Posts by Charles Watts
Arsenal rattle City! Haaland hypocrisy + Arteta’s anger & Trossard red reaction
Well, that was all very dramatic wasn’t it? It’s tough to know where to actually start when sitting down and trying to work out how to truly assess Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday. From Arsenal’s first half fightback and Leandro Trossard’s red card, to City’s late leveller and all the heated reaction…
Read More >Inside Arsenal E/T podcast: World class Raya + Player ratings vs Atalanta & Martinelli concerns
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s episode of the Inside Arsenal extra-time podcast, where I’m joined once again by James Benge of CBS Sports. Last night’s 0-0 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League is the main focus of this week’s show, with all the big talking points from the game covered. We discuss…
Read More >David Raya saves Arsenal at Atalanta, Mikel Arteta’s reaction & changes vs Man City
Take a bow David Raya. That double save to deny Mateo Retegui on Thursday night, first from the penalty spot and then from the rebound, was truly remarkable. And it is the sole reason why Arsenal returned back to London with a point from their opening Champions League fixture of the new campaign following a…
Read More >Spurs sunk again! Player ratings, Arteta’s reaction and Arsenal’s £55m bargain
Hello everyone. What a fine Monday morning it is thanks to yet another win for Arsenal at Spurs. I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of north London derbies. I dread them every season. I just want them over with as quickly as possible. It doesn’t matter how old I get, I still…
Read More >Mikel Arteta on his new Arsenal contract, Odegaard’s injury, Jesus’ return & Calafiori
Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the press ahead of Sunday’s North London derby at Tottenham. The Arsenal boss answered questions on several subjects, including his new contract and the latest Arsenal team news, including the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard after the injury he picked up while playing for Norway during the international break.…
Read More >Inside Arsenal E/T podcast – Arteta’s Nwaneri decision & the big NLD preview
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s episode of the Inside Arsenal extra-time podcast, where I’m joined as usual by James Benge of CBS Sports. Sunday’s huge north London derby is the focus of this week’s show, with Martin Odegaard’s injury of course taking centre stage. We debate how Mikel Arteta could look to replace…
Read More >Arsenal wait nervously as injured Odegaard returns
Martin Odegaard suffering a bad injury has always been the big fear for me (and plenty of others) going into this season. When I looked at Arsenal’s squad following the transfer window, proper cover for the captain was the one thing that seemed to be missing. It was pretty clear that Arsenal were going to…
Read More >Inside Arsenal E/T podcast – The 2024/25 squad assessment + replacing Rice vs Spurs
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s Inside Arsenal extra-time podcast, where I’m joined once again by James Benge of CBS Sports. In this week’s show we discuss the Arsenal squad following the summer transfer window and debate whether we feel the club has taken a gamble in terms of depth ahead of such a…
Read More >Arsenal’s new leader – Why Arteta and Edu signed Mikel Merino
So, after a pretty long wait, Arsenal have finally announced the arrival of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad. The Spanish midfielder joins for an initial £27.4 million (with £4.2m potential add-ons) and has signed a four year contract, which contains an option for a further 12 months. After such a long saga, it’s a bit…
Read More >Inside Arsenal E/T Podcast – Merino deal agreed + Villa preview and season predictions
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s Inside Arsenal extra-time podcast, where I’m joined as usual by James Benge of CBS Sports. In this week’s show we gave our immediate reaction to the news, which breaks while we are recording, that Arsenal have finally agreed a fee with Real Sociedad for midfielder Mikel Merino. We…
Read More >Charlie Patino to leave Arsenal for just £1m – What happened?
Amid all the ongoing talk of Mikel Merino and Eddie Nketiah, the news that really caught my attention yesterday was that Arsenal had agreed a deal with Deportivo La Coruna for Charlie Patino. The news sparked plenty of debate amongst Arsenal fans and most of the conversation centred around the fee, which will be around…
Read More >£30m Nketiah talks, Ramsdale loan and the Arteta/Emery debate
So, the first round of Premier League fixtures is now behind us and it has to be said that there was a familiar theme to most of the games. Arsenal won and kept a clean sheet, Manchester City and Liverpool both moved through the gears on their way to three points and Spurs gave us…
Read More >Arsenal’s Liverpool finale, Calafiori’s debut + Marseille need to get serious over Nketiah
Arsenal will bring the curtain down on their US tour a little bit later on when they take on Liverpool in Philadelphia. It’s been another successful trip across the Atlantic for the club and Mikel Arteta would love to round it off with another victory to add to the one they picked up against Manchester…
Read More >Arsenal player ratings vs Bournemouth + Calafiori in, Smith Rowe out
After what has felt a slow start to the summer window, things are beginning to heat up at Arsenal just in time for the start of pre-season. Mikel Arteta’s squad got their summer tour of the USA up and running overnight with a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth in Los Angeles (they did win a penalty…
Read More >Riccardo Calafiori’s Arsenal medical imminent
Riccardo Calafiori is set to finalise his switch to Arsenal after the Gunners agreed a deal with Bologna for the Italy defender. Calafiori, 22, will now undergo his medical and, providing all goes to plan, will join up with his new Arsenal team-mates on their pre-season tour of the United States. The left-footed defender will…
Read More >Arsenal ready for Bournemouth + Nketiah, Nelson and Calafiori latest
Arsenal kick off their USA tour a little bit later on when they meet Bournemouth in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see what sort of lineup Mikel Arteta goes for. I’m guessing it will be similar to the team that started against Leyton Orient last week in the behind closed doors friendly, although…
Read More >PODCAST: Edu’s big sales target – Inside Arsenal E/T (Ep45)
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Inside Arsenal extra-time. As always, I’m joined by James Benge of CBS Sports and in this week’s show we focus on the summer sales at Arsenal, with interest now growing in the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson. We look at the job Edu has…
Read More >Arsenal’s Mikel Merino interest + Smith Rowe latest and keeper capture close
Hello everyone. Just as I was sitting down to write this post the news has broken that Gareth Southgate has resigned as England manager, bringing to an end his eight years in the job. I think it’s definitely the right decision. Southgate has done a lot of good during his time in charge. He picked…
Read More >Arsenal stars return early for Marbella training camp with Odegaard, Jesus and Partey to follow
Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe are two of six Arsenal stars who have linked up with Mikel Arteta for a training camp in Marbella in preparation for the start of pre-season. Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber have also made the trip and they will soon be joined by club captain…
Read More >Patience, Arsenal and transfers
Hello everyone. How good was Turkey vs Georgia yesterday? Now that was a game of football. It just had everything didn’t it? Great goals, attacking intent, awful weather and a banging atmosphere. A match as good as that deserved a dramatic ending and it got that as well. It was just brilliant to watch. Hopefully today’s…
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