An early Christmas present for Arsenal fans now, as the Metro report that Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata has agreed a six-month loan deal to the Gunners when January rolls around. But who is he, and what can he offer the north London side should he arrive?
Arsenal’s search for a striker has seen them stumble across Corinthian’s frontman Pato, apparently, but it would seem that their initial £6.6m offer for the Brazilian forward was rejected – according to the Express. But what would they be receiving should the former AC Milan goal-getter arrive at the Emirates in January?
It seems incredible that Aaron Ramsey has gone from a player who frustrates fans enough for them to call for him to be sent on loan, to a man who has scored 13 goals in 22 games this season which has seen the Gunners go seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table – all in such a short space of time. With good form comes interest in other clubs, but Wenger has apparently ruled out a move for the Wales international, even if it’s for £50m.
Last week Manchester United struggled to pass Cardiff down in Wales, eventually drawing the game 2-2, but the Bluebirds’ run out against Arsenal was anything but easy. The Gunners invited Malkay Mckay’s men to the capital and picked them apart with their sensational football, but there was one man who stood out amongst the rest in the 3-0 victory, and that was Aaron Ramsey.
You would have thought with the poor displays of Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba so far this season that Jose Mourinho would be going all out to land a top striker in the January transfer market, but apparently that’s not the case. The Metro say that there will be no deal to sign a forward at all – something which I don’t think is right.
Olivier Giroud is enjoying his football this season, you can see it in the way he goes about himself. The Frenchman was written off before he had even kicked a ball this term but his form in pre season excited some, and rightly so. Now 12 games into the Premier League campaign, Giroud has scored seven goals, claimed four assists, and made another 13 key passes on top of that. He has also scored twice in the Champions League and created two chances, but all this playing time could prove costly later in the season.
The term never go back is a phrase often used in football, and although it sometimes proves true, a lot of the time it works just fine. A manager who is said to be ready to snap up one of his former players is Jose Mourinho, who has been linked with a move for Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao – a player he worked with at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Betis are currently in a slump of form in the Spanish top tier – they are now without a win in seven games and have lost six of those – and they could now be losing one of their starlets to the Premier League, as 19-year-old Alvaro Vadillo is being linked – in an exclusive report by IBTimes – to a move to Arsenal.