Tag Archives: Arsenal

Former Invincible set for Arsenal coaching role

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Arsenal are in talks with Jens Lehmann to return to Arsenal as a goal keeping coach.

The former German stopper joined Arsenal on a free transfer in 2004. In his first season at the club, he did not lose a single league game, playing in all 38 of the unbeaten Premier League run, to become an invincible.

His career at Arsenal had many highs and lows, and he was certainly a character, from his rolly pollies before the game to his ill discipline that saw him make costly errors.

He won the league title in 2004 and pulled of key penalty saves in 2005 as Arsenal beat Manchester United in the FA Cup Final. He is also remembered for being sent off in the 2006 Champions League Final.

Lehmann left Arsenal in 2008 to return to Germany

In 2011 he was planning to begin his coaching badges, but dropped out of the course to return to Arsenal as the sides goal keeper injury crisis grew. In total he played 200 games for The Gunners.

He began his badges in 2012, when he set about doing his UEFA coaching degree with his practicals set to be at his former team FC Arsenal Reserves.

Lehmann will be the second goal keeping addition to Arsene Wenger’s backroom staff, with Ex-Crystal Palace and Newcastle coach Andy Woodman, 45, joining up to look after Arsenal’s under-23s.

Woodman, father of England under-20s World Cup winning hero Freddie, landed the job ahead of ex-Palace keeper Perry Suckling, who was also on the shortlist.

The appointments will strengthen Arsenal’s coaching line-up after first team keeper coach Gerry Peyton also signed a new deal.

Arsenal had already appointed former Liverpool head of fitness Darren Burgess as they began a shake up of London Colney.

Aussie Burgess has been appointed the club’s director of high performance after agreeing a move from Port Adelaide and will oversee the whole medical set-up.

Off the training pitch, former Team Sky legal and commercial expert Huss Fahmy has been bought in to oversee player contracts.

Keenos

Arsenal set to sign 3 players in a week

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The transfer window opened Saturday and Arsenal are in danger of making 3 major transfer within the first full-working week.

Arsenal’s deal for 24 year old Bosnian full back Saed Kolasinac from Germany side Schalke 04 on a free transfer was made official as the clock clicked to 00:00 on Saturday morning.

The full back gives Arsenal the option of playing him out wide or at the left side of a back 3. He will be interchangeable with Nacho Monreal and Arsenal will just have to work on getting the combination and positioning right.

A record breaking £45m deal for Alexandre Lacazette from French side Lyon will likely be completed within the next 24 hours.

Arsenal have chased the Frenchman for some time now, and the big money early move shows that the club heave learnt from previous transfer windows where they let key targets slip through the net due to chasing other targets.

Arsenal will potentially rush through a deal for Riyad Mahrez or Thomas Lemar before the week is out.

Arsenal have already placed bids for Thomas Lemar, which have been rejected. Monaco seem to be reluctant to sell any more players, but Lemar seems keen on a deal to take him to Islington.

Despite the rejected bid, Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim said over the weekend that he fully expects more players to leave.

‘Three players have left – Dirar, Valere and Bernardo,’ he said. ‘Other players could leave us.’

As for Mahrez, the news came out of the blue late on Saturday that Arsenal had renewed their interest in the Algerian.

Whether this is because the club believe the Lemar deal is dead in the water, or have now accepted Alexis Sanchez is off it unclear. There is of course the scenario that the news was broken from some journalist on work experience who was just trying to get his profile up.

A move late in the week for Thomas Lemar of Riyad Mahrez will be in the hope of softening Alexis Sanchez’s move to Manchester City.

It’s going to be a busy week at Highbury House.

Keenos

Bacary Sagna warning for Alexis Sanchez

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1 July 2014: Bacary Sagna joins Manchester City on a free transfer, leaving Arsenal, declaring he wanted to compete for major honours

10 July 2014: Alexis Sanchez joins Arsenal from Barcelona for £31.7m

Back in 2014, Manchester City had just been crowned Champions of England. They made it a double (although not the real double) by also winning the League Cup.

2 league titles in 3 years, 4 trophies in 4 years, Sagna was leaving a side who had just ended its trophy duck with an FA Cup to join the most upwardly mobile team in England. His desire to finish his career with more trophies was justified.

Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez had left a trophy-laden Barcelona to join an Arsenal side who had just won their first trophy in 9 years. For Sanchez it was not about money (Sagna’s deal was reported to be £150k a week), nor about winning trophies whilst sitting on the bench, he wanted to win things.

Role on 3 years, Sagna has left Manchester City on a free transfer, and it seems Alexis Sanchez is set to join Manchester City from Arsenal.

He will put out the same lines as Bacary Sagna, and others, that they are moving to win trophies. And that they feel at Manchester City is the best place for that to happen.

The thing is, as Bacary Sagna has shown, Manchester City is not a top club where trophies flow easily.

In the 3 years at Manchester City, Bacary Sagna won just ONE LEAGUE CUP.

Had he stayed at Arsenal, he would have won another TWO FA Cups. That is what Sanchez has won in his 3 years at Arsenal.

Sagna left to win more trophies, but would have actually won more had he stayed, and that is the warning for Alexis Sanchez.

When Alexis left Barcelona, it was due to game time. If he leaves Arsenal for Manchester City, he will walk into the team.

But with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo & Leroy Sane, Sanchez does not have the security at Manchester City that he has at Arsenal.

A couple of bad games and he will be out.

This is what Bacary Sagna found when he joined Manchester City.

This is what Sagna found at Manchester City. He went from first team starter at Arsenal, to playing just 46% of league games in his 3 years at Manchester City.

There is a big warning in the Bacary Sagna story for Alexis Sanchez.

Joining Manchester City does not guarantee the trophies, he will find himself on the bench a few times throughout the season and he will not be the number 1 star at the Etihad.

I wonder if, bank balance increasing aside, Sagna looks back with regret for joining Mancherster City.

Then again, the bank balance is so important to footballers…

Have a good Sunday

Keenos