Official: Matteo Guendouzi joins Marseille

Matteo Guendouzi has joined Marseille for the season on loan ahead of a permanent move there next summer.

Marseille have confirmed that Matteo Guendouzi will spend the 2021/22 season on loan with them.

The Ligue side will pay around €1m for the year-long loan before stumping up another €10m to purchase the midfielder due to an obligatory purchase clause.

Arsenal had wanted to get around €20m for the 22-year-old but, despite multiple suitors that should have generated a bidding war, Guendouzi seemed only interested in moving to the Velodrome.

He was so enamoured by the proposal they put in front of him not even Borussia Dortmund nor Unai Emery, the man who made him a first-team starter at Arsenal, could turn his head. Arsenal even tried to include him in a swap deal for Nuno Tavares, but Guendouzi wasn’t moved.

Whatever really happened between Mikel Arteta and Matteo Guendouzi, for a club desperate for both good players and more money, the whole thing seems like awful management all around.

Konstantinos Mavropanos joins Stuttgart

Konstantinos Mavropanos has completed a move from Arsenal to Stuttgart today.

Chris Wheatley tweeted out on Tuesday that Konstantinos Mavropanos was expected to complete a permanent move to Stuttgart within the next week.

On Thursday, he clarified that it would actually be a loan with an obligation to buy. It has now been confirmed by Arsenal:

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1408100397957459973?s=19

With David Ornstein providing details:

Konstantinos Mavropanos joins Stuttgart from Arsenal, worth up to £5m. 1yr loan then 3yr deal if turned permanent. £500k loan fee, £3m chance to buy (obligation if #VfB stay up, option if relegated). Bonuses up to £1.5m. Sell-on clause @TheAthleticUK #AFC https://t.co/2MyBzLEH3L
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 24, 2021

As we covered earlier this week, BILD reported that Mavropanos was indeed close to a move to Stuttgart. According to the German outlet, it’s a loan with an option to buy (€7m).

That figure is roughly consistent with previous reports that Mavropanos’ transfer would cost around £7m (€8.2m).

Obviously, it’s much better for Arsenal to agree on an obligation to buy than have another year of limbo where Stuttgart might not even take up their purchase option at the end of it.

Official: Trae Coyle joins FC Lausanne-Sport on permanent deal

Trae Coyle has left Arsenal for Swiss Super League side FC Lausanne-Sport on a permanent deal, the Gunners have confirmed.

Arsenal and FC Lausanne-Sport both confirmed on Monday morning that Trae Coyle has completed a permanent transfer between the two clubs. He’s signing a long-term deal with the Swiss Super League side, ending 12 or so years in North London.

The 20-year-old spent part of the last season on loan with League One side Gillingham, scoring four goals, but he returned in January to rejoin the Arsenal u23s. He helped Steve Bould’s side avoid relegation with a goal and an assist in his starts in April.

Coyle never made his first-team debut for Arsenal, but he did feature in a friendly match under Mikel Arteta last summer, taking on Brentford.

FC Lausanne-Sport write that Coyle arrived to meet his new teammates at the end of last week, and he’s joining on a long-term contract.

The departure represents Arsenal’s first official sale of the summer, excluding free-agent exits. Though it seems Zech Medley is close to following Coyle out of the club, after he also spent part of the season on loan with Gillingham.

Coyle was a big part of the Arsenal u18 side that won the u18 Premier League in 2018/19, scoring eight goals and assisting six in just 14 appearances. But he never quite managed to transfer that form to the u23s.

It was the right time for Coyle to move on and get his senior career going properly. There’s no word yet on the fee for the transfer, or any potential sell-on or buy-back clauses, but we’ll bring you news on that front when we have it.

Official: Zech Medley joins K.V. Oostende on permanent deal

Zech Medley has left Arsenal on a permanent deal for K.V. Oostende, with a sell-on and a first-option clause in his contract.

Arsenal and K.V. Oostende both confirmed the transfer of Zech Medley between the two clubs on Monday morning. Medley spent four-and-a-half years with the Gunners after joining from Chelsea, though he was always an Arsenal boy at heart.

Oostende have confirmed that Medley is signing a deal to 2025, with an option for a further year. Club president Gauthier Ganaye says the Arsenal academy defender was one of their key targets for the summer.

“Zech has been on our radar for a long time,” Ganaye said. “He was one of our main targets and I am delighted that we have succeeded in bringing him to Ostend.

“With his 1.95m height, his speed, front-foot defense, and quality on the ball, he fits perfectly into our game system. I look forward to seeing Zech make progress within our squad.”

Medley then gave his thoughts on the deal to the club website.

“I am happy that the deal with KVO has been settled,” Medley said. “The Belgian league has evolved enormously in recent seasons and it is a stepping stone to the bigger leagues. Just look at Jack Hendry relaunching his career here.

“I sign a contract for four seasons here, which is a clear sign of confidence from the KVO board. I’m looking forward to getting to know my teammates and playing my first game as soon as possible.”

Football.London previously reported that the 20-year-old Arsenal centre-back would join Oostende on a permanent deal this summer.

Rather than remaining with Arsenal, where he still had a year on his contract and an option for another, Medley decided to seek a new challenge in Belgium. He’s expected to play regular first-team football with Oostende.

Arsenal have reportedly inserted a sell-on clause into Medley’s deal, as well as a first-option clause. So the Gunners will get a cut of the profits if Medley moves on elsewhere, and they’ll also get the chance to bring him back if that’s what they’d prefer.

Medley spent the season on loan with Gillingham and Kilmarnock, making 28 appearances between the two.

Personally, I think this is the right decision. Some players seem to cling onto the Arsenal safety net for a bit too long when it’s clear they need to move on and get their career going. It’s good to see a player taking a chance.

There’s just so much competition for places at centre-back at Arsenal right now. Only looking at players in the 19-21 age group, Arsenal have Omar Rekik, Daniel Ballard, Harry Clarke, Mark McGuinness, and Jonathan Dinzeyi, not to mention William Saliba.

Medley clearly sees more of a pathway to a good professional career with this move to Oostende, and we wish him all the best. If it all goes well, maybe we’ll see him back someday.

Official: Mark McGuinness joins Cardiff City on permanent deal

Mark McGuinness has signed for Cardiff City on a permanent deal, becoming the third player to leave Arsenal today.

Arsenal have announced that Mark McGuinness has joined Cardiff City on a permanent deal, bringing an end his 10-year-spell at the club. He signed a professional contract with the club in 2019.

McGuinness came to the attentions of most Arsenal fans in pre-season before the 20/21 campaign when he scored a bullet header against MK Dons on his senior debut.

Speaking to Cardiff City TV, McGuinness said: “As soon as a Club like Cardiff City were interested I was excited and I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“It’s nice to get everything sorted early on and hopefully I can meet the boys and get going.

“My job is to stop the ball going into the back of the net. I love heading and I love defending.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to learn and improve in the next few years at the Club.”

The news comes after Arsenal announced that Zech Medley had joined K.V. Oostende and Trae Coyle has joined FC Lausanne-Sport. Both are also permanent deals.

Jason Sraha joins Barnsley after release by Arsenal

18-year-old centre-back Jason Sraha has joined Barnsley following a successful trial period at the club, having been released by Arsenal.

Earlier this month, the Premier League confirmed that Arsenal had released centre-back Jason Sraha. The defender had joined from Chelsea in 2019, making six u18 appearances in his first season.

But Sraha struggled with injuries, particularly in his second campaign, and he didn’t make a single competitive appearance in 2020/21. As a result, it wasn’t particularly surprising he was moving on.

The teenager has now been picked up by Barnsley. The Championship club confirmed on Tuesday that Sraha had undergone a successful trial period, and will now link up with their u23s for the coming campaign.

“I’m delighted,” Sraha said. “It’s a great club and I’ve just enjoyed it since I’ve been here. The lads welcomed me in and it was a great vibe when I walked through the door, a great bunch of lads and we bonded well and played well together.”

Academy Manager Bobby Hassell added: “We are delighted to bring David (Bremang) and Jason to the club. They are two players who impressed while on trial at the end of last season and who fit our philosophy and what we are trying to achieve.

“It’s now up to us to help them realise their potential and help them push for a place in the first-team set-up, but it will require hard work on their behalf.”

After their fifth-place finish in 2020/21, Barnsley should be pushing for promotion to the Premier League again this season. Sraha will hope he’s joined a club on the up that could give him the opportunity to break into senior football.

Arsenal prospect Daniel Oyegoke has signed for Brentford after confirming his exit from North London on social media.

Writing on Instagram earlier this week, Daniel Oyegoke explained that he had decided to leave Arsenal for a new challenge.

“What a journey it’s been at Arsenal,” Oyegoke said. “I have learnt so much during my time at this great club and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

“Thank you to the staff and players that have helped me along the way, I am so grateful for the opportunity and chance to stay, but it’s time for a new challenge. Thank you for everything!”

As he mentions, 18-year-old right-back Oyegoke was offered the chance to stay by Arsenal. The Premier League retained list confirmed that they’d presented him with a contract offer, but he evidently chose not to accept it.

Arsenal have now confirmed he has signed for Brentford.

The exact reasons behind Oyegoke’s departure are unclear at the moment. He wasn’t having any trouble getting games with Arsenal, and he was in the England u19s for a training camp recently, so he wasn’t being held back on that front either.

The teenager likely sees more of a pathway to senior football at Brentford, perhaps having seen Josh Dasilva make the same move and break into the first team.

Though it’s worth noting Dasilva did so when Brentford were a Championship club, and another former Arsenal full-back, Dominic Thompson, has not had such an easy time breaking through with Brentford – making nine starts in one-and-a-half seasons.

As for Arsenal, they’re fortunate enough to be blessed with a number of options at right-back. Whilst losing Oyegoke is a disappointment, it will give 17-year-old talent Brooke Norton-Cuffy a chance to step up in his place.

Daniel Ballard signs for Millwall on loan

Arsenal have confirmed that Daniel Ballard has joined Millwall on a season-long loan.

Charles Watts wrote on 30 June that Daniel Ballard was in the process of completing a 2021/22 loan move to Millwall, holding a medical at the club the same day.

Arsenal have now confirmed the move.

Football Insider initially broke the news last weekend that Millwall were leading the race to sign Ballard on loan. Watts then confirmed the story, tweeting that Ballard was edging towards a Millwall move.

At that point, Ballard hadn’t actually signed the deal, nor held a medical, but that has now been sorted.

Previous reports suggested at least five Championship clubs were interested in Ballard, as well as some clubs overseas. Blackpool were particularly keen to bring him back after the centre-back spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan with them.

But Blackpool are only now trying to settle into the Championship after their promotion from League One, whilst Millwall are a more established side in the division. That may well have influenced Arsenal and Ballard’s decision.

Arsenal sign Nikita Parris for £80,000

Arsenal have confirmed that Nikita Parris has joined the club as Lyon confirm the fee of €80,000 with add-ons of a possible €20,000.

Arsenal have signed former Manchester City striker and England international, Nikita Parris from Lyon.

Parris joined Lyon in the summer of 2019, playing 53 matches for them and scoring 33 goals, including a Champions League final goal against Bayern Munich in the 2020 final.

The 27-year-old, who also played for Everton, told Arsenal.com, “I’m very happy to be here, Arsenal has an unbelievable history and I want to be a part of this.

“I want to achieve all domestic titles and compete in the champions league here. I’m happy to be back in the WSL which has grown and improved so much since I left.

Jonas Eidevall, added: “I’m very pleased to have signed Nikita and add to our strong strike force. She is a talented player and has a winners mentality and I’m looking froward to working with her once she returns from the Olympics.”

Ben Sheaf completes permanent exit from Arsenal

Ben Sheaf has completed a permanent transfer to Coventry City, after spending a season on loan with the Championship side.

Coventry City and Arsenal confirmed the permanent transfer of 23-year-old Ben Sheaf to the Sky Blues on Thursday, following Sheaf’s loan spell with the club.

Sheaf is signing a three-year deal with his new club, moving for an undisclosed fee.

Manager Mark Robins said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Ben back to Coventry City. He showed great potential at Arsenal which prompted us to sign him last season and he re-affirmed that during his loan spell.

“We’re delighted to add him to our squad on a permanent basis and look forward to working with him.”

Coventry initially signed Sheaf on a loan deal with an obligation to buy, providing his loan spell met certain criteria. The permanent fee was set at £750,000, but it’s not clear whether or not Sheaf actually met the criteria during his loan spell.

Clearly, Coventry decided to bring him in, but it’s possible they didn’t activate the obligation and simply negotiated Sheaf’s exit at the end of the season.

It was certainly suspicious that Sheaf stopped getting starts pretty suddenly in February, even more so now they’ve signed him. It can’t have been that they didn’t rate him, so it’s possible he had a clause relating to the number of starts he made.

Either way, the existence of such a clause no longer mattered by mid-April, when Sheaf was ruled out for the remainder of the season through injury. Thankfully, he’s back out on the training pitches now and he’s secured his permanent transfer.

Sheaf has been with Arsenal since 2014, spending the last two-and-a-half seasons out on loan. He did manage to make his first-team debut in late 2017, but a permanent move was definitely the best next step for him.

Arsenal release 5 senior players & 4 youngsters

3/6/21

Arsenal have confirmed that a number of first teamers for the men’s team, one from the women’s and four from the u18 and u23 squads have been released at the end of their contracts with the club.

On Thursday, Arsenal confirmed that Dani Ceballos, David Luiz, Leonie Maier, Martin Odegaard and Mat Ryan will all leave the club when their contracts expire at the end of June.

We all knew that Luiz was off and we expected the loan players, Odegaard, Ceballos and Ryan to depart, with only Ryan holding a chance of a return to the club. As for Leonie Maier, well, we also knew she was off as she already told us she’s leaving.

All in all, there wasn’t much we all didn’t already know when it came to the senior players.

As for the Arsenal youngsters, there had been talk of a new contract for Joseph Olowu but he joins Levi Lang, Luke Plange and Jason Sraha in not signing new deals (or being offered them) and will also depart on 30 June.

Jill Roord became the first departure ahead of what looks to be a busy summer for all teams at Arsenal as her departure for Wolfsburg is announced.

Roord made 50 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 15 goals including three hattricks.

The January 2021 transfer window has now closed, so let’s have a look at all the Arsenal deals that were completed.

Arsenal deals – Completed

Arsenal players – In

• Omar Rekik –  19-year-old ball-playing centre-back, signed from Hertha Berlin in a deal that was almost completed in the summer. He has joined the u23s initially.
• Anna Patten – Former Arsenal player re-signed after finishing her studies in the US.
• Mat Ryan – The Brighton keeper has signed on loan until the end of the season in a move nobody saw coming.
• Martin Odegaard – The Real Madrid midfielder has joined on loan until the end of the season.

Arsenal players – Out

• Sead Kolasinac – Schalke, loan, expected to turn into a permanent move in the summer.
• William Saliba – Nice, loan.
• Daniel Ballard – Blackpool loan extended.
• Matt Macey – Hibs, permanent.
• Sokratis – Contract terminated.
• Mesut Ozil – Did not have his contract terminated as many believe.
• Matt Smith – Loan switched from Swindon to Charlton Athletic.
• Joseph Olowu – Loan with Wealdstone FC until end of Arsenal contract
• Zech Medley – Loan with Kilmarnock after Arsenal recalled him from Gillingham
• Shkodran Mustafi – Contract terminated, has joined Schalke
• Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Loan, West Brom
• Joe Willock – Loan, Newcastle

Arsenal deals – extended

• James Hillson – Goalkeeper signed his fourth Arsenal contract in three years.
• Alex Kirk – Signed his first professional contract.
• Brooke Norton-Cuffy – Signed his first professional contract.

Was Arsenal’s transfer window really that good?

by Stephen Bradley

With the 2020-21 winter transfer window coming to an end, let’s see how well Arsenal have managed to go about their business over the past month, and whether they can be happy with their work as a whole.

In:

Martin Ødegaard – Loan from Real Madrid until end of season

There are a number of questions regarding this deal, and all of them can be answered with one word:

• Is Ødegaard a good player? Yes.
• Can he help them team climb the table and go far in the Europa League? Yes.
• Is it a indicative sign of Mikel Arteta’s ability to draw players of Ødegaard’s ability to the club? Yes.
• Is it a problem that this deal doesn’t include a buy clause? YES.

As happy as I am that someone of Ødegaard’s quality has been brought into the club, there is a whiff of short-termism about the deal. He can help now, absolutely. But what happens in five months when the deal is up?

There are only two outcomes in play here; Either Ødegaard plays superbly well for Arsenal, in which case Real Madrid will thank us for getting him back into form and bring him back to the Bernabeu, or he doesn’t perform well and Real Madrid offers us the chance to sign a player who we won’t particularly want. Neither are in Arsenal’s best interest.

RATING: Right now, it’s a 7/10. If Ødegaard is still at the club on September 1st, it’ll be a 10. If he isn’t, it’ll be a 4.

Matthew Ryan – Loan from Brighton until end of season

After watching Alex Runarsson underwhelm during Europa League games in the autumn, and then proceeding to flap at a Rihad Mahrez free kick last month as if he was trying to catch a bag of wasps, most Arsenal fans made up their minds that the Icelander was not the man to challenge Bernd Leno as the number one goalkeeper. So, it was pleasing to see that Arsenal’s hierarchy agreed and brought a more experienced set of hands into the club.

Frankly, pretty much anyone would have been OK here, as if Leno plays every game for the rest of the season then nobody will be upset. But Ryan is a Premier League calibre goalkeeper who is happy to be backup at the club he supports. I’d be more than happy to keep him long-term.

RATING: 9/10

Out:

Mesut Özil – Released on a free transfer

Sigh. It’s such a shame that it had to end this way, with Arsenal virtually having to bribe a player to leave, even though that same player was virtually bribed to stay only three years ago. There is plenty of blame to go around, and nobody comes away from this saga smelling of roses. Our own Matthew Wade wrote this about Özil six years ago and it still applies today.

But…..

From February 1st, Arsenal won’t be paying Özil £350,000 a week anymore. It would have been far, far more beneficial to everyone involved if this had been managed to have been sorted out last summer, but it’s done now. End of. Everyone can move on and I can start copy and pasting Ø instead of Ö into columns now. Wøøt.

Rating: 1Ö/1Ö

Sead Kolasinac – Loan to Schalke until end of season

Shkodran Mustafi – Released on a free transfer

Let me give you a rather depressing fact; Kolasinac and Mustafi are only 27 and 28 years old respectively. They were both 24 when Arsenal signed them. On paper, these were both good bits of business, getting in established defenders who had shown good form, and were about to enter their prime.

Bringing both of these players to Arsenal was totally justifiable. But neither player has adapted well to the Premier League, with Kolasinac unable to play as a left-back in a back four, and Mustafi unable to rid his game of crippling yet inexplicable lapses in concentration.

I give Arsenal a bit more of a pass on Kolasinac leaving, since he was brought in on a free transfer, but watching £35 million walk out the door in Mustafi’s case is a bitter pill to swallow. Add that money to the potential pot that would have had Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s potential transfer fees in it too, if we didn’t let them walk out the door for nothing as well………ugh.

RATING: Kolasinac 5/10, Mustafi 2/10

Sokratis – Released on a free transfer

If there’s a blot on Sven Mislintat’s tenure as head of recruitment at Arsenal, it was his decision to bring in the Greek international from his former club, Borussia Dortmund. After the immediate success of his former club-mate, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Mislintat thought that Sokratis would have a similar impact at Arsenal. Yet, whilst the Gabonese striker was a perfect fit for how Arsenal wanted to play, the Greek was anything but.

If this was 1991, Sokratis would be a cult hero. His game is a very old-school one, based around eliminating attacking threats with little sophistication. He is certainly not a bad player, but when the current manager expects his centre-backs to be as good on the ball as they are off it, it was always going to be a tall order for Sokratis to get back into the first team.

RATING: 5/10. Again, this should have been sorted out last summer, but at least Arsenal have managed to get his wages off the balance sheet when they don’t need his services.

Joe Willock – Loan to Newcastle until end of season

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Loan to West Brom until end of season

A penny for Mr. Maitland-Niles’ thoughts at the moment. He wants to get into the England squad this summer for Euro 2020 (yes, it’s still being called that) and he reckons his best chance of doing so is as a midfielder instead of as full back. He’s probably right, too.

But, as it stands, Arsenal views him as a full back, and every club that inquired about him apart from West Brom, wanted him as a full back. It’s a crucial few months for the lad, and he’s about to spend them playing for Sam Allardyce at a club staring relegation in the face. Remember what happened with Serge Gnabry at Stoke? I’m just saying.

As for Willock, he needs game time under his belt, and desperately. Is he a number 8, or a number 10? Newcastle will play him as an 8, and it’s his best chance of showing he’s a Premier League footballer. It’s one thing not being able to displace Granit Xhaka from a team-sheet. But Jonjo Shelvey?

We’ll know exactly what we have with these two players after these loans, and that can only be good in the long-term for Arsenal. But if I were to pick who’s got the better chance of standing out, it’s Willock.

RATING: Willock 8/10, Maitland-Niles 6/10

The Premier League summer transfer window for the 20/21 season is now closed so how many deals did Arsenal agree?

More than you’d think…

Arsenal In

Arsenal deals – completed

Thomas Partey

Arsenal signed Thomas Partey on deadline day by triggering his £45m release clause.

Nikolaj Duus Möller

Arsenal signed 6’4″ forward Nikolaj Duus Möller on 4-year-deal from Malmö

Dani Ceballos

The boy from Real Madrid is back for another season and he isn’t even costing as much as he did last season.

Gabriel Magalhaes

After some time in quarantine, Gabriel finally arrived.

Willian – Free (LOL)

Does Mikel Arteta really want him? Is he only joining because of Kia Joorabchian? These are questions we may never know the answer too, but what we do know is that the 32-year-old is now an Arsenal player, joining David Luiz and Eddie Nketiah as former Chelsea players at the club. Willian also joins a quite exclusive club of players who’ve moved directly from Arsenal to Chelsea.

Arsenal deals – extended

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal finally announced that Auba has signed a new extension to remain at Arsenal for three years.

Ryan Alebiosu

18-year-old right-back, Ryan Alebiosu, has signed his first professional contract with the club.

Bukayo Saka – Four years

Bukayo Saka finally signed his contract extension after scaring us all that he might leave. He is going to be immense for Arsenal over the coming years considering this was his break through season. Arsenal also gave him the number 7 shirt and a massive payrise.

David Luiz – One year

David Luiz, a player so good Arsenal signed him twice within 12 months.

The Athletic claim Arsenal paid £6m to an ‘intermediary’ to make this deal happen in the first place last summer, a claim both the club and intermediary, Kia Joorabchian, denied.

On his day, he is as good as any central defender out there. The problem is, it’s not often his day.

Zak Swanson – Loan

19-year-old Zak Swanson will spend next season in the Netherlands representing MVV Maastricht, where we sent Kelechi Nwakali twice.

A defender who has been at the club since he was six, Swanson signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in 2019.

Trae Coyle – Loan

Has joined Gillingham on loan.

Joseph Olowu – Loan

On loan with Cork City until the end of October and has already helped them to three consecutive cleansheets.

Konstaninos Mavropanos – Loan

On loan with Sven Mislintat and Stuttgart.