Arsenal star ‘verbally agrees’ summer transfer amid ‘family pressure’ claim

Jorginho has a ‘verbal agreement’ to leave Arsenal and join Flamengo this summer – but ‘family pressure’ could impact his thinking according to reports.

The 33-year-old has struggled for game time at the Gunners this season and has started just six Premier League matches, playing just 473 minutes in the process. Jorginho has been a little more prominent in other competitions, such as the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, but it’s safe to say he is not in their first-choice XI.

And that, accompanied by the fact he is out of contract in the summer, means he is expected to leave the Emirates Stadium at the end of the campaign. Jorginho signed a one-year extension last May with the 18-month deal he signed in January 2023, following his £12million move from Chelsea, coming to an end.

Reports earlier this month suggested that Jorginho could be on his way to Flamengo and RTI Esporte have since claimed that there is a ‘verbal agreement’ in place to join the Brazilian side this summer.

However, it’s added that ‘family pressure’ could impact his decision making after an offer from the South American outfit. Their preference would be for the experienced midfielder to stay in Europe, with the report claiming they feel that a move to Serie A would be best for Jorginho, and a switch to Flamengo has cooled as a result.

But with his contract into its final six months and Declan Rice preferred in the No.8 position by Mikel Arteta, an exit from north London is still on the cards. And last month, Jorginho offered an update on his future, admitting he is focused on each game as it comes rather than an immediate exit.

Increase in salary cap for Barcelona will be enough to incorporate €85m Liverpool forward – Report

Although they were not able to add any piece of silverware to their cabinet in the last season, FC Barcelona still retain full confidence in their squad. This confidence is quite visible from how the Blaugranes have focused on ensuring the renewals of some of the most important of their players.

Still, the Catalans will try to bring some reinforcements to their squad in the next summer transfer window, and they were helped in this regard by their return to the 1:1 status and the increase of €37 million to their wage bill in the recent update announced by La Liga.

In this context, one of the players that Barcelona have been linked with is the Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, who is reportedly the favourite candidate of the Blaugranes to reinforce their attack. According to SPORT, the increase in the wage bill will provide enough room for the Catalans to incorporate the Colombian forward.

Diaz has a contract with Liverpool till 2027, and he is quite far from reaching an agreement with the Merseyside club for a renewal. Furthermore, he is not a key player for Arne Slot, and these two factors can help Barcelona land the winger after negotiating a move with the Reds.

Luis Diaz will be a perfect fit for Hansi Flick’s team, which is looking for a wide player who can beat defenders and also score. The Catalans tried to get such a player in the last summer transfer window as well but were unable to land their preferred candidate, i.e., Nico Williams.

Meanwhile, the player himself has never hidden his desire to play in the blue and garnet jersey, a factor that will further facilitate Barcelona in their negotiations with Liverpool.

‘Dani Olmo surprised us’ – Alex Suarez reveals how Barcelona star ‘changed the game’

Las Palmas star Alex Suarez admitted that Dani Olmo made all the difference for Barcelona in Saturday’s 2-0 win in La Liga.

The Spain star came off the bench and opened the scoring with a brilliant bit of play after being set up by Lamine Yamal.

Olmo’s goal was his first for Barcelona since scoring against Brest in the Champions League since back in November.

Dani Olmo 8.5, Raphinha 8.0 | Las Palmas 0-2 Barcelona: Player ratings

A nail-biting encounter ends in a close victory for FC Barcelona against UD Las Palmas. Despite being away from home, the Catalan giants managed to hold on to their slight advantage. However, in terms of importance, these three points go a long way for Barcelona.

Thanks to two brilliant goals from Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, Hansi Flick’s side were able to secure a much-needed victory. With this win, Barcelona are now back to being leaders in La Liga again and can continue to defend their top spot.

Here are the player ratings for the Barcelona players.

Wojciech Szczesny: 7.5

Solid as ever in the back, the Polish goalkeeper made sure to clean up any loose balls that came his way and was confident when it came to stopping Las Palmas from threatening the Barcelona goal.

Jules Kounde: 7.0

The Frenchman was solid on his flank, and did his duty diligently as well. Ran up and down that flank constantly throughout the game, Jules Kounde was there to help his teammates both in attack and in defense.

Eric Garcia: 8.0

One of the better performers in the first half, he was quick to sniff out danger and sharp enough to react to it in time. His anticipation was solid and he played out the ball well enough from the back.

Pau Cubarsi: 7.0

Alongside Eric Garcia, he was comfortable in his position and whenever the ball came his way. His positioning was solid as well, and the Spaniard did well to restrict the Las Palmas attackers as much as possible.

Alejandro Balde: 7.5

The left-back was one of the primary sources through which Barcelona created chances in the first half. His runs were well-timed, even when his teammates were sometimes sluggish when it came to finding him.

Marc Casado: 8.0

Always eager to win the ball back, Marc Casado had some big moments in this game. His interceptions were key, and his energy was relentless when it came to hunting down the opposition players.

Pedri: 7.0

Perhaps not his best game, but an influential one nonetheless. He was key in terms of being the player who coordinated the Barcelona players in the midfield and he orchestrated some of the team’s more prominent plays as well.

Lamine Yamal: 8.0

Frustrating in the first half, the young winger was struggling against Las Palmas. However, it was more about his own sluggish movement at times rather than what the opposition was doing as well. In the second half, however, he came to life and  provided a beautiful assist to Dani Olmo as well as creating other chances.

Mikel Arteta needs urgent meeting with Arsenal star as £30m Bukayo Saka dilemma solved

Arsenal are at risk of seeing the 2024/25 season fall apart following the 1-0 Premier League defeat to West Ham on Saturday at Emirates Stadium. After his brace off the bench against Leicester City, Mikel Merino started up top but the problems the club face in attack were still clear to see.

Mikel Arteta was just able to cope without Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka, but that injury list doubled very quickly. Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz became the chosen front three, however the latter duo are now unavailable.

Ethan Nwaneri stepped up to the plate last weekend but Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, as the club’s senior leaders, need to show more after putting in disappointing displays against the Hammers.

Odegaard issue

On Saturday, Odegaard had 93 touches, three shots, was fouled twice and created four chances, according to FotMob, and yet it would have been easy to forget he was on the pitch. The Arsenal captain was clearly involved judging by those stats, but decisive actions in the final third were missing and have been for some time.

When he returned from injury earlier in the season, Odegaard looked exceptional and helped the Gunners score 14 goals in four games, but his impact has worn off recently. An urgent meeting with Arteta looks needed to try and help get him back to his best now he has been at the club since 2021 after being signed for £30million.

Chelsea make £62m Victor Osimhen decision as Arsenal could provide transfer boost

It was a disappointing afternoon for Chelsea as they failed to close the gap on the Champions League positions in the Premier League.

The Blues fell to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday evening. They had taken an early lead through Enzo Fernandez, but Marco Asensio equalised in the second half, with the same player getting Villa’s second goal in the 89th minute.

The result means Chelsea have now lost their last three games in all competitions. They will look to bounce back when they take on the Premier League’s bottom side Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night (8.15pm kick-off).

While there is still a lot of football of the season left to be played, it’s not stopped talk over what could happen in the summer transfer window. Clubs will already be putting their plans into place in preparation for it opening at the end of the season,

It’s therefore no surprise that Chelsea continue to be linked with players. Here’s a look at just a couple of the latest, along with our own thoughts.

Victor Osimhen update

Chelsea are one of three clubs ‘ready’ to activate a €75 million (£62m) release clause in the contract of Victor Osimhen during the summer transfer window. The striker is expected to leave Napoli at the end of the season, following a loan spell with Galatasaray.

According to Napoli Magazine, The Blues, along with Paris Saint-Germain and Man United are willing to trigger the clause that is only valid for overseas teams in the summer. It is however said that Saudi side Al-Ahli could also win the race due to their salary offer.

Juventus are also said to be inter

Arsenal press conference – Mikel Arteta on West Ham, title blow, Merino call, VAR red card

Arsenal’s title hopes took what could be a terminal blow as they dropped points to West Ham United. A very poor display that was far from that of a side hoping to chase down leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal went behind after Jarrod Bowen scored from a routine counterattack. Aaron Wan-Bissaka able to get the ball across David Raya’s goal for the England international to easily tap in.

It got worse in the second half as substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for taking out Mohammed Kudus, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Arteta’s side lacked much threat throughout the entire game.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League fixtures compared to Liverpool after shock title race twist

Arsenal will be swiftly back in Premier League action following their defeat to West Ham at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners were unable to find the back of the net against Graham Potter’s side with Myles Lewis-Skelly also sent off midway through the second half.

Following his brace off the subs bench against Leicester City, Mikel Merino was given the nod up front, but it was West Ham’s out of position striker, Jarrod Bowen, who opened the scoring as he was left unmarked to head home Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross.

The Gunners pushed hard for an equaliser, but their task was made much harder after Lewis-Skelly’s dismissal for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The Hammers held on to the three points as a result, with Arsenal’s title hopes dented significantly.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League fixtures

February 26 vs Nott’m Forest (A) at 7.30pm – Premier League

March 9 vs Manchester United (A) at 4.30pm – Premier League

March 16 vs Chelsea (H) at 1.30pm – Premier League

April 1 vs Fulham (H) at 7.45pm – Premier League

Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad are pushing for a Champions League spot, and have already taken points off Liverpool earlier in the season. With the Gunners out of the FA Cup, Arteta’s side have an extended break before returning to action against Manchester United, the team that knocked them out of that competition.

The following weekend, Chelsea are the visitors to Emirates Stadium – with Arsenal having the chance to close the gap on Liverpool while they play in the Carabao Cup final. After the March international break, Fulham travel across the capital in search of another positive result against Arsenal.

Premier League forced to release Arsenal VAR statement after Myles Lewis-Skelly red card

Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for Arsenal during their Premier League clash against West Ham. The teenager came on at half-time for Riccardo Calafiori – but then departed Emirates Stadium early after VAR intervened to recommend an on-field review by Craig Pawson.

Initially, he was only shown a yellow card, but that decision changed upon a review. The Premier League had to then release a statement explaining the decision, which came via their Match Centre on X (was Twitter).

“VAR checked the referee’s call of yellow card to Lewis-Skelly for a challenge on [Mohammed] Kudus, deeming it denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity due to the goalkeeper’s position and there being no covering defender, therefore recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card,” it read.

The Gunners were a goal behind when he was dismissed – with their task made that much harder as a result. Mikel Arteta’s men dominated the early stages, but it was Jarrod Bowen who opened the scoring, after he headed home a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Lewis-Skelly was sent off earlier in the season during Arsenal’s win against Wolves, but that call was, eventually, overturned following an appeal to the PGMOL by Arsenal. Technically, he was still shown a red card which made him the fourth Arsenal player to be dismissed in this campaign.

Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba were all given the same treatment and while all three of those involved some controversy, Lewis-Skelly can really have no complaints. With title rivals Liverpool up against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, Arsenal have missed their chance to close the gap at the top-flight summit.

Arsenal player ratings vs West Ham as Mikel Merino experiment fails and Lewis-Skelly sees red

Arsenal fell to a West Ham side who executed the perfect snatch-and-grab. The hit to the Gunners’ momentum could be a title-ending blow after the weekend is out.

Jarrod Bowen struck against Arsenal again, finishing off a counter-attacking move heading past David Raya after an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross. It ended a frustrating half for the Gunners who created very little in the absence of an obvious centre-forward.

As Arsenal tried to probe for a goal, Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for taking out Mohammed Kudus and being the last man in a nightmarish situation.

David Raya – Let down by his defenders for the first goal, sadly; little he could do to prevent the goal after the cross was allowed to flash across him to Bowen. 6

Jurrien Timber – Provided consistently strong energy for the Arsenal right-hand side. 6

William Saliba – Did well in the first half to prevent the danger of Mohammed Kudus. He was high up the field when Lewis-Skelly was caught and perhaps his positioning might have saved the youngster were he further back but this is nit-picking. 6

Gabriel Magalhaes – Question marks raised for the first goal, being unable to intercept the cross. 5

Riccardo Calafiori – After a few opportunities to score himself, the Italian was beaten far too easily by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, allowing him to cross for the opening goal. Replaced early in the second half, it was not a performance that will have helped him move ahead of Lewis-Skelly, who switched in for him in the second half before his red card. 5

Thomas Partey – Much of the usual quality from Partey. Progressive passes into the wide areas and one of the few presences trying to get the ball up-field at every opportunity. 7

Declan Rice – Certainly at fault for the Bowen goal, losing his man and not being committed enough to get in the way of the cross to his former teammate. He was replaced early in the second half after one of his weakest performances, irritatingly against his old side. 4

Martin Odegaard – In these moments, this is where you need your captain to step up and sadly the Norwegian simply didn’t. Passing short a free-kick, the boos rang out in frustration of the lack of direct play. 5

Ethan Nwaneri – Sadly he was not as impactful, not even close, to the match he had at Leicester the week before. 6

Leandro Trossard – Was arguably the most threatening player in the side but even he lacked clear-cut opportunities during the game. 6

Mikel Merino – Target man effect, heading down crosses for teammates, and played a good pass through to Declan Rice which was a wasted opportunity in the end. Ultimately though, the experiment was a considerably failure. 5