Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has revealed that his teammates now call him ‘the horse’ due to his strengths and constant running around.
The England international has been a force to be reckoned with since joining the Gunners from West Ham United and is widely regarded as one of the best in his position in the world.
Arsenal failed to sign any players during the January transfer window and despite a mightily impressive 5-1 win over Manchester City, the empty deadline day followed up with elimination in the Carabao Cup by Newcastle has soured the mood. Unsurprisingly, plenty of misconceptions have since grown from the rubble of the first month of 2025.
The idea that Arsenal moved too late for Ollie Watkins, for example, or that they offered an amount that Aston Villa would never entertain, is simply not the case.
What Arsenal did offer was considered a very fair and reasonable proposal and stood among the highest ever made for a Premier League player by a fellow English top-flight club for someone in Watkins’ age bracket. Sadly it was not enough to change the position of Unai Emery’s side.
Despite initial reports suggesting the offer was £60million, this was in fact only in the ballpark that Villa were looking for to begin serious conversations over a move. It was a figure Arsenal felt was too high and, therefore, did not return with a second offer, preferring instead to wait until the summer to make a move for another of their targets such as Benjamin Sesko.
Arsenal have learned of an update regarding the future of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko amid recent transfer speculation.
The Gunners were heavily linked with signing a new centre forward during the January transfer window, but did not make any new additions to their squad. The rumours intensified after the season-ending injury to Gabriel Jesus, while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are also on the sidelines recovering from hamstring injuries.
There were rumours in January that Arsenal were considering an offer to sign Sesko on loan until the end of the season amid their lack of striker options.
Now a fresh update has emerged about Sesko’s future, which will hand a major boost to Arsenal. Fabrizio Romano has reported that there is an “understanding” between Sesko and Leipzig that the striker will have an opportunity to join a new club in the summer.
Real Madrid have held talks with the representatives of an Arsenal ace who cannot wait to play alongside Kylian Mbappe, though the Gunners will ensure they receive a record-breaking fee, according to a report.
The bulk of Arsenal’s strongest starting XI are either in the prime of their careers or have their best years still to come.
One player who has already reached superstar status despite being just 23 years of age is centre-back William Saliba.
Alongside Gabriel Magalhaes, the duo have combined to form one of the strongest centre-back pairings in recent Premier League history.
However, Real Madrid – known to be on the hunt for a top tier centre-half who can make an instant impact next season – could torpedo Arsenal’s project.
And worryingly for Arsenal, the report claimed talks with Saliba’s camp have already taken place regarding a summer switch.
Furthermore, it’s then stated Saliba ‘considers the Madrid club as the ultimate dream of his career, and the prospect of playing with his friend Kylian Mbappe, also from Bondy (an area of Paris), is a strong argument in his thinking.’
Arsenal value their star man at an even £100m. A move at that price point would obliterate the record for the most expensive defender transfer of all time.
The current record is still held by Harry Maguire via his £80m switch from Leicester to Manchester United in 2019. At £100m, Saliba’s potential deal would add an extra £20m to the record.
On the subject of whether Real Madrid would actually be willing to pay such an amount, the report claimed the LaLiga giant are well aware signing a player of Saliba’s calibre won’t come cheaply.
This FC Barcelona team has made a clear leap since the arrival of Hansi Flick on their bench. This improvement is quite evident in all aspects of the team’s performance and results.
There is no doubt that this season, FC Barcelona is one of the most effective and entertaining teams playing in Europe. Their offensive capability was fully on display in the last game against Sevilla, when they were able to win with a 1-4 scoreline despite having to play most part of the second half with a numerical disadvantage.
The Blaugranes have been scoring at such good a rate that they are on track to beating the scoring records of some of the best teams in the club’s history, i.e., Pep Guardiola’s team of the 2011-12 season and Luis Enrique’s team of the 2014-15 season.
In addition to reaching their historical records, Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona can reach another record in the coming few matches which will go on to showcase their offensive prowess, i.e., the record of scoring five or more goals in the highest number of games.
Up to now, the Blaugranes have scored at least five goals in 11 games, against Valladolid (7-0), Villarreal (1-5), Young Boys (5-0), Sevilla (5-1), Red Star (2-5), Mallorca (1-5), Real Madrid (2-5), Real Betis (5-1), Benfica (4-5) and Valencia (7-1 and 0-5).
Thus, the Catalans are scoring at least 5 goals in 30%, or every third, of their games this season. This figure does not include the number of games in which the Blaugranes scored 4 goals, as was the case against Bayern Munich in UCL and Real Madrid and Sevilla in La Liga.
As things stand, the record for scoring the highest number of manitas in Europe in the 21st century is held by Luis Enrique’s Barcelona of the 2014-15 season, in which the Blaugranes, led by the forward line of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez, scored at least 5 goals in 13 matches.
Thus, Hansi Flick’s side needs only 2 more manitas to reach this historic number, and only 1 more five-goal win to reach the records from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, when Luis Enrique and the MSN forward line were still at Barcelona and scored 12 manitas.
Raphinha is enjoying the best season of his career by some distance and is one of Barcelona’s most decisive players in attack. The numbers, in fact, put him as one of Europe’s best and a serious contender for the Ballon d’Or.
Any talk of the prestigious award distributed by France Football and UEFA at this point brings up the topic of Vinicius Jr,. who Real Madrid claim was snubbed of the award last year when Rodri was named the winner.
A comparison of Raphinha’s numbers this year to Vinicius’ last term, surprisingly, shows Raphinha’s dominance and its magnitude.
Last season was Vinicius’ best year in a Real Madrid shirt and the calls for him to win the Ballon d’Or were based on his staggering numbers of 25 goals and 12 assists.
Just over halfway through the season and Raphinha already has 24 goals to his name. Added to that, he has provided 13 assists and is thus one assist above his compatriot’s numbers for last season.
Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team is gearing up for a crucial tie against Real Madrid this midweek.
The two teams are set to take each other on in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout playoffs.
Heading into this game, Guardiola spoke to the press, where he notably talked about Barcelona.
When talking about Real Madrid, Guardiola brought up Barcelona and how they have performed under Hansi Flick this season.
The Man City manager even called the current rendition of Barcelona as one of the best versions of the club.
“At the moment, this is probably one of the best versions of Barcelona in recent years. The team is performing exceptionally this season, and we can compare it to the best versions of Barcelona,” he said (h/t AS).
Guardiola’s statement is hardly surprising as Barcelona have indeed reached new heights under the leadership of Flick.
As a matter of fact, the Catalans are closing in on a historic achievement, having already scored five goals in a single game 11 times this season.
Guardiola, for his part, has taken note of Barcelona’s form this season, though the Catalan will be more worried about Real Madrid this week.
Indeed, Real Madrid are set to take on the Premier League giants on Tuesday, though the reigning European champions are heading into this game with a depleted squad.
Guardiola, though, highlighted that Real Madrid are serial winners and praised their consistency.
Arsenal have slapped an asking price of £100 million on William Saliba amid interest from Real Madrid.
The representatives of the Frenchman have held talks with the La Liga club as Los Blancos look to sign him during the next summer transfer window, and the Gunners are looking to hold on to him beyond this season.
Saliba sees joining Madrid as the ultimate dream of his career, and the prospect of playing with his international teammate and friend Kylian Mbappe appeals to the Arsenal star.
Madrid are short of centre-back options at the moment following key injuries to their best players in the position, and they are desperate to land the Gunners defender.
It will take plenty of money to convince Arsenal into parting with Saliba anytime soon, and it appears the Spanish club are ready and willing to make him the most expensive defender in history.
The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League, with 116 appearances to his name for the North London club.
Arsenal are challenging for the English top-flight title for the third campaign running after finishing second behind Manchester City in each of the last two seasons, and Saliba has been very crucial to their recent progress.
However, a move to Madrid will be very tempting given their status as the biggest club on the planet, and the Gunners may need to win a major silverware this term to have a chance of holding on to him.
They are currently challenging for the Premier League and Champions League having been dumped out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and Saliba will hope to help them win both competitions.
Victor Osimhen has shared a new update following reports that both Arsenal and Chelsea could make a summer transfer window swoop for the forward.
The Nigerian international failed to secure a mega-money permanent move away from Napoli last summer, forcing a loan to Turkey for the 2024/25 campaign as he joined Galatasaray until the end of the current season. Both Arsenal and Chelsea have held interest since last year, and a winter deadline day move was not out of the realms of possibility.
Osimhen has not wasted his year, though, scoring 17 goals in 23 appearances at the Turkish giants. With such form, he may hope big suitors continue to glance in his direction ahead of this summer’s transfer window. Indeed, The Chronicle reported over the weekend that Newcastle United are set to be offered the chance to sign Osimhen again this summer, after baulking at Napoli’s £113million asking price last year.
The forward will be available for £60million this summer, however, and tht could also tempt Arsenal and Chelsea to bid for him. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old was unable to get himself on the scoresheet of his team’s latest Turkish Super Lig fixture.
That wasn’t entirely his fault after opponents Adana Demirspor walked off the pitch in the 30th minute of their clash on Sunday. The bottom-of-the-league side were unhappy with a penalty awarded to Osimhen’s team, Alvaro Morata took and scored it, then they protested until the match was called off.
Afterwards, the striker made a caption-less post to Instagram of key highlights from the brief run-out he and his teammates had instead of a full fixture. With no outcome decided for this chaotic mess yet, Galatasaray issued a public statement: “On Sunday, February 9, 2025, prior to, during, and following the match between Galatasaray and Adana Demirspor, our club has made the necessary applications to judicial authorities to shed light on the processes experienced.