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Arsenal have had many players come and go over the years but very rarely does an academy prospect make the cut at the Emirates Stadium.

And whilst that trend has slightly improved in recent seasons with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah part of Mikel Arteta’s first-team, there are still plenty of reminders out there.

None more so than Crystal Palace’s new attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze, who the Gunners released at the age of 13 back in 2011.

That rejection has fueled his ambition and desire to succeed, speaking to the Independent about the ordeal, he said: “That was the worst one. I remember crying in my room for a solid week, my mum telling me that it’s going to be OK but not being able to get over it.”

Now he’s in the Premier League and will likely feature against the north Londoners at some point this campaign.

Where is Eze now?

After impressing in the Championship for Queens Park Rangers, the 21-year-old sealed a huge £16m move to Crystal Palace this summer.

During the 2019/20 campaign, Eze provided 14 goals and eight assists whilst averaging a massive three dribbles, 2.2 shots and 1.8 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

It’s no wonder the Eagles were one of many clubs pursuing his signature.

He’s since started twice in the Premier League this season.

QPR director of football Les Ferdinand believes Eze is “one of the best” he has ever seen, which is a major statement to make given his own playing career.

Whilst his old boss Mark Warburton claimed that the young England U21 maestro was a “very special player” – so much so that he’s even drawn comparisons to both Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli.

The Gunners have certainly been proven wrong over their premature call on Eze back in 2011. They’ll just have to hope that it doesn’t come back to bite them at the turn of the year.

AND in other news, Arsenal must surely regret sale of Wenger reject, he’s now worth a WHOPPING £55m+…

Tottenham Hotspur are confident of completing a deal for Kim Min-jae this summer, according to reports in South Korea.

They are reportedly the front-runners to sign Kim in the summer, amid interest from Arsenal.

NaverSports claims Spurs are in negotiations with Beijing Guoan and are close to reaching an agreement. Both clubs have agreed a fee of £15m is sufficient for the defender and are now one step nearer to finalising terms, with expected to be wrapped up in a matter of days.

It is no secret that the Lilywhites have leaked goals for fun throughout the season, with nearly 50 shipped during the Premier League campaign.

Kim, affectionately nicknamed ‘Monster’ is an international teammate of Son Heung-min, who has struck nearly 20 goals for Spurs this season.

Jose Mourinho has made it clear that he wants to bring in a new centre-back, as Jan Vertonghen is likely to leave in a matter of weeks, while Juan Foyth’s future remains uncertain.

Despite his young age, the 23-year-old has already earned 30 caps for his country, scoring three goals so far. Along with Son, he won a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games, which exempted him from certain military duties (as per The Guardian).

The youngster cuts an imposing figure as he stands at 1,9m in height. Given his stature, it is hardly surprising Mourinho is keen to sign him in the summer. The Portuguese wanted to sign Harry Maguire during his time in charge of Manchester United and, although the Spurs manager ended up missing out on Maguire, Kim is of a similar build to the England centre-back.

Beijing are willing to let him leave for £15m, which should be more than affordable for Spurs. While Daniel Levy has insisted that he will not be spending ‘rivers of money’ in the summer, this seems to fall within Mourinho’s tight budget.

The Lilywhites were originally linked to the South Korean two years ago and they now believe they can get the deal done in a short space of time.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Kim in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!

The Gunners set their sites on a top-four spot at the start of the season – a goal that seemed realistic enough to achieve given the club reaching the Europa League final last season as well as finishing just one point from the top four last time out.

The plan didn’t quite go as hoped, however, with Spaniard Unai Emery being sacked towards the end of November after a string of disappointing results. The Gunners would soon appoint former player Mikel Arteta, and things began to change for the better.

A strong push towards the end of the season, along with beating champions Liverpool in the league and seeing off Manchester City to reach the FA Cup final. The latter would turn out to be the biggest win, as the club went on to win the FA Cup for a record 14th time against bitter rivals Chelsea.

But with all the ups and downs, how much can you remember about the club’s 2019/20 season?

Aston Villa fans have reacted to a report claiming that manager Dean Smith will remain in charge until the end of the season.

The Midlands based side sit in the bottom three of the Premier League and have their top flight status very much hanging in the balance.

A poor restart to the 2019/2020 campaign after the pandemic has Villa struggling and the 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend further enhanced their problems on the pitch.

With such poor form, Smith’s time in charge of the club has been questioned, despite helping the Villa Park outfit to promotion from the Championship play-offs last season.

Despite those question marks, Villa have reportedly handed Smith a vote of confidence and will stick with him until the end of the season.

Fans have now reacted to that news which was relayed by journalist John Percy of The Telegraph and shared via Twitter account @villareport. It seems that opinion is split, some think it is the right decision to keep him, probably due to the fact he got them promoted and that there is barely any of the season left. However others aren’t as keen, likely due to their lowly league position…

Do you think Villa are right to stick with Dean Smith until the end of the season? Let us know in the comments section below…

Key information about Prenton Park

Prenton Park is currently the home of Tranmere Rovers but both Liverpool’s reserve teams and their women’s team are known for using the facilities. The ground was built in 1911 and Rovers moved to it a year later, in 1912, from their old stadium, ‘the old Prenton Park’. Located in Birkenhead on Merseyside, it has a rich history that spans more than 100 years.

Its current capacity stands at 16,789 but has varied over time as well. The pitch’s size is 101m x 64m, without a running track surrounding it and with a Desso pitch surface – a hybrid surface that’s a mix of natural grass and artificial fibres.

The largest-ever recorded attendance was 24,424 for a 1972 FA Cup match against Stoke City.

A history of Prenton Park

Tranmere Rovers were formed back in 1884 and have played their football on a ground called Steeles Field. Shortly after buying a new site from Tranmere Rugby Club, they moved to a stadium that was then called Borough Road Enclosure, then renamed to Ravenshaw’s Field and finally to South Road. The name Prenton Park, however, would only be adopted in 1895.

But since the land also had to be used for housing and a school, the club was adamant on moving and taking the name with them, abandoning the ‘old Prenton Park’ to finally settle at the new one in 1912.

Their first game was actually played against Lancaster Town and the stadium had stands, or bleachers as they were called back then, on both sides, a paddock and three open terraces, which was essentially the structure of the stadium until 1994.

In 1958, they added some floodlights with the money gathered by the supporters’ association, which essentially started a series of revamps and upgrades over the years. The old wooden Main Stand was replaced, Denis Howell erecting and opening it at a cost of £80,000, and in 1979, while they also added terracing on the Cowshed and Paddock.

But there were more works over the years with multiple improvements actually driven by the changes in the legislation, and unfortunately for the fans, some of them required a decrease in the capacity as well. Still, 1994 and 1995 brought about the biggest changes to Prenton Park as the stadium finally became an all-seater, developing three new stands – the Borough Road Stand, the Cowshed and the new Kop, eventually increasing the capacity to what it is today.

Liverpool’s reserves and their women’s team moved to the stadium in 2008 and 2018 respectively.

Tickets to watch Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park

All tickets to watch Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park can be bought on the team’s official website and at a pretty affordable price too. Of course, the cost will vary depending on the stand you choose and the age of the buyer with the most expensive ticket being the ‘Gold adult’ in the Main Stand for £39 while the cheapest one for adults is in the Cowshed Stand for £19.

They also offer season tickets but those can only be renewed by the current season ticket holders and the new buyers have to wait for an opening but can also reserve their place on the waiting list by visiting the club’s official website.

Related Links

https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/ – Official website of Tranmere Rovers

https://www.trfctickets.co.uk/ – Tranmere Rovers Ticket Office

Loads of Rangers fans have reacted to something Peter Lovenkrands posted on Instagram, as the former Ibrox hero was clearly enjoying the broadcast of his iconic cup final performance this weekend.

With no proper football to entertain us at the moment, clubs and broadcasters alike have had to resort to showing old matches to keep fans entertained, and the 2002 Scottish Cup final was shown on BBC this weekend.

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The Gers triumphed 3-2 over Celtic courtesy of a brace from Lovenkrands, with the Dane’s winning strike coming with virtually the final touch of the game, heading home from a Neil McCann cross just seconds before the 90-minute mark.

The 40 year-old, who is now coach for the reserves side at Ibrox, was watching the match along with fans on Instagram, live streaming his reaction to the winning goal.

Unsurprisingly, supporters were absolutely loving it, as they took to Twitter to share their joy, and you can find some of the best responses down below…

Rangers’ potential Alfredo Morelos replacements are absolutely abysmal…

Leeds United may not be able to complete the Championship season despite their desire to get it back underway.The Athletic’s Phil Hay has provided a fresh claim on the latest situation. He claims that it’s very much “up in the air” with many teams believing it won’t be possible to resume the current campaign.He also sheds light into the question marks surrounding promotion and suggests that all sensible points-per-game standings have the west Yorkshiremen going up via one of the two automatic spots.Hay tweeted:

Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently top the table with a seven-point advantage to the playoff positions and given there are only nine games remaining, it’s fair to suggest that they would normally only have themselves standing in the way of a Premier League place.

Plenty of fans at Elland Road have waited 16 years for top-flight football, so deny them that after an impressive campaign would ultimately be unjust.

A true test for any Leeds fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

But only time will tell on the Championship’s immediate future.

AND in other news,ÂLeeds fans TORN over former star who left in the summer…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

In a rather surprising turn of events, Paris Saint-Germain have taken an interest in Liverpool’s Adam Lallana, as per a report coming exclusively from The Mirror.

What’s the word, then?

The same source explains how Paris Saint-Germain seem to think Edinson Cavani will be moving away from the French capital to join LA Galaxy in the near future and they will need a replacement for him.

The Uruguayan forward is out of contract next summer and with him leaving, there would be a big void up front that would definitely need covering sooner rather than later.

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Lallana, whose contract expires in the summer as well, is one of their options at the moment but the Englishman is also wanted by clubs from China and the MLS, The Mirror reveals.

And looking at the deal as a whole, Paris Saint-Germain should really stay away from the Liverpool outcast.

A drop in quality

Without exaggerating too much, Cavani truly is still one of the best strikers on the planet.

Even though the Uruguayan is on the wrong side of his 30s, his output is still fairly impressive.

This season, PSG’s prolific forward has bagged two goals in six Ligue 1 games – which is slightly less than his usual tally – but we shouldn’t forget we’re talking about a man who managed to score 195 goals and assist further 40 in 287 games for the French giants.

If we crunch the numbers ourselves, that amounts to about 0.67 goals per game.

When we compare Lallana’s output with that of the Uruguayan, the difference is staggering, to say the least.

22 goals in 164 games or 0.13 goals per game is miles behind what Cavani does.

Not to mention it would be replacing a 32-year-old player with a 31-year-old player, which makes little sense to begin with from a long-term point of view.

Lallana is struggling for game time at Liverpool – seeing how he has only tallied 304 minutes in eight games so far – as it is and getting someone else’s outcast for their main striker, who also represents a drop in quality as per the aforementioned stats, shouldn’t be top of PSG’s priority list.

Not to mention that the Englishman’s £7million-a-season salary would put him ahead of the likes of Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler, who earn €7,175,000 (£6.15m) according to Capology, and that’s without taking into account the possibility of a raise were he to join the French club.

When everything is said and done, this is one deal PSG should not be chasing.

After Liverpool’s rather controversial decision to furlough the club’s non-playing staff (something that they have now reversed), it’s been rather unsurprising to say the least that there has been plenty of criticism of the Merseyside club.Tony Cascarino labelled it as “bordering on lunacy”, whilst Piers Morgan has now waded into the conversation by launching a stinging criticism of the Reds’ actions too.Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Morgan said (as quoted by The Daily Mail): “Liverpool Football club built up such a good reputation in recent years under Jurgen Klopp, and winning the Champions League, this dynamic wonderful team, everyone was proud, everyone loved what Liverpool were standing for.

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“All gone, all gone, because their billionaire owners in America decided that this was the time in a year when they made £45m profit that they were going to furlough their staff at Liverpool Football Club.”

And following his comments, Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to voice their thoughts on what Morgan had to say.

One particularly disappointed Liverpool fan claimed that whilst owners FSG haven’t made too many mistakes at Anfield, this is “by far their biggest”.

When footballing fans say they’re in complete agreement with a hugely divisive and controversial figure like Morgan, then you really know there’s been a huge error.

The Reds certainly haven’t covered themselves in glory, and it’s incredibly disappointing that in a campaign in which they have done so well on the pitch and look certain to lift the Premier League title (if and when football resumes), this is going to be a major stain on their reputation.

The fact they have now reversed it does at least in some small part restore a sense of dignity.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to links with this Ligue 1 ace.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Sheffield Wednesday have enjoyed eight of their 14 Championship matches with Garry Monk at the helm, and it is safe to say that they are currently on the right path.

The Owls have lost just one match under the 40-year-old as they sit in fifth position, only three points from the league-leading West Brom, who failed to win either of their games last week.

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It is now 15 points from a possible 24 after Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate against local rivals Leeds United, which before the game had Monk well on track to surpass his three previous predecessors.

His impact at the club has been highlighted by Adam Reach, who spoke after that draw about the former Swansea City man.

The 26-year-old has started every single match under Monk, primarily on the right-hand side of midfield, so there’s no one better to explain just how well the manager has done than a player that has been a regular under him.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, Reach said:

“We have stuck in there and got ourselves in a good position and finally I think we have got a manager who is the right man at the right time and we have got the quality of the players.

“We have got someone who is improving every player.

“I think everyone can admit they have improved in some area under him and we need to keep that going.

“There is plenty more work to do. We are always striving to get better.”

This glowing review of Monk’s reign so far only goes to show that Wednesday are serious contenders for promotion this season.

The division is hugely competitive with just four points separating second to 12th, which is crazy, but that doesn’t neglect the Owls’ chances one bit.

The 40-year-old is working with a squad that was completely inherited, meaning he’s effectively managing a team built by Steve Bruce, and to some extent, by caretaker boss Lee Bullen.

He can’t stamp his own mark, player-wise, until January if he chooses to do so.

Losing just one game in eight matches at a club that hasn’t seen the playoffs for over two seasons now is mightily impressive, and they’re only just improving.

After Blackburn Rovers this weekend, the south Yorkshiremen have to play West Brom and Swansea City, which should prove Wednesday’s credentials this season.

It certainly has been the right man at the right time.