My Arsenal Blog

Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa has had his contract with Atletico Madrid terminated, both the player and the La Liga club have officially confirmed, and according to AS, Arsenal have been monitoring the situation for a while now.

Costa spent four years at Stamford Bridge, winning two Premier League titles for the Blues, one under Jose Mourinho and the other under Antonio Conte. He returned to Atletico in the summer of 2018, and after two years of playing an important role in Diego Simeone’s team, he fell down the pecking order this term due to the arrival of Luis Suarez from Barcelona, as well as the formidable form of Joao Felix. He only made seven appearances for the Rojiblancos in 2020-21, all in La Liga, and scored two goals.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Thursday night in the Europa League semi-final second leg, to exit the competition 2-1 on aggregate.

Atletico Madrid had the first effort on goal on six minutes. Diego Costa outmuscled Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal before firing hide and wide of goal.

The Gunners suffered a major injury blow on eight minutes, as Koscielny suffered a potentially serious Achilles injury. The Frenchman was down for three minutes before Calum Chambers replaced the centre-back.  .......Read more here.....

On Thursday night, Arsenal travel to Atletico Madrid for their Europa League semi-final second leg tie. The Gunners face a big task at the Wanda Metropolitano after the first leg finished 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Atletico Madrid’s recent form has been inconsistent of late, as Diego Simeone’s side have won just one of their last four games in all competitions. However, that is as far as the positive go in terms of Arsenal turning this tie around.

Los Rojiblancos have won ten of their last 11 home games in all competitions. Rather dauntingly for the Gunners, Atletico have kept clean sheets in their last 11 games in all competitions at the Wanda Metropolitano.  .......Read more here.....

On Thursday night, Arsenal host Spanish club Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium in the Europa League semi-final first leg.

Arsenal heads into this game on the back of a 4-1 home win over West Ham. It was the story of the Gunners season, as they dominated the home game, but on their travels, Arsene Wenger’s team have been woeful.

However, the team from north London have a strong record in the Europa League, winning eight of their last 12 games in Europe’s secondary competition. The Gunners have also won three of their last four European games, while also scoring at least two goals in their last four games in Europe.  .......Read more here.....

Rumours in football can either create excitement or dread, depending on the nature of the specific rumour. Thankfully for Arsenal fans, this specific ‘rumour’ is a little bit more substantial than most, with Daily Mirror reporting that Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa may not be fit for their UEFA Europa League semi-final first-leg game against Arsenal. Yes, it’s the same Diego Costa that once played for Chelsea and was vilified for being the sport’s equivalent of a supervillain.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal face London rivals Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday in the traditional curtain raiser for the English Premier League campaign the Community Shield.

Arsenal head into this clash as the FA Cup holders, having beaten Premier League champions Chelsea 2-1 in May’s final. The Gunners have endured a relatively quiet summer in the transfer market with Chilean star Alexis Sanchez’s future dominating the headlines.

The former Barcelona looks set to stay and see out his contract in north London. The Gunners only two new arrivals are defender Sead Kolasinac and striker Alexandre Lacazette, two players who will expect to be regular starters for the Gunners this season.  .......Read more here.....

As always we are set for a whole host of transfer talk and probably little activity at Arsenal if Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has his way anyway.

Arsenal needs to strengthen this summer in a number of departments. For me, a new striker is still needed. It looks likely that Alexis Sanchez may leave and Spaniard Lucas Perez also seems set for the exit door.

That leaves Arsenal with Olivier Giroud and the fragile Danny Welbeck as striking options for next season. One option that could be available is Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard has been linked with a move to north London before and speculation is rife that he will leave the European champions this summer.  .......Read more here.....

Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at league leaders Chelsea showed that Arsenal are simply not good enough to win the Premier League title. Despite at times dominating possession, the Gunners did not seem to have the strength, quality or big game know-how to beat the Blues.

It looked like men against boys at times. Chelsea were incisive and boss Antonio Conte knew exactly were the Gunners weak spots were and exploited them to perfection. In reality Chelsea probably did not really have to adapt their game much for the clash, as they recorded a relatively comfortable win.

 Not looking at the opposition  .......Read more here.....

On Sunday in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Burnley, Alexis Sanchez scored his 15^th Premier League goal of the campaign. The strike means that he is joint top scorer in the top-flight with Chelsea’s fiery forward Diego Costa.

In true Sanchez style, he took his 15^th goal of the season in style, netting a 98^th-minute winner with a cheeky Panenka penalty kick. His coolness just epitomises Sanchez and why Arsenal are so keen to keep hold of the forward.

Has to be in the race for the Golden Boot  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal ended a nine-game run without a win against Chelsea in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over the Blues on Saturday evening.

The first shot on goal came on four minutes. It was the home side who threatened goal first as Santi Cazorla’s effort from the edge of the area was palmed away from Thibaut Courtois. On nine minutes Alexis Sanchez saw an effort on goal deflect over the bar.  .......Read more here.....