My Arsenal Blog

Burnley are close to completing a deal to sign Daniel Ballard from Arsenal on a permanent transfer, according to James McNicholas of The Athletic.

The 22-year-old centre-back has had loan spells with Swindon Town, Blackpool and Millwall, but even though his quality has sufficed to earn him 15 senior caps with Northern Ireland, he has never played for the first team at Arsenal.

The move to Burnley obviously seems like a fine choice from the youngster’s perspective at this point, with the Clarets’ reputation for turning out powerful central defenders in mind, but also the fact that they’ve just appointed one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League over the last decade in former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany as their manager.  .......Read more here.....

On Saturday afternoon, Manchester City mauled Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup at Wembley, to claim an unprecedented domestic treble in English football.

The game proved significant for more than just the Citizens achievement, though, as it also saw the final appearance in a City shirt captain Vincent Kompany. The 33-year-old is out of contract this summer with the Citizens.

Kompany would provide excellent leadership skills

Vincent Kompany is no doubt a player in the twilight of his playing career. However, towards the end of the season, he had a massive influence on his team’s displays, as the Citizens won their last 14 league matches to claim the Premier League title.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal suffered a 3-0 defeat against Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday, as Pep Guardiola won his first silverware in England. Goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva were enough to seal a comfortable victory for the Citizens.

Arsenal had the first goal threat of the game, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found himself with a gaping goal, only for Kyle Walker to tackle the striker before Claudio Bravo saved the rebound from the striker who was just a few yards out.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal host Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night in a top of the Premier League table clash. It’s second versus third with both teams looking to keep pace with surprise leaders Leicester.

The Gunners currently sit second in the Premier League table, five points behind Leicester. Arsene Wenger’s side have claimed consecutive top-flight and last time out won 2-0 at beleaguered bottom club Aston Villa.

Despite those consecutive wins the Gunners have been inconsistent this season. However their recent record against Manchester City has improved in recent times, as Wenger’s side are now three games unbeaten against the Citizens.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal produced a superb performance to win 2-0 at Manchester City on Sunday, with goals from Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud enough to claim victory.

The game enjoyed a quiet start and the first attempt on goal did not arrive until the 18^th minute. It was the visitors who had that chance, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain broke down the wing and found Olivier Giroud, whose diving header went wide of goal.

Arsenal won a penalty on 23 minutes. Full-back Nacho Monreal was brought down in the penalty area by Vincent Kompany and Santi Cazorla stepped-up confidently to put the spot-kick past Joe Hart in the City goal.  .......Read more here.....

Three wins in last four Premier League fixtures saw Arsenal close the gap behind their top 4 rivals, but with Southampton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur all winning on Saturday, the Gunners desperately need to get something from the Manchester City clash.

That will be no easy task given that the Citizens will have Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany back, although they are without Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and possibly Edin Dzeko at the moment.  .......Read more here.....

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that he will be without two first team players when his side square off against Arsenal at the Emirates in a lunch time kick off on Saturday.

The Citizens go into the high-profile clash low on confidence having suffered a home defeat to Stoke City ahead of the international break, and there have been some new problems for the Etihad outfit.

Namely, Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that Stevan Jovetic and Fernando are certain to miss the trip to North London, while Pablo Zabaleta is set to make the match squad even if he remains doubtful.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal faces their first test of the new season when they face champions Manchester City on Sunday at Wembley in the FA Community Shield.

The Gunners struggled against fellow top five teams last season and the Citizens themselves hammered the Gunners 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium. However, Arsenal now look to have a stronger all round team with the summer additions of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers and David Ospina.

This game could be an early season benchmark as they seek further silverware, after ending their nine year wait for a trophy with an FA Cup last season. The Gunners finished seven points behind City in the Premier League last season, after leading the table for much of the campaign.  .......Read more here.....

According to the Metro, Arsenal is looking at signing Manchester City centre-back Matija Nastastic. The 21-year-old Serbian international is apparently surplus to requirements at City and Tuttosport claim that the Citizens could sell the youngster. There are even suggestions that the youngster could go out on a season-long loan deal.

Target

Nastastic is believed to be Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s top target to reinforce his defence this summer, with Belgium international Thomas Vermaelen set to move away from the Emirates in the near future.  .......Read more here.....