June 2020 – Page 22

Carragher offers Arsenal advice over Aubameyang’s future

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher thinks Arsenal should “keep” Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and risk losing him next summer for nothing.

The Gabon international has just over a year left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium with increased speculation in recent months over his future.

A report in The Sun today claims that Arsenal will risk him running down his contract if they can’t get a fee of £20m for him this summer.

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And Carragher thinks that it could be the the best course of action if Arsenal want to qualify for the Champions League.

Carragher said on Sky Sports: “It’s interesting because Liverpool were in the same situation as Arsenal towards the end of my career when you’re just missing out on the top-four.

“It’s okay to have rules like ‘we never let a player go on a Bosman ruling’, but if you’re Mikel Arteta, have you got more chance of getting back in the Champions League if he stays?

“That’s the decision they have to make. At this stage, there’s no doubt that Aubameyang is too good for Arsenal. We had that at Liverpool with Luis Suarez and certain other players.

“You’re desperate to keep hold of them because you want to build around those players. If they go you feel like you’re starting all over again.

“That will be a decision for them. It’s okay saying ‘if he doesn’t want to be there, let him go’. But it’s not as easy when you’re at that club and you have a player of such star quality who will be there or thereabouts for the Golden Boot every year.

“It’s not easy to find goalscorers so I’d keep Aubameyang and see what you can do, see if you can bring players in around him and hopefully have a successful season and convince him to stay over the next 12 months.

“If not, it still gives Arsenal a greater chance of getting back in the top-four and that’s where they need to be.”

We could not keep away from the camera for long so we made a Football365 Isolation Show. Watch it, subscribe and share until we get back in the studio/pub and produce something a little slicker…

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Report reveals fresh Arsenal stance on Aubameyang’s future

Arsenal are willing to lose Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for free next summer if they can’t get at least £20million for him, according to reports.

Speculation over Aubameyang’s future has ramped up in recent months, with the Gabon international approaching the final year of his contract at The Emirates.

Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid have all been previously linked with a move and French champions PSG have also emerged as contenders in recent weeks.

MAILBOX: Man United flop features on new underrated list

On Tuesday, ESPN dismissed reports in L’Equipe that Arsenal had ‘offered Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a contract extension’ with ESPN claiming that there is ‘no extension on the table for Aubameyang to agree or reject’.

And now The Sun says that Arsenal have a fresh stance on Aubameyang’s future with the north London club willing to keep him until the ‘end of his contract if they can’t get a decent price for him this summer’.

Specifically the report claims Arsenal are looking for £20million for him this summer after their initial valuation of around £50million put off Barcelona.

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The Sun reckons Arsenal ‘will not be panicked into selling their star striker to the first bidder just to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing next year’.

Mikel Arteta still reckons the Gunners can qualify for the Champions League this season and the Spaniard is hoping ‘he can use face-to-face talks to persuade Aubameyang that he can still achieve his ambitions at the Emirates’.

Ultimately the Gunners still ‘believe Aubameyang will be more valuable leading their attack for another season than leaving for a knockdown price.’

Man City respond to rumours that Man Utd ‘will go for’ Sterling

Man City are confident that Raheem Sterling will remain at the Etihad Stadium despite interest from Man Utd, according to reports.

The England international left Liverpool in 2015 for a fee potentially rising to £49m after failing to win a trophy in three years at Anfield.

Since moving to City, Sterling has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups, while he has scored 89 goals in 230 appearances.

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The 25-year-old still has three years remaining on his current deal at City but a report in The Independent on Tuesday claimed that Sterling is ‘suddenly high up in priority’ as Man Utd ponder whether the winger might be tempted to do a reverse-Tevez.

‘If he becomes available, United will go for him,’ says the report, which all seems highly unlikely, regardless of City’s European ban.

And now The Metro have brought us Man City’s response to the rumours, they claim that ‘City are completely unconcerned by United’s interest in Sterling and have no intention of allowing the winger to leave the club’.

In fact, The Metro reckons that the Citizens are ‘more confident than ever of keeping’ Sterling at the club with the two parties in talks over a possible new deal.

The report adds: ‘The club remain intent on keeping him and are more confident than ever that he will stay for his peak years given a ‘window of opportunity’ has been eradicated thanks to the pandemic’.

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Rodgers: Ex-Liverpool man should be one of ‘top three strikers’

Mario Balotelli should be one of the “top three” strikers in world football right now, according to his former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

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The controversial striker scored 30 goals in 80 matches for Manchester City before arriving at Liverpool in 2014 via a successful spell at AC Milan.

Rodgers, who was manager of the Reds at the time, brought him to Anfield in deal worth £16m.

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The Italian could only score one Premier League goal for Liverpool before being shipped out on a season-long loan to Milan and eventually left Anfield for Nice the season after on a free transfer.

“It was always going to be very difficult to replace a player like Luis [Suarez],” Rodgers told The Beautiful Game Podcast.

“There was a little bit of stuff written about that team, that it was a one man team, and that was really unfair. We created a team.

“That’s like saying Tottenham’s built around Harry Kane. He’s a world class striker but he needs the others around him as well. It’s the same here with Jamie Vardy, he’s a top level striker.

“When Luis left we were missing that spark and like you said – Alexis Sanchez.

“We had spoken over the summer and I was led to believe his partner was keen to move to London. He obviously went to Arsenal and was fantastic.

“We missed out and we had Daniel Sturridge who had been struggling, Fabio Borini who was looking to move on and we bought in Rickie Lambert to be the fourth choice to help and support in cup games.

“It ended up, with Luis going, Fabio going and Daniel being the only one, it left us in a really vulnerable position.

“It was pretty clear to see that, strikers I’ve always worked with, Mario Balotelli didn’t fit my style.

“But one thing I will say about Mario is that he has all the talent, and he genuinely has.

“He should be one of the top three strikers in world football. He has everything. It’s the difference between talent and working talent.

“It was just unfortunate he’d come in when Luis had left and in his first game he did very well.

“We won 3-0 at White Hart Lane and he was very good. Mario played with Daniel in a diamond and it worked so well, but after that game Daniel got injured.

“We went through a period when we were pressing the game, weren’t intense enough and I thought we had to change something because we’d lost that ingredient. That’s when I played Raheem (Sterling) there and we went to 3-4-3.”

68e Mostra de Venise : le palmarès !

Le palmarès de la 68e Mostra de Venise est connu. C’est le long métrage “Faust” du réalisateur russe Alexandre Sokurov qui remporte le prestigieux Lion d’Or. Michael Fassbender remporte la Coupe Volpi du Meilleur acteur pour sa prestation de sex-addict dans “Shame”.

Darren Aronofsky et son jury ont dévoilé ce samedi le palmarès de la 68e Mostra de Venise. C’est le long métrage Faust du réalisateur russe Alexandre Sokurov qui remporte le prestigieux Lion d’Or., déjouant les pronostics qui voyaient le Carnage de Polanski rafler la mise. Inspiré du classique de Goethe, le film évoque la corruption du pouvoir en suivant le quotidien du Docteur Faust. Le Lion d’Argent, qui récompense la mise en scène, revient au réalisateur chinois Shangjun Cai pour le film Ren Shan Ren Hai, fameux “film surprise” de la manifestation.

Michael Fassbender remporte, et ce n’est pas trop une surprise, la Coupe Volpi du Meilleur acteur pour son impressionnante prestation de sex-addict new-yorkais dans le Shame de Steve McQueen, alors que la Coupe Volpi de la Meilleure actrice revient à Deanie Ip pour son rôle dans le film A Simple Life. Le Prix du Jury est attribué au film italien Terraferma, alors que le Prix du Meilleur scénario tombe dans l’escarcelle des scénaristes grecs du film Alps. Pour retrouver la Mostra en images, rendez-vous mardi pour notre émission Carnets de Voyage spéciale Venise !

Clément Cuyer

Palmarès de la 68e Mostra de Venise :

Lion d’Or du Meilleur film : Faust d’Alexandre Sokurovurov (Russie)

Lion d’Argent / Prix de la mise en scène : Shangjun Cai pour Ren Shan Ren Hai (Chine)

Coupe Volpi du Meilleur acteur : Michael Fassbender pour Shame de Steve McQueen (Grande-Bretagne)

Coupe Volpi de la Meilleure actrice : Deanie Ip pour A Simple Life de Ann Hui (Chine Hong-Kong)

Prix spécial du Jury : Terraferma d’Emanuele Crialese (Italie)

Prix Marcello Mastroianni du Meilleur jeune interprète : Shôta Sometani et Fumi Nikaidô pour Himizu de Sion Sono (Japon)

Prix Osella du Meilleur scénario : Giorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou pour Alps de Giorgos Lanthimos (Grèce)

Prix Osella de la Meilleure direction artistique : Robbie Ryan pour Les Hauts de Hurlevent d’Andrea Arnold (Grande-Bretagne)

Tout sur le Festival de Venise : notre rubrique festival

Report dismisses new Arsenal offer for Aubameyang as Chelsea circle

Arsenal have yet to offer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a new deal to extend his time in north London with Chelsea keeping a close eye on proceedings, according to reports.

L’Equipe claimed yesterday that Arsenal had ‘offered Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a contract extension’ with the Gabon international approaching the final year of his contract at the Emirates Stadium.

At 30, Aubameyang’s next contract is likely to be his last big deal before retirement and, with his scoring record, clubs will be queuing up to sign him on a free from next summer.

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Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid have all been previously linked with a move but French champions PSG have also emerged as contenders in recent weeks.

And ESPN now claim that Arsenal have ‘not yet offered Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a new contract’ with ‘no extension on the table for Aubameyang to agree or reject’.

The report goes on to say that ‘the two parties have not even started concrete talks’ over a possible new deal with Chelsea – who are also interested in Liverpool target Timo Werner – ‘monitoring’ the situation.

Keown: Wenger is ‘perfect answer’ to become new Arsenal chairman

Martin Keown thinks Arsene Wenger would be the “perfect answer” for Arsenal as they look to appoint a successor to Sir Chips Keswick as chairman.

The Gunners announced on Thursday that Sir Chips had decided to retire after seven years as chairman but Sky Sports claim that Arsenal ‘will not seek to appoint a new chairman, with the board now consisting of Stan Kroenke, Josh Kroenke, Lord Harris and Ken Friar’.

Wenger, who left Arsenal as their manager in 2018, has been weighing up his options since departing the Emirates Stadium and Keown thinks it would be “special” to see him back as the club’s chairman.

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Keown told talkSPORT: “Sir Chips is somebody who had been there for 15 years, took over from Peter Hill-Wood, so I think the club have been respectful with the work he’s done there.

“It would be something special to see Arsene Wenger come onto the board.

“I don’t think so somehow, I think he’s said recently he doesn’t want to do that, never saw himself as someone who would sit on the board but they could do a lot worse.

“You know that I feel that would be almost the perfect answer for Kroenke, the young Josh Kroenke, he needs that older person perhaps around, someone with the experience.

“Other people would think that it would be intimidating for [Mikel] Arteta – I don’t think so.

“If you’re a successful-type personality, you don’t really mind who else is in the building. You embrace that knowledge that could come in through the door.

“So I would applaud that if Arsenal Football Club were to bring Arsene Wenger onto the board.”

Liverpool ‘would like to offer €60m’ plus a player for defender

Liverpool are prepared to offer a huge transfer fee plus a player to land Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to reports.

The Reds and Manchester United have both been linked with a huge move for the centre-back this summer, despite the coronavirus pandemic likely to reduce spending in the next transfer window.

At the beginning of May, Gazzetta dello Sport claimed that Liverpool are ‘on pole’ for Koulibaly, ahead of arch-rivals Man Utd, with their ‘prestige’ giving them the advantage over other sides.

GOSSIP: Man Utd ‘will go for’ Sterling; Chelsea turn to Werner

Liverpool are the current Champions League holders, while the Merseysiders are 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League and look set to be crowned champions if the season can be finished.

And now Napoli Magazine (via Sport Witness) claim that Liverpool ‘would like to offer €60m’ plus a player for Koulibaly.

Despite the current situation, Napoli continue to value the 29-year-old at €100m and aren’t interested in the Reds’ offer.

The report adds that only Divock Origi would interest Napoli if they were to take a fringe player off Liverpool as part of the transfer.

Kick It Out urges all players to follow Liverpool example

The chairman of Kick It Out has suggested that every Premier League footballer could ‘take the knee’ in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign in protest at the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.

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Liverpool’s players made the powerful gesture during training at Anfield on Monday afternoon, posting the image across social media.

This weekend Jadon Sancho revealed a ‘Justice for George Floyd’ t-shirt when scoring for Borussia Dortmund – which earned him a booking – while Marcus Thuram ‘took the knee’, a non-violent protest which was the brainchild of the NFL player Colin Kaepernick.

Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari would like to see all Premier League players make the same gesture when the season resumes on June 17.

“I’m not sure how you can sanction Marcus Thuram,” said Bhandari in The Guardian.

“I don’t think he’s done anything wrong. He’s just taken a knee. I wonder if that’s the thing I would encourage if players want to protest. If you score a goal and take a knee could everyone do that? Not just the black players. The white players too – everyone.

“Every player should do it. It should be teams doing it. You saw the Erling Haaland celebration after the first game back where all the Borussia Dortmund players did the social-distancing celebration.

“They could all take a knee. Racism’s not about black players or brown fans. It’s about all of us. Racism corrodes society and we’re all hurt by it. Everyone should want to demonstrate their solidarity and disgust.

“I would like to encourage the players to protest if they want to but I would also like to encourage them to do it in a way that doesn’t expose them to unnecessary sanction.

“If they could do that by taking a knee, well if every player did that it would be quite a powerful message. I would be interested to hear what the authorities thought of that, whether it would constitute a breach of the rules. To me that is about demonstrating solidarity.”

“Point Break”, le remake ?

Un remake du “Point Break” de Kathryn Bigelow serait en chantier, alors qu’on célèbre les vingt ans du film.

Après le projet de suite avorté (cf. Point Break Indo), voici le remake : Point break extrême limite, le film culte de Kathryn Bigelow avec Keanu Reeves et le regretté Patrick “Bodhi” Swayze, pourrait avoir droit à son remake, si l’on en croit le communiqué d’Alcon Entertainment (acquéreur des droits) repris par ComingSoon. Lancé vingt ans après l’original, le projet est scénarisé par Kurt Wimmer (déjà à l’oeuvre sur le nouveau Total Recall), également producteur, la joyeuse équipe de remakeurs devant rapidement s’atteler à la recherche d’un réalisateur (Wimmer lui-même, qui avait dirigé Equilibrium ?).

Ce qu’on sait de cette nouvelle version est assez léger pour l’instant : elle se situerait toujours dans “l’univers du sport extrême” (c’est vague, sans jeu de mots), et suivrait encore un agent du FBI inflitrant un cercle criminel, avec une nouvelle approche etc. etc. – bref, c’est un remake…

A.G.