There’s a lot of Arsenal transfer window chatter going around this month — a little more than usual. The Gunners are struggling in league play, were knocked out of the FA Cup and their two best players have contracts ending in a few months.
But when it comes to all the rumors and speculation, five words are all you need to know about Arsenal in the transfer window: Arsene Wenger is still manager.
Winter has arrived. The traditional Serie A winter break has been pushed back a few weeks to accommodate an “English-style” festive period. Now, with January in full fling, the clubs are taking a bit of time off to recover. So, naturally, it’s time to think about Serie A transfers.
The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 114-103 at The 02 Arena in London Thursday night, but the real story was the myriad of footballing talent taking it all in. 19,078 fans watched the Celtic’s Jaylen Brown best handle jet lag (he probably slept on the plane while everybody else watched Annabelle: Creation and celebrated all the free sweet berry wine), but one in every three of those spectators was seemingly a Premier League footballer.
Also, Antoine Griezmann was there, hopefully getting a little taste of England before joining Newcastle United.
Everyone knows there is only one way to accurately predict where a footballer will transfer during the silly season: Instagram. Specifically, footballers will give their intentions away via likes and follows.
Let's look at an example. Soon-to-be out-of-contract Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka is a hot commodity right now, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Arsenal competing for his signature. Earlier this month, it was reported that he would sign for Bayern Munich. However, Instagram tells a different story.
According to Club America coach Miguel Herrera, the opportunity to land 27-year-old Dutch international and current PSV Eindhoven striker Luuk de Jong “has been laid on the table.” America and Herrera are looking to land an international player to rival Tigres’ Andre-Pierre Gignac (“a player with a bigger name than Gignac,” according to Herrera), and De Jong is the player the club and coach have landed on.
Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has responded to rumors linking striker Mario Balotelli with a return to Serie A (Milan and Inter being the destinations bandied about) by saying, “Mario leaving? No, that’s impossible. You know his importance. It’s unimaginable.”
It’s not football’s best kept secret, but Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has confirmed that much like Radamel Falcao and Diego Costa before him, 26-year-old center forward Antoine Griezmann will be allowed to leave the club for “a once in a lifetime chance to play for a certain team.”
Bruce Arena responded to USMNT and Huddersfield Town midfielder Danny Williams’ claims that U.S. Soccer favored domestic-based players throughout qualifying in an effort to “market” MLS by calling the statements “completely false” on Tuesday.
We’ve got it, we’ve pinned down two-year-old Mateo Messi’s future on the pitch. After graduating from La Masia summa cum laude, the phenom will replace a 45-year-old Sergio Busquets in Barcelona’s holding midfield role, because, according to father Lionel, Mateo is “un hijo de puta.” He’s a real mean sumbitch.
“For f**k’s sake. Have you got nothing else to talk about?” was Neymar’s recent response when asked about wild speculation linking him with a transfer to Real Madrid. No, is now the Spanish media’s resounding answer.