Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed the departure of Vitor Pereira as head coach following their 2-0 away lose to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Wolves currently sit bottom of the Premier League table without a win from their first eight games and look to be favourites for relegation. The club have acted fast in replacing Vitor Periera with unknown manager Josh McEwen taking the reigns must to the disappointment of Wolves fans who are concerned that an unknown manager with no experience has been handed the tough task of saving Wolves from relegation woth a number of supporters clubs already criticising the appointment. A statement from Wolves was released earlier this morning.
Wolverhampton Wanderers can confirm that Vitor Pereira has left his position as head coach by mutual consent. The club wishes to express its gratitude to Vitor for his dedication and hard work during his tenure at Molineux.
This decision comes after a period in which results have unfortunately fallen short of both the club’s and supporters’ expectations. After careful consideration, the club’s leadership felt that a change was necessary not only to address immediate challenges on the pitch, but also to lay a stronger foundation for the long-term progress and success of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In light of this, the club is pleased to announce the appointment of Josh McEwen, as Vitor’s successor. The club believes that Josh’s fresh approach and vision can help to turn the season around, instil renewed confidence in the squad, and set a positive course for the future. Wolverhampton Wanderers are committed to supporting Josh as he takes on this role and look forward to the next chapter under his leadership.
Josh added a brief statement saying “I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to manage Wolves, it is a club that belongs in the Premier league and our whole focus is on helping improve both performance and results on the pitch to ensure the club is still in the Premier League next season. I know concerns have been raised about myself being appointed but I urge our fans to get behind the players and give me the chance to show that I can turn this season around and keep this fantastic football club where they belong.”
Subs: Madueke, Gabriel, Mosquera, Odegaard (On 67), Saka (On 67), Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Zubimendi
Q: Cedric a massive point for your side how happy are you after that game?
Cedric Veenstra “I am delighted with the performance of my team, we played against a really top team and I thought that we worked so hard on and off the ball to make the game so competitive and I thought we deserved that point. Patterson had a great game made a couple of really good saves but I thought we also created a couple of chances where if you can take one of them you could end up with three points but we’re happy with a point.”
Q: Josh a 0-0 draw Viktor Gyokeres having the biggest chance. Some have said they worry if he can fit into your system do you think he can?
Josh McEwen “Viktor knows this chance he should do better but how many top strikers miss chances, he is such a fantastic player we are lucky to have him and I am sure he will score a lot of goals for us. The young lads today were amazing I am so proud of them especially Ayyoub (Bouaddi) and Marek (Pienczak) the way Ayyoub was so composed in midfield made many great passes and protected the defence and Marek where the striker was trying to bully him but he was strong won a lot of headers and made some key tackles. We want to win obviously we deserved to but the young lads were great and now we have a couple of tough games with Liverpool to prepare for.”
Arsenal (4-2-1-3): Kepa, Laimer (Off 45), Gabriel (Off 45), Saliba, Zinchenko (Off 45), Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Subs: Madueke, Kiwior, Mosquera (On 45), Pienczak (On 45), Nwaneri, Vieira, Merino, Jesus (On 45), Bouaddi
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Marquinhos, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 62), Salah (Off 56), Gakpo (Off 52), Wirtz, Isak
Subs: Jaros, Militao (On 62), Szoboszlai (On 52), Ekitike (On 56), Gomez, Elliott, Chiesa, Fofana, Tsimikas
Q: Josh out of the FA Cup after a tough defeat to Liverpool. What went wrong today?
Josh McEwen “It is a difficult one the first half we got off to a terrible start and never really recovered from it. Half time we changed shape to try and get more control but on the counter and in transitions Liverpool were so much better than us and we can have no complaints that we lost. We worked hard but the quality wasn’t there today when we had the ball and it must improve for the next game with Liverpool in the Champions League.”
Q: Arne a dominant win for your side that sees you go into the next round. How much confidence does that give you ahead of your Champions League tie here midweek?
Arne Slot “A lot I think, we dominated the game against them last month but only drew today we won 2-0 and we could have scored a couple more goals. Arsenal are a tough team and we expect another tough game midweek but if we play like we did today we have a great chance and we will try and do the same on Tuesday which is to start fast force them into mistakes and try to win the game.”
Subs: Madueke, Zinchenko, Mosquera, Odegaard (On 66), Nwaneri (On 66), Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi
Liverpool (4-2-3-1):Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Marquinhos, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 66), Salah (Off 73), Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Isak (Off 73)
Subs: Jaros, Militao (On 66), Wirtz (On 73), Ekitike, Gomez, Elliott, Chiesa, Fofana (On 73), Tsimikas
Q: Josh a much better performance from your team but you still end up on the losing team. It was a special freekick from Szoboszlai but how much does it hurt losing so late?
Josh McEwen “Of course it was a special free kick similar to the one he scored at Anfield last season but it hurts because they have had one shot all game and they beat us 1-0. I thought today we were so good we deserved to win the game but we lose Bukayo (Saka) has two one on ones where their keeper has made outstanding saves and we dominated the ball it is just not nice to lose. I thought Jakub (Kiwior) was outstanding at left back he was the best player on the pitch by a mile I am so happy with his attitude and today he got his chance and he was outstanding the whole defence was but unfortunately we lose and now we have a tough tie at Anfield next week.”
Q: Arne a dramatic late win. What a goal to win any game what are your thoughts?
Arne Slot “Yeah well we saw the same goal last season from Dominik (Szoboszlai) and he picked another huge game to score it again. He is a special player and today he showed again he can deliver in big moments. We knew Arsenal would be a tough game especially after the game at weekend where we beat them but we dug in and maybe we didn't deserve to win but we deserved to win last month and didn’t so I think this is football we take a 1-0 lead and next week at Anfield will be an exciting game I am sure.”
Subs: Meslier, Justin, Ampadu (On 78), Nmecha, Bornauw, Gruev (On 49), Joseph, Ramazani, Byram
Q: Josh back to winning ways after a winless run. Viktor only had one touch in the first half which was him kicking the game off. What did you say to him at half time to get that reaction?
Josh McEwen “To Viktor we said we were sorry we didn’t create him a chance and when we created them for him he scored two goals, he has had a tough run lately hes missed a few chances but we haven’t created the amount of chances his workrate deserves but today we did. Again Ayyoub (Bouaddi) was outstanding he was the best player on the pitch especially after their goal the way he dominated the midfield every challenge he won and his passing was near perfect he is going to be such a great player for us over the coming years. It was great to have David on the bench hopefully he is back playing soon but Kepa has played well so we will see but he won’t be in net Wednesday it is to soon for him.”
Q: Jagoba a tough game against one of the top teams in the league what are your thoughts on the match?
Jagoba Arrasate “Arsenal have a lot of talent in their team and we saw that today, the first half I thought we kept them at arms length allowing them to pass without really causing us any threat. To concede two goals in the first ten minutes of the second half after that half really disappoints us because I told the lads at half time that they would come out and progress the ball up the field faster and that is what did us for the first goal and from there the second quickly followed from a great through ball and suddenly your 2-0 down and chasing a game against one of the top sides in Europe you have little chance of coming back but we fought back got a goal but just couldn’t create a second chance.”
Liverpool (4-2-3-1):Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Marquinhos, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 61), Salah, Gakpo, Wirtz (Off 81), Isak
Subs: Jaros, Militao, Szoboszlai (On 81), Chiesa, Ekitike, Elliott, Gomez, Jones (On 61), Tsimikas
Subs: Raya, Mosquera, Gabriel, Eze, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi
Q: Arne a humbling defeat did their change in shape surprise you?
Arne Slot “In the first half it did, we didn’t expect them to play Martin (Odegaard) deeper and it took us a little bit to long to adapt to it, the players said they thought he was just dropping deeper but playing in behind but it was also the fact Declan (Rice) was further forward it caused us more problems. We weren’t good enough over two legs to qualify when you analysis it but we let our fans down the atmosphere they created we can’t say we lose because their shape surprises us because they score twice in the last ten minutes although their third was obviously a counter when we pushed up but they deserved to go through over the two legs so congratulations to them.”
Q: Josh a change of shape and what a result by your side how proud are you of coming to Anfield and turning it around?
Josh McEwen “I can’t take the credit it goes to the players they went out there and they dominated probably the best team in Europe at the minute. Martin (Odegaard) and Declan (Rice) in front of Martin (Zubimendi) all three of them today were perfect and it made the rest of the teams jobs easier because they worked tirelessly they were always wanting the ball off a team mate or off the opponent and then Viktor’s (Gyokeres) finish at the end to seal it absolutely unstoppable right into the top corner I am proud of all my players what a performance.”
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, Gabriel (On 65), Eze (On 65), Nwaneri (On 65), Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi (On 65)
Manchester United (5-2-3): Lammens, Henrichs, Mazraoui, Yoro, Maguire (Off 65), Carlos Augusto, Ruiz (Off 88), Mainoo (Off 65), Mbuemo, Sesko, Cunha (Off 88)
Subs: Bayinder, Mendy (On 65), Johnson (On 88), Hojlund, Leon, Amad (On 65), Zirkzee (On 88), Rashford, Fredricson
Q: Josh an absolutely dominant performance from your side. You changed back to a 4-2-1-3 formation is that the best your team has ever played?
Josh McEwen “It is up there I think the Liverpool game midweek away at Anfield with the circumstances being a goal down maybe edges this one but no doubt this is up there I think between them two games. I am so happy for both Viktor (Gyokeres) and Bukayo (Saka) that they are scoring goals because the work they have put in is unbelievable. We went back with Martin (Odegaard) pushed up because we know they play with a two in midfield so we thought if Dec (Rice) and Martin (Zubimendi) can do what they do there it will free Martin up but what a goal by Martin it is the best goal a player has scored for me from that distance to go in off the post it was magical and he is another player who works so hard he deserved it.”
Q: Goncalvo a disappointing result for your team a humiliating 6-1 loss against a big rival. What are your thoughts
Goncalvo Alvares “I am sorry for our fans who travelled so far to watch our team. Manchester United can not lose a game of football 6-1 against anybody. The first half was very even we had more of the ball but they scored a unstoppable goal from thirty yards before half time to make it 3-1 which wasn’t a fair reflection of the half but the second half we self destructed in that initial ten minutes and at 5-1 down it was just to easy for them and it shows how far off the top we are right now. We had injuries to our defence but the players that came in must do better like I say 6-1 loss for this club is never going to be accepted.”
Tough spell with the Sunderland draw and successive home defeats to Liverpool, sending you out of the FA Cup. Bummer. But you've bounced back with the wins against Leeds, Liverpool and Man United, though I wasn't particularly pleased with the latter. So the last two Liverpool games were in the Champions League, right? At what stage are you now, and whom do you have next?
We are into the quarter finals and we have Atletico Madrid in the next round. The FA Cup and top four was our aim Liverpool really put us to the sword in that game we tried matching fire with fire and had to switch up to get the better of them the first leg we were so unlucky one shot one goal a freekick from thirty yards exactly the same as the one he scored vs them this season.
Subs: Musso, Gimenez (On 84), Cardoso, Raspdori, Lenglet, De Paul (On 70), Espi, Almada (On 73), Pubill
Q: Josh a humbling 3-0 loss today how costly was the mistake from Kepa just before half time that gifted them a goal?
Josh McEwen “It was a tough game which is what we expected, obviously going behind just before half time made things a little harder but we weren’t good enough today. A couple of the goals maybe Kepa will be disappointed with especially the first but other players had bad game sand when three or four players aren’t at it against a team as good as Atletico Madrid are your going to struggle. We have ninety minutes left to play and we will give our all to come back and show what this team is about.”
Q: Marcelo after Diego Simeone decided to walk away from Atletico during the international break how difficult was preparation for this game?
Marcelo Lucero “Diego is a legend of this club and any game without him will always be hard. I said to the players win this game for Diego because he has done so much for the club and although this season wasn’t our best everyone loves Diego so much. The way we played was outstanding against a top team who cause everyone problems but they didn’t have many clear cut chances and Julian (Alvarez) was in clinical form he is unlucky not to have a hat trick but the form he has shown this season he is one of the top strikers in Europe for sure he is the top scorer in La Liga and now he is joint top in the Champions League we are so lucky to have him.”
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Di Lorenzo, Konsa, Torres (Off 90), Alaba, Kamara, Tielemans, Guessand, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins
Q: Cristian a quite remarkable game you hit the bar twice and within two minutes Arsenal went down the other end and scored. How have you failed to win that game?
Cristian Cuesta “Crazy game crazy moments, I can’t believe twice we hit the bar and then twice they score on the counter. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves with these chances an switch off because it has cost us two points that we deserved if we win 4-0 and them chances go in there can’t be any complaints we hit the bar and they counter so again we can’t complain but we have to win when we have a two goal advantage at home.”
Q: Josh the second time you’ve faced a team whose manager has just left. Your team was much changed and a couple of individual errors in the first half saw you trailing 2-0 at half time what did you say to your players?
Josh McEwen “Yeah individual errors were the difference at half time twice our midfield let the defence down but the team showed the character they have to come back and fight for a point. It is always difficult to come to Villa park and today was no exception but when you make mistakes it gives them confidence and they had a lot of chances but we also dug deep at a time when we could have panicked and again we have shown what we are made of. We made a lot of changes to the team so maybe this is the reason for the slow start but a point is not a terrible result.”
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Costa, Llorente, Le Normand, Gimenez, Hancko, Kubo, Barrios, De Paul, Baena (Off 86), Alvarez (Off 76), Vlahovic
Subs: Musso, Pubill, Cardoso, Raspadori, O’Reilly, Simeone (On 86), Espi (On 76), Almada, Lenglet
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, Laimer, Saliba, Mosquera, Kiwior, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard (Off 76)
Q: Marcelo a draw on the day but your through to the Semi Finals of the Champions League how pleased are you over the two legs?
Marcelo Lucero “Today we draw but we deserve to win again but it is ok because we are into the Semi Finals which is a fantastic achievement for the club and the fans. Arsenal are a tough opponent and we saw this today and I think it really shows how impressive we were last week, to go to the Emirates and dominate like we did was massive but now we focus on the next round and trying to win this fantastic team this trophy because we have come so close in recent years.”
Q: Josh out of the Champions League there are reports the board are unhappy with the performance of the team this season do you feel your job might be under pressure?
Josh McEwen “I think when your at a club like Arsenal pressure is always on but I don’t think there is any risk of me being let go at the moment. When I joined the club the intention of the board was to try and win a trophy that's true but the priority was to ensure Champions League football was at the Emirates again next season and to then challenge for more trophies next season. Obviously everyone is disappointed to go out but we will bounce back try and finish the season strong and we’ll go from there but I don’t plan on leaving after a tough Champions League campaign.”
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, Laimer, Saliba, Gabriel, Pienczak, Zubimendi (Off 72), Rice, Odegaard (Off 72), Saka, Jesus (Off 58), Nwaneri
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, Kiwior, Eze (On 72), Trossard, Madueke, Norgaard, Gyokeres (On 58), Bouaddi (On 72)
Subs: Vladimarsson, Kayode, Outtara (On 56), Meite, Pinnock, Munetsi, Igor Thiago (On 58), Gustavo Nunes
Q: Josh after a tough week where you were eliminated from Europe and some have questioned your role as Arsenal manager is this the perfect response?
Josh McEwen “I don’t pay attention to the outside noise that I can’t control, I trust the board have been honest with me and that my players show that they support me and they did that with a fantastic performance which I would rather talk about. Gabi (Jesus) has had a lot of injuries the last few years and for him to score today I am so happy for him because he works so hard and hasn’t had as many chances as he deserves because of Gyokeres form but today we decide Viktor (Gyokeres) could do with a break and Gabi worked hard and deserved to start and he scores a great goal. The display was perfect from all my players.”
Q: Vasco how hard is it to face a team when their manager has been questioned and they have been eliminated from Europe midweek?
Vasco Seabra “It’s never easy playing Arsenal especially at the Emirates but you could sense the Atmosphere their today they got behind their team and manager and it was a tough game for us. I’d be amazed if they changed manager after just bringing him in but football is a funny old game but obviously he has them in a strong position to finish in the top four but we can’t think about that we are in a really tough position with five games left we need to start winning games next week we have no game so we have extra time to work on getting things right and keeping Brentford where they belong.”
Wolves (4-3-3): Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Krejci, Bueno, Florentino, Doyle, Toth, Esse, Arokodare, George (Off 83)
Q: Dylan not the performance you wanted that result all but ends your hopes of Champions League football how important is it to bounce back and try and get some European football at Molineux next season?
Dylan Herbert “Yeah its crucial we bounce back from this defeat to put ourselves in the best position to try and get into Europe. When I took over I knew it would be a tough challenge I know we were in fourth but you look at the quality in the Premier League and no games easy and we just haven’t found the form we’ve needed to maintain that push but with four games left we know if we win them we could still be in Europe and that would be a fantastic achievement for this club. Arsenal are a top team we saw that today but we started brightly and on another day could have nicked a goal but look they deserved to win in the end.”
Q: Josh booed when you came out the tunnel by the Wolves fans does that hurt?
Josh McEwen “A little bit but thats football, they don’t know the full story behind me leaving but look we had some good times together I got them to a cup final and left the team in a stronger position than when I took over but they can boo me thats their choice a lot of fans clapped a lot booed it is what they have the right to do. I thought my team were excellent again today against a tough Wolves team Julen (Agirrezabala) was at his best first half but we kept creating chances and got our breakthrough in the end."
A harsh reality at this point of the season. One poor game and you're out. Still, it's quite rare for Arsenal to be in a Champions League semi final, so I don't believe it's too bad to have that benchmark ahead of you still. Something to aim for next season, I suppose.
After the Liverpool win we thought maybe we could go a bit further but we got arguably the third toughest draw and Alvarez really dominated us over the two games he seems really good on this years game.
Subs: Kepa, Kiwior (On 76), Mosquera, Eze, Trossard (On 68), Martinelli, Norgaard, Jesus (On 68), Zubimendi (On 76)
Q: Patrick a huge win for your side today that ramps up the pressure on Josh McEwen. Would a return to Arsenal be of interest to yourself?
Patrick Vieira “I don’t think about this, Josh is the Arsenal manager I think he has done a good job in getting them into a strong position to qualify for the Champions League compared to the position they were in before he took over but I don’t think about Arsenal the project at Chelsea is my focus our season hasn’t been good enough and we want to finish the season strong and finish as high as possible to give us a chance at trying to sneak a European place which is on the table. Today was the best we have played for some time we controlled a lot of the game and I thought we deserved to win for the start we made.”
Q: Josh if you finish top four will that be enough do you think to keep you in your job?
Josh McEwen “I think so, the plan when I joined was on finishing top four to anybody that thought we would just win every game and win the league from the position and condition the team was in is unrealistic but the lads have fought hard to put us in a strong position we need one win to wrap it up and then we will see what the summer holds. We have three games left my focus is on winning them if the board make a decision after this to part ways then that is upto them but the conversations I’ve had are all positive so I don’t believe what is being written.”
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, Laimer, Gabriel, Saliba, Pienczak, Bouaddi (Off 61), Rice, Odegaard, Saka (Off 68), Jesus (Off 61), Eze
Subs: Kepa, Kiwior, Mosquera, Nwaneri (On 68), Trossard, Martinelli, Norgaard, Gyokeres (On 61), Zubimendi (On 61)
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Palmer, O’Shea, Greaves, Baggott, Davis, Matusiwa, Nunez, Egeli, Clarke, Szmodics (Off 88), Abraham
Subs: Andrew, Aradj, Ogbene, Hirst (On 88), Young, McAteer, Al Hamadi, Philogene, Clarke
Q: Josh after the defeat last week and all the talk that has been in the papers about you how important was that win?
Josh McEwen “It was very important to win the game because this ensures that Champions League football will be at the Emirates next season. It wasn’t our best performance in the first half we know that but the team reacted well with Viktor (Gyokeres) and Ethan (Nwaneri) both coming off the bench to score the goals and overall I think we deserved the win. It has been a tough season but we will fight for the next two games to try and win finish the season strong and then the planning starts for next season and hopefully ending this clubs drought in terms of trophies particularly the Premier League title.”
Q: Brian you hit the post twice once at 0-0 and once at 1-0 how crucial could those unlucky moments be in your season?
Brian **bleep**an “Lets be honest they could be the difference between us playing Premier League football and Championship football next season. We deserved something from the game the performance was nearly perfect from my lads but we’ve come undone to two goals that were probably avoidable but the talent they have those fine margins will cost you and today we’ve left empty handed but on another day we could have left with one or even three points it just hurts because of how hard the lads tried.”
Q: Stanley a backs to the wall performance after your early goal. You went behind but how pleased are you with that late goal?
Stanley Herbert “Yeah delighted we showed real spirit to fight back and get the goal, we played a really tough opponent and I thought that the way we kept fighting obviously Verbruggen has made some top saves but thats what you have a top keeper for and in the end we’ve managed to get a point. We’ve got one game left with Nottingham Forest and our aim is to win that match and finish as high as possible.”
Q: Josh two points dropped at the end. You made a lot of changes to your team is that a decision you regret now?
Josh McEwen “No definitely not. We dominated a large period of the game and deserved to win. We should have done better for the second goal for sure and the first was a couple of experienced players making mistakes but we have a tough game next week at the Emirates if we lose Tottenham can win the title and we can’t allow that to happen at home so we will work hard this week to prepare and we will try and stop them winning their first Premier League title.”
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, Laimer, Gabriel, Saliba, Pienczak, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Nwaneri
Q: Josh a draw to end what has been a disappointing campaign for Arsenal fans. With the season over how likely do you think it is that you will be in the dugout for Arsenal next season?
Josh McEwen “Of course it hasn’t been a great campaign for Arsenal we know this but I came in when the team was in a position where they might not even be in the champions League and we qualified with games to spare so I think I showed my quality. I think that I will be here I hope I will be here all the conversations with the players with the board they are all positive so I think it can be a good season for us next season with the right investment we will hopefully be fighting to win the league this time next season and we will hopefully be celebrating.”
Q: Mikel you have fallen short of the title by just four points how are you feeling right now?
Mikel Arteta “We are disappointed because we fought so hard all season to try to win the title and to miss out on the last game really hurts but I think this team showed their quality and we will be stronger next season I am sure of that. Today the first half we were caught a little off guard by how reserved they were we thought they would come at us more and try to win but they were happy with a draw to stop us having any chance. The second half we created some chances but David Raya made some good saves and we couldn’t get the goal but it wouldn’t have been enough anyway with City winning.”
Not the most competitive season in Premier League history. Winning the league with 77 points, that hasn't been possible since the 96/97-season, where Man United won it with 75 points. Only 5 points from the last 4 games must be a disappointment, but you could see Man City running away, and with the 5th place at a distance, perhaps there was a lack of motivation to end the season on a high. Having the league top scorer and the EPL Player of the Season must be something you can build on towards the upcoming season. Good luck with the summer business. It will be interesting to see how you approach this...
Yeah quite a strange season if thats the points total to aim for I'm confident but I also feel it will be harder next season I should have stayed at Wolves might have won league way we were going :p. I will try keep it realistic as possible with my targets in mind a few will leave but we will be stronger I am sure but no need for drastic changes
Arsenal are delighted to announce the signings of two left backs as Myles Lewis Skelly and Owen Wijndal have signed for the club. Myles Lewis-Skelly left the club last summer but the club included a buy back clause of £35,000,000 in the deal that has been activated whilst left back Owen Wijndal has signed on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract at Ajax. Myles has signed on a five year deal whilst Owen Wijndal has signed a three year contract. Heres what both players said about the move
Myles Lewis-Skelly “I am over the moon to be back at the club, when I heard Arsenal wanted to bring me home I was in no doubt I wanted to come back and to get the deal done I can’t wait to get started and help the team win trophies. I was gutted to leave the club last year but Antonio Conte made it clear I wasn’t part of his plans and I had a great season at Bayer last year but coming home is the right choice for me. I’m hoping for a great season where we will hopefully win a few trophies and then obviously hoping to get into the Euros squad.”
Owen Wijndal “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to play for Arsenal. They are a massive club that I know will be competing for trophies this season. To test myself in the Premier League is something every footballer dreams of I know competition for places is going to be high but with the amount of games we will play and with this manager I know I am going to be given chances to play it is upto me now to fight for the starting berth probably with Myles.”
Josh McEwen “I’m really happy to get these two deals done really early in the window, Myles was someone I said to the board straight away we need to bring him back and the fact he was so quick to accept the proposal shows how much he loves this club. When I heard Owen was available on a free transfer it was a no brainer he is such a talented left back who will provide competition in a position where we had to play players out of position to facilitate last season so having two left backs join so early clearly strengthens the talented team we have here already.”
In more news four players have departed as Mikel Merino has signed for Serie A Champions Inter Milan for £28,000,000, Reiss Nelson has joined Wolves for £14,000,000 Fabio Vieira has signed for Bundesliga winners Borussia Dortmund for £25,500,000 and Oleks Zinchenko has signed for Palermo for £8,900,000
Josh McEwen “I think we had to let these lads leave they didn’t get the game time they deserved last season and they all came to me and said they wanted to leave to get more game time and we couldn’t refuse them the opportunities to sign for some top clubs. We thank them all and wish them the best for their futures.”
Arsenal are delighted to announce the signings of three players as Hugo Larsson, Michael Kayode and Jared Branthwaite. Hugo joins for £48,200,000 whilst Michael Kayode signs for £19,200,000 from recently relegated Brentford whereas Jared Branthwaite signs from Championship side Everton for £33,500,000. Here’s what the players had to say
Hugo Larsson “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Frankfurt but when the opportunity to join Arsenal presented itself it was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to joining one of the biggest clubs not only in England but Europe and I can’t wait to get started in helping the team achieve its goals this season of trying to win the Premier League and Champions League I can’t wait to meet my team mates and get started. I spoke with Viktor Gyokeres about the club on international duty and he spoke so highly of Josh and the club and I can’t wait to get going”
Michael Kayode “I am pleased to be given the opportunity to play for a huge club like Arsenal. Last season was frustrating for myself I picked up a number of injuries and had a falling out with the manager which meant I didn’t play as much as I’d have liked and for the season to end in relegation broke my heart as I loved my time at Brentford and hope they can come back up but my focus is on my new team and trying to help this team win trophies.”
Jared Branthwaite “I am buzzing to be here, obviously finishing third but losing in the playoffs last season was really painful but to be given the chance to play in the Prem again in a Euros year is an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. I know the competition for places here will be tough but with Gabriel leaving I hope I can grab my opportunity when it comes and help the team get back to winning trophies.”
Josh McEwen “We are really happy with our business here, we have added real quality and competition for places to our squad. Hugo was our top midfield target he is a young player who is very talented and we can’t wait to see him develop even further here. Michael is a great right back who provides us with strong competition at right back last season Konrad (Laimer) was our only right back so it was crucial to get him support and competition. Jared is a talented centre back who is still young but is vastly experienced and is a leader who I’m sure will offer us a lot this season as we aim to compete on four fronts.”
In more news winger Noni Madueke has joined Manchester United in a deal worth £58,400,000 whilst centre back Gabriel has joined rivals Chelsea for £110,000,000, Jakub Kiwior has joined Aston Villa for £16,600,000 and young defender Vincenzo Testa has joined Fiorentina on a season long loan deal with no option to buy.
Josh McEwen “Noni didn’t get the game time he wanted in the second half of the season and made it clear he wanted to move to get more game time and Man United matched our valuation. Gabriel received an approach from Chelsea and decided he wanted to make the move and they made us a very good offer that we couldn’t decline so we wish him the best of luck at Chelsea. Jakub wanted more first game football he was immense everytime he played last season but we couldn’t guarantee him the minutes he wanted and deserved. Vinny going back to Italy will be great for him to get some experience playing top division football, Fiorentina are a top team who will offer him the right tests moving forwards and we look forward to him returning next season.”
