Ferdinand Fury
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Arsenal ace Gabriel Magalhaes was so angered by his criticism that he direct messaged him on Instagram.
“I said that last year,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel when asked if Gabriel being dropped recently was due to his past mistakes. “And he didn’t like it. He DM’d me. In the DM’s.
“This is a big thing, for me, with players today, they can’t take criticism. Players today, not all of them, I have had quite a few players who have come through their agents.
“I have said, ‘Don’t you get your agent to speak to me. You get your player to come and chat to me and I will chat to him, no problem’.
“Yes, he (Gabriel) come direct to me, which I respect. But, at the same time, I don’t think he saw what I was saying.”
Arsenal enjoy success at PFA awards
Four Arsenal stars were named in the PFA Team of the Year last night.
Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale were all voted into the squad.
Saka was also named PFA Young Player of the Year.
After receiving his award, the winger tweeted: “PFA Young Player.
“It’s an honour for me to accept this award and have my name alongside the previous winners.
“To have your peers acknowledge you is a very special feeling!
“Thank you to the PFA and congratulations to all the other winners and nominees this evening.”
Balogun transfer fee revealed
Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is on the verge of joining Monaco in a £40million transfer.
Balogun, who spent last season on loan with Reims, reportedly travelled to the Principality yesterday to undergo a medical and seal his return to France.
But the 22-year-old’s impending move has enraged some of the Emirates faithful, one of whom tweeted: “Arsenal will regret this.”
Another added: “Arsenal let a good one go.”
Chelsea target Arsenal academy graduate
Chelsea are targeting a shock move for Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, according to reports.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are understood to want to bring in a new forward before the transfer window closes at 11pm on Friday.
According to the Daily Mail, Smith Rowe is one of the players they have identified as a potential signing.
Neville takes aim at Arteta
Man Utd icon Gary Neville has taken aim at Mikel Arteta once again as he offers the Arsenal manager his advice ahead of their clash with Manchester United this weekend.
Arteta’s side have come under some scrutiny following their 2-2 draw at home against Fulham on Saturday.
The Gunners have been playing a back four which sees central midfielder Thomas Partey play at right-back as well as stepping into central areas when required.
And Neville seems to think that it’s not working after watching Joao Palhinha bag a late equaliser for a ten-man Fulham at the Emirates at the weekend.
Speaking on the Sky Sports podcast, he said: “I would say that for me, looking at Arsenal, there is an element of experimentation and this expectation that full-backs think they can play midfield and midfielders think they can play at full-back.
“Thomas Partey is playing half-and-half in a game and sometimes there is an element that you need to go back to basics.
“I would expect next week that Arteta is going to end that experiment and probably go with a solid back four with four defenders.”
SunSport simulator predicts Champions League groups
Man Utd and Arsenal were handed nightmare Champions League group stages by the SunSport simulator.
The number-crunching machine projected the possible outcome of Thursday’s draw in Monaco.
And the outcome churned out was a brutal one for the English teams – especially United and Arsenal.
Both in pot two, the Red Devils were pitted against Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, seven-time winners AC Milan and Scottish giants Celtic in a staggering group of death in Group B.
As for Mikel Arteta, he must prepare to try and qualify for the knockout stages despite facing boyhood club Barcelona following their fiery pre-season showdown, a blockbuster Battle of Britain with Rangers and a hostile trip to Turkey to take on Galatasaray.
