My Arsenal Blog

There can be no doubt that the second leg of the Europa League semifinal against Villarreal, played tonight (Thursday) at the Emirates, is the most important one of Mikel Arteta’s time in charge of the team so far. The whole season seems to be hanging on its result, but it’s actually more than that, for several reasons, some rather obvious, some perhaps less so.

The importance of playing in the Champions League cannot be overstated, either from the financial point of view, or in terms of club reputation. The Gunners have been trying for years, without success, and the Europa League has (too) long been their consolation battleground.  .......Read more here.....

Manager Mikel Arteta says Arsenal cannot allow themselves to get distracted by recent reports of a potential takeover ahead of the second leg against Villarreal in the Europa League semifinals.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry confirmed earlier this week that Daniel Ek, the co-founder of Spotify, has contacted the Kroenkes with the aim of presenting an offer to buy the club. The bid, believed to be in the region of £1.8 billion, is due to be sent to the current owners in a few days, and Ek is apparently confident, with the full backing of Henry, Patrick Vieira and Denis Bergkamp, that it will be taken into consideration regardless of the Kroenkes’ recent statement that the club is not for sale.  .......Read more here.....

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of Stan and Josh Kroenke, in charge of the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, selling Arsenal in the near future, particularly after the European Super League project fiasco and the fan protests that followed shortly.

Daniel Ek, co-founder of Spotify, apparently backed by former Arsenal stars Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Denis Bergkamp, caused quite a stir on the subject with his tweet suggesting he would be willing to buy Arsenal FC off the Kroenkes. However, The Athletic journalists David Ornstein and Matt Slater don’t believe that is likely to happen in the near future. The Kroenkes themselves have moved decisively to dismiss any notions of it, reiterating their committment to the club openly and promising a heavy investment in the squad this summer.  .......Read more here.....

Newcastle United are keen on signing Joe Willock, currently on loan at St. James’ Park, permanently this summer, according to a report jointly done by  Chris Waugh and James McNicholas for The Athletic.

The 21-year-old joined the Magpies for the second half of the season with the obvious aim of securing more game-time, a crucial aspect for the development of any young player. So far, he’s made 10 appearances in a black-and-white shirt, all in the Premier League, scoring four vital goals for Steve Bruce’s team.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal fans were expecting a tough game against Newcastle United yesterday but in the end, they actually wound up looking pretty comfortable in a convincing 2-0 win over the Magpies. They didn’t exactly look 100% back to their best, and they still need to work on a lot of issues ahead of their Europa League semi-final second leg against Villarreal, but at least they got a win on the board.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta spoke with the media after the game as the hope for an unlikely top six move goes on.  .......Read more here.....

“Building on our Stop Online Abuse campaign, we are joining The FA, Premier League, EFL, FA Women’s Super League, FA Women’s Championship, PFA, LMA, PGMOL, Kick It Out, Women in Football and the FSA for a social media boycott from 15.00 on Friday, April30 to 23.59 on Monday, May 3.

This has been scheduled to take place across a full fixture programme in the men’s and women’s professional game and will see us switching off our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube and LinkedIn accounts.  .......Read more here.....

Dani Ceballos will leave Arsenal at end of his loan spell and return to Real Madrid, according to Fabrizio Romano, who adds that the decision was made ‘weeks ago’ and that the future of the midfielder will be decided afterwards.

Ceballos joined the Gunners initially in the summer of 2019 on a season-long loan. His importance to the team grew apace after Mikel Arteta replaced Unai Emery in the dugout, and he formed a regular partnership with Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park as Arsenal improved their form late on and went on to win the FA Cup and the Community Shield.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal were considered to be the favourites to beat Villarreal over two legs and progress to the final of the UEFA Europa League but now, that’s no longer the case. The Gunners were beaten 2-1 by the Spaniards last night in the first leg and, in all honestly, they’re probably lucky that it didn’t get worse than that for them.

Mikel Arteta has a lot to answer for in the eyes of supporters and in his post-match press conference, he answered all of those concerns as the pressure continues to mount.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal may not be destined for great things in the Premier League this season but the jury is still very much out with regards to the Europa League. They’re at the semi final stage of the competition and tonight, they face an exciting first leg encounter against Villarreal.

The winner will meet Manchester United or Roma in the final but for the time being, the focus needs to be on one thing and one thing only: building a solid lead heading into the second leg.

Prior to tonight’s festivities, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has spoken to the media about the game.  .......Read more here.....

Following the failed attempt at forming a breakaway ‘European Super League’, of which Arsenal were a part, there were (and still are) many club supporters who want Stan and Josh Kroenke, the owners, gone from the club. Further more, reports broke of Daniel Ek, a co-founder of Spotify, leading a group preparing a bid to buy Arsenal off the Kroenkes.

The current owners felt the need to react and clarify their position in this matter.

“In recent days we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club,” their statement read. “We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the club. We have not received any offer and would not entertain any offer.  .......Read more here.....