Arsenal News and Analysis

Ranking the 25 best Premier League wingers of the last 5 years

29Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Ranking the 25 best Premier League wingers of the last 5 years

Ranking the best wingers in the Premier League is a task so onerous that it may seem foolhardy, because even restricting the time span to the last five years doesn't make the task even easier. How do you rank, for example, a new breakout star like Anthony Gordon against a fallen superstar like Sadio Mane? Where does a gifted footballer like Riyad Mahrez stand against a former goal-scoring machine like Raheem Sterling? I tried my best to be fair and account for the unique merits each player brought to the table and avoid any club-based bias. I also decided to discard players who mostly offered value at non-winger positions, specifically Bernardo Silva, mostly to make my own job easier. (Don't worry, I'll have plenty of nice things to say about Silva in other pieces.) Finally, I did...

One Arsenal player has been even better than Bukayo Saka this season

23Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

One Arsenal player has been even better than Bukayo Saka this season

Arsenal star right winger Bukayo Saka is arguably the best player in the Premier League and one of the best forwards in the world, showing an all-around ability to make an impact as a left-footed right winger that is so rare to find, especially in a 23-year-old. Saka added to his legacy in the Premier League with an assist for Gabriel Magalhaes from a corner in the Gunners' 2-2 draw against reigning champions Manchester City, meaning he now has 22 goal contributions in his career against "Big Six" clubs. It also means Saka has five assists and a goal in five Premier League starts in the 2024/25 season thus far, building on his 2023/24 season in which he was one of the top contenders for the Player of the Season award. Yet as excellent as Saka continues to be for Arsenal, the best ...

23Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Arsenal Transfer News: 3 top clubs want to sign Takehiro Tomiyasu

Arsenal right back Takehiro Tomiyasu has found it difficult to make an impact for the Gunners due to a combination of injury and the fact that the other fullbacks have been so excellent. Ben White has made the right back position his home, while Riccardo Calafiori has joined the club as a left back option alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko, who previously had Jakub Kiwior to contend with. Tomiyasu is a quality right back who can even start as an inverted left back or center back, but the 25-year-old hasn't been able to start more than the 10 games he started last season for Arsenal. As Arsenal await Tomiyasu's return from a knee injury to make his first appearance of the 2024/25 season, they are fielding transfer offers for the former Bologna, like Calafiori, star. According to Calc...

Top insider lays the Gabriel Magalhaes transfer rumors to rest

21Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Top insider lays the Gabriel Magalhaes transfer rumors to rest

Arsenal center back Gabriel Magalhaes may be overshadowed by his partner William Saliba, but if you were to rank the Frenchman first among center backs in the Premier League, then you'd have to make a strong case for the Brazilian being in second. A consistent, hard-nosed defender who embodies the definition of a hard-nosed center back, Gabriel has so often bailed his Arsenal teammates out of sticky situations by putting his body on the line with a last-ditch effort to block a shot or make a decisive tackle as the last man standing. Gabriel is worth his weight in gold to Arsenal, yet that hasn't stopped the usual suspects in the media from speculating that the 26-year-old could leave North London this summer before his prime truly kicks in. But as any Arsenal fan will tell you, th...

Interesting transfer rumor on why Amadou Onana rejected Arsenal for Aston Villa

21Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Interesting transfer rumor on why Amadou Onana rejected Arsenal for Aston Villa

Amadou Onana was one of the most coveted players on the summer 2024 transfer market, as the Everton star was courted by Manchester United, Arsenal, and Barcelona in a who's who of historic European clubs. In the end, however, Onana may have surprised some fans around the globe by choosing Aston Villa, a rising long-time Premier League club fresh off their first Champions League qualification ever. Unsurprisingly, the best Belgian player at Euro 2024 has proven to be a rousing success at Villa Park thus far, making every use of the fact that he is the new centerpiece player in midfield for Aston Villa after Douglas Luiz was sent, by request, to Juventus. According to a report from Give Me Sport, Aston Villa acquired Amadou Onana over their most serious competitor, Arsenal, because ...

Here’s how long Martin Odegaard will be out for Arsenal due to ankle injury

20Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Here’s how long Martin Odegaard will be out for Arsenal due to ankle injury

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is out of Saturday's Premier League title-deciding fixture against reigning champions Manchester City after suffering an ankle injury during an international fixture between Norway and Austria. Initially, Odegaard was expected to miss a few weeks, but, now, he is set to miss more time due to the injury after scans revealed actual ligament damage in his left ankle. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Odegaard will now miss eight weeks with the injury, meaning he is now expected to be out until after Nov. 23 when Arsenal face one of the other best defenses in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest. It's a huge blow for Arsenal, as Odegaard is one of the team's two best players alongside right winger Bukayo Saka, and now the Gunners have to keep ...

Arsenal won’t have Martin Odegaard vs. Man City, but they’re getting the next best thing

20Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Arsenal won’t have Martin Odegaard vs. Man City, but they’re getting the next best thing

Arsenal supporters were upset and nervous when captain Martin Odegaard suffered an injury during international duties for Norway against Austria, and, now, it appears his ankle injury is more serious than initially feared with follow-up scans showing ligament damage. Odegaard will miss several matches, if not months, for Arsenal, taking one of the best playmakers and all-around attacking midfielders in world football away from the Gunners. This weekend, Arsenal will face Manchester City in an early-season title-decider for the Premier League crown, and, needless to say, they'll have to get a result on Sunday afternoon at the Etihad without Odegaard available. Arsenal can start Kai Havertz in the attacking midfield with Gabriel Jesus back at striker, but the biggest boost for the G...

Ranking the best Premier League defenses: Liverpool dominate again, Man Utd rebounding

19Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Ranking the best Premier League defenses: Liverpool dominate again, Man Utd rebounding

It's very early in the 2024/25 Premier League season, but let's try a fun exercise and rank the best defenses in the league, solely based on current statistical performance this season. I will award five points awarded to the team ranked first in the category and one point given to a team ranked in fifth. Expected goals allowed, shots on target allowed, and combined tackles and interceptions are the three metrics used to rank the sides. The points were doubled for expected goals allowed to weigh its greater importance. 5. Manchester United Manchester United added two new starters to their back line this summer in former Bayern Munich and Ajax players Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui at center and right back, respectively. Both players have paid huge dividends to Manchester...

Mikel Arteta gives devastating Martin Odegaard injury update

18Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Mikel Arteta gives devastating Martin Odegaard injury update

Arsenal star attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard went down over the September international "break" - by the way, the break stands for the risk of injuries, not any sort of relaxation - during a match between Norway and Austria. The club were initially fearing the worst, and it looks like Arsenal will indeed be without their captain and best midfielder (sorry, Declan Rice) for quite a while, including this weekend's decisive Premier League battle against reigning champions Manchester City. Mikel Arteta informed supporters that recent tests indicated Martin Odegaard suffered ligament damage as a result of the injury, “Recent scans showed that he’s got some damage on one of the ligaments in the ankle especially. It’s something quite significant, so we’re going to lose him for a while....

Injury News: Is Bukayo Saka playing against Atalanta and Manchester City?

17Sep

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Features, Premier League

Injury News: Is Bukayo Saka playing against Atalanta and Manchester City?

Arsenal superstar Bukayo Saka is having another strong start to a season as he looks to wrap up Premier League Player of the Season honors in 2024/25 and lead the Gunners to an elusive title triumph over Manchester City. This weekend, Arsenal will get a huge opportunity at a six-point swing in the early season over their main title rivals, as they will face the Citizens at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon. Saka limped off the pitch this past weekend in his club's vital 1-0 win over North London derby rivals Tottenham, leaving Arsenal fans concerned about the status of their best player ahead of the Man City game after a possible injury in the 86th minute. However, per the Evening Standard, Saka did not suffer an injury and was simply dealing with cramps. Therefore, he is expected to...