Page 4 - Tracey Brooks

Arsenal’s demise from being a top European heavyweight to a club that is living off scraps and is in a state of uselessness is not new. Their cyclical season pattern has been a prominent feature year after year, for the past half decade. And, unfortunately for those in favour of keeping Arsène Wenger at the club, things will not change until Arsenal part ways with the manager that has given them so much.

No one should deny that Wenger hasn’t brought a lot to English football, as well as Arsenal, especially when he first joined in 1996. Bringing in a newfound professionalism, that consisted mainly of strict dietary plans, as well as improved training facilities and introducing sports science, Wenger changed the history of the Premier League whether people like to admit it or not.

 It’s unfortunate and sad to see a manager of Wenger’s stature, for all the good he has done in the game, have his legacy tainted, especially in the last few years. It would be pleasant to think

After Chelsea’s limp and lacklustre display against Manchester United last weekend took them out of the top four positions, there was genuine concern among the away fans about the genuine possibility of missing out on Champions League football next season.

It’s no surprise there is angst in the atmosphere at this moment in time, given the club seems to have a variety of different confrontations throughout the hierarchy. It has been well documented that Antonio Conte is at an arm’s length to the Chelsea board, which has stemmed from the fact that they are now in charge of transfers moving forward, not the manager.

From Conte’s perspective, it’s not difficult to understand why a manager would be displeased with having very little control over player recruitment, especially when you are working day in, day out with them. After last summer’s transfer debacle of failing to sign Romelu Lukaku, as well as selling Nemanja Matić to Manchester United, the Italian manager’s thoughts

With the setup of the summer transfer window reportedly meant to be changing, where the business completed by the teams will have to be done before the new season starts, most clubs and managers will have to prepare themselves by creating a small list of targets before the current campaign is over.  

Sometimes, the best way to be effective within the market and be one step ahead of the other teams is by looking out for which individuals are close to being available on a free transfer. One of the huge factors to this, is that a potential club can negotiate and come to an agreement with a player that is in the final six months of his contract to go on to completing a move to his next destination on a summer Bosman move.

Here are the six European players that will become a free agent at the end of the season...

• Bundesliga – FC Schalke’s Max Meyer

Although the big sides in Europe tend to focus on bringing in central midfielders

It is clear to see that at 33 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo’s overall influence on the game has been decreasing, but it does not, however, suggest that the Portuguese superstar is any less efficient or instrumental to Real Madrid’s immediate success.

The former Manchester United winger once again proved his critics wrong with a sublime performance in the Round of 16 in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain. While he was fortunate for one of his two goals, Ronaldo was continuously in the right place at the right time to finish off the attacking plays that Los Blancos’ architectures created.

Interestingly, Ronaldo has only scored two goals fewer than he managed after playing 30 games in all competitions this time last year. While there is more to be said at how he is used sparingly by Zinedine Zidane, his overall stats are not trudging behind as some are keen to point out.

Having scored 26 goals and recorded five assists in 30 appearances, Ronaldo’s performances

In 2011, Manchester United set up with a team against Swansea in the Premier League that consisted of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia on the wing, with Chris Smalling at centre back and Phil Jones at right back.

Wind forward six years and instead of Young and Valencia occupying the wing, they are now Manchester United's first choice left and right back, with Jones shifting inwards and creating a feeble partnership with Smalling.

While Valencia has been a useful asset more often than not for the Red Devils, it is astounding to think that this is the state of Manchester United's four-man defence six years into the future.

It has been alarming to see the lack of quality in Man United's squad, emphasised by Smalling's presence in the starting XI. José Mourinho might have spent a fortune already, but he, and the club, simply have to be ruthless this summer in clearing out the deadwood and recruiting smartly.

Here are the players that should be sold:

The rivalry between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho will go down as one of the biggest that the Premier League has ever seen. The personalities of coaches, the excitement and hype ahead of the London Derby has made it a thriller of an event to watch.

However, the story itself has not been the same due to the sacking of Mourinho by Chelsea’s board back in December 2015. Since then, the 55-year-old Portuguese has had his own battles with managers such as Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola, but despite these, he has not forgotten to make an occasional dig towards long-term rival Arsene Wenger.

Following last month’s swap deal, which saw Alexis Sanchez join Manchester United whilst Henrikh Mkhitaryan travelled in the opposite direction, to Arsenal, both players are now part of an elite list of players that have played for Wenger and Mourinho.

It’s time to go through the players that have relished the chance of working under both managers...

1st December 2017.
Just 19 appearances into his 2017/18 campaign, not yet having reached December, Raheem Sterling has already returned the highest single-season goals tally of his career.

The England international winger has been on fire for table-topping Manchester City, scoring 13 goals in all competitions and trailing only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane in the Premier League scoring chart.

Sterling has made huge developmental leaps in recent months, improving technical aspects of his game such as his finishing, passing and crossing, while also making gains in his composure, temperament and timing.

All of this has led to the 22-year-old, who had previously been unfairly considered a £49 million flop by some observers, becoming one of Manchester City's most important players as they push for glory domestically and in the Champions League.

This is evidenced by the fact that he has scored decisive goals in four of the five

17th November 2017.
With the World Cup just around the corner, there is a lot of excitement and hype bubbling on the surface of fans. It is not in full swing yet, given we are in November, but it is noticeable.

Like with any tournament England are enrolled in, there are expectations of the Three Lions to perform, and each time they seem to fail worse than the previous. The England fans are certainly at ends with England's senior team, especially under Roy Hodgson when England crashed out of the European Championships to Iceland, but Gareth Southgate might well start to change the reputation - slowly, but surely.

England Management

For England football, nothing appears to be a quick fix. England fans thought they hit the jackpot when a truly passionate manager in Sam Allardyce came along - only to find out the former Crystal Palace manager was sacked over a video which portrays Big Sam giving advice on how to circumvent the rules of third

28th June 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
With just one year remaining on his contract and high on the wish list of several of Europe's biggest clubs, Alexis Sánchez is unlikely to still be an Arsenal player by the start of the 2017-18 season.

The former Barcelona forward was the Gunners' outstanding performer last season, netting 24 Premier League goals and returning a career high total of 30 in 51 all-competitions games, including a crucial strike in the North London side's FA Cup final victory over champions Chelsea.

Sánchez was the shining light in an otherwise disappointing season for Arsenal which saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades. Currently on international duty with Chile at the Confederations Cup in Russia, the 28-year-old attacker is set to resolve his future upon his return, with all signs pointing towards an exit from the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal would love to hold onto their

2nd June 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Arsene Wenger would've felt a palpable sense of vindication in his decision to deploy his back three in the FA Cup final, which he's done throughout the closing stages of the season, as the Gunners recorded a famous triumph over imperious Premier League winners, Chelsea.

Despite Arsenal suffering a defensive injury crisis going into the game, that saw Laurent Koscielny, Gabriel Paulista and Shkodran Mustafi all unavailable, putting his capacity to play three at the back in doubt, Wenger stuck to his guns anyway. And his decision emphatically paid off, with Rob Holding, Nacho Monreal and Per Mertesacker performing brilliantly to nullify Chelsea's multidimensional attacking unit.

Mertesacker, in particular, deserves special mention, as he hardly put a foot wrong in what was his first start of the season. Playing ostensibly the role of a sweeper at the heart of Arsenal's