts.

The striker is quoted by the Evening Standard as saying: “I miss Ligue 1’s atmosphere. In England, the fans are more spectators than supporters. There’s a better atmosphere in French stadiums.”

Players quoted during the international break

It seems to be the fashion for foreign footballers to speak to their home media while on international duty. The Belgian media seem to love creating a story out of their national team players, with Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku both quoted about their futures in the current international break.  .......Read more here.....

The saying goes that football is a beautiful game and it deserves to be played beautifully, and 15 years ago, that was exactly what we were seeing on a week to week basis at Highbury. Arsenal put together a sensational run that left them being dubbed ‘The Invincibles’, and it’s something which actually wound up filtering into the season after they won the title. They went on a phenomenal streak that allowed them to go 49 games unbeaten, which the last of those 49 games coming on this day 14 years ago.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal have been viewed as the laughing stock of the Premier League over the last few years, and there are a few big factors behind that. One of them stems from their actual performances on the pitch, with some suggesting that they have a tendency to collapse under the weight of their own pressure. They weren’t showcasing the kind of killer instinct that they had in previous years, and the fact that Arsene Wenger was still hanging around was considered to be a key contributor to that.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal manager Unai Emery is set to attempt to sign Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey as a replacement for the departing Aaron Ramsey, according to the Express.

As a product of their academy, Partey has been an Atleti player his whole career so far, though he has had loan spells with Mallorca and Almeria. He has made a total of 67 appearances and scored seven goals in all competitions for the Europa League holders, and he certainly played his part in their quest for the trophy which eluded Arsenal due to Atletico beating them in the semifinal. The 25-year-old has been capped 17 times for Ghana, and he found the net in his national team’s shirt six times.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny has called time on his international career with France after Les Bleus World Cup triumph ‘did the defender a lot of psychological damage’. The defender also criticised French boss Didier Deschamps.

Confirmation of retirement on French TV

Talking to French TV station Canal+ Koscielny said:  “I think that I have given everything I can for France, I am 33, I have done two Euros, one World Cup,”

“France has a great generation of great players now. My injury does not change my decision. For Les Bleus, it is finished.  .......Read more here.....

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reportedly claimed that Aaron Ramsey is in a strong position in terms of his ongoing contract negotiations. It’s no secret that Ramsey is on the verge of leaving the club after talks broke down, and while Wenger himself didn’t say all too much on the matter, he seemed to indicate that the Welshman is going to ‘use’ his current situation to his advantage.  .......Read more here.....

Today is the 30th birthday of Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil, and while he may not exactly be everyone’s cup of tea, that’s something worth talking about. The former Germany international has been a prevalent figure both domestically and internationally for quite some time now, and it’s somewhat crazy to think he’s 30 years of age.

The early days

On one hand it feels like he’s been in the game forever and he should be older than that, and on the other hand, he was always viewed as the next big ‘wonderkid’ so to see him slowly moving out of his prime years is a little bit weird.  .......Read more here.....

When Alexandre Lacazette arrived at Arsenal last summer from Lyon many saw him as the top-class striker the Gunners had been missing in recent years. He arrived at the club with a reputation as a prolific goalscorer.

The French international striker made a steady if unspectacular start to life in north London. However, the big money signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window meant that Lacazette’s place as Arsenal’s first choice striker was in doubt.  .......Read more here.....

According to Sky Sports, Aaron Ramsey has no intention of leaving the club in January.

As his contract expires next summer, that would mean leaving as a free agent unless an agreement can be found regarding a new deal. That, as things stand, seems extremely unlikely as the club have decided to stop all negotiations on the subject, reportedly unwilling to pay the Welshman the wages his representatives demand in his name.  .......Read more here.....

Reiss Nelson is without a doubt one of Arsenal’s brightest young prospects. In the summer, Gunners boss Unai Emery rather surprisingly decided to allow the youngster to join German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim on a season-long loan deal.

Eying up a first-team spot at Arsenal

Despite his temporary summer move, Nelson is looking forward to returning to Arsenal and playing first-team football. Talking about making the move to Germany, the youngster told Talksport: “It was difficult,”  .......Read more here.....