Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the talented attacker who has been a bright spot in a rough patch for Arsenal over the past couple of seasons, has received some controversial advice from the president of his native country’s football association.

Pierre Alain Mounguengui, the head of Gabon’s football association, said in an interview with ESPN that he believes that his country’s biggest star should aim for a club with loftier goals.

Mounguengui stated, “I don’t want to say that Arsenal aren’t ambitious, but Arsenal don’t have ambitions as high as some other clubs as far as Europe is concerned.” He went on to add, “If Pierre could secure a contract with a more ambitious club, he’d definitely find his place there.”

The Gunners have disappointed fans over the past two seasons, wondering if Aubameyang might leave for greener pastures. Arsenal finished in 5th place in the league last season without any trophies, and then were shockingly eliminated by Olympiacos in the first knockout round of this year’s Europa League.

Aubameyang, who turns 31-years-old this summer, has scored 49 goals in 75 games with the Gunners since joining the team in 2018 from Borussia Dortmund.

It remains to be seen if the Gabonese star will heed Mounguengui’s advice or keep trying his luck in North London.

The post Gabon FA President: Aubameyang Should Look For a “More Ambitious Club” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea played a derby match in this week’s 20^th fixture in the Premier League at Emirates Stadium. This match was the first for Mikel Arteta in front of Arsenal fans, but the end result ruined his moment. 

Arsenal scored early in the 13^th minute through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when Callum Chambers found Arsenal’s top striker after a corner kick. Before the end, Chelsea’s former defender David Luiz was almost sent off after he raised his leg and nearly missing Ngolo Kante’s head, avoiding a bigger incident. The referee saw the situation, but no whistle was blown. 

Frank Lampard’s team was isolated throughout the entire game, with Tammy Abraham having no chances until the very end. Brazilian-born Italian Jorginho replaced Emerson before the 2^nd half and that move by Lampard changed the outcome. Late in the 83rd minute, Mason Mount found Jorginho after a free kick in the box but the goal was given 2 minutes later after the VAR replay. This goal changed the momentum on Chealsea’s side when their top striker Tammy Abraham delivered the final blow just 3 minutes before the end. Abraham had one more chance to seal the win, but his shot went way over the crossbar. 

The post Chelsea Beats Arsenal in Terrific London Derby appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Arsenal narrowly avoided a shocking loss on Thursday night in Europa League group stage action, coming back in the game’s final minutes to beat a Vitoria de Guimaraes side that looked primed for a big upset.

Free-kick specialist Nicolas Pepe scored two brilliant free-kick goals in the 80th minute and then in extra time to bring Arsenal back from the brink of a loss that no one could have seen coming.

The plucky Portuguese side, which has yet to record a single point in group stage action, took an early lead at Emirates Stadium when former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards scored.

Arsenal brought the game back to a deadlock with a goal from 18-year-old forward Gabriel Martinelli, but Bruno Duarte struck only 5 minutes later to regain the lead for Vitoria Guimaraes.

The game remained 2-1 until Pepe came in at the 75th minute. He promptly scored a stunning free-kick from nearly 30 meters out to tie the game, and then knocked in a shorter free kick in extra time to give Arsenal the 3-2 win.

The Gunners now have a perfect 9 points and look to be a lock to advance to the knockout stage of Europa League play.

The post Arsenal Comes Back Late to Avoid Europa League Upset appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Arsenal’s chance to move up to third place in the Premier League standings passed after the Gunners took a surprising loss at the hands of newly-promoted Sheffield United on Monday night.

Unai Emery’s side was unable to score a goal during their visit to Bramall Lane, leaving without winning a single point against the Blades. It was a disappointing and frustrating night for Arsenal, who simply did not look up to the task of taking advantage of a golden opportunity.

Sheffield United took a 1-0 lead that they’d carry to the end of the match after Jack O’Connell assisted Lys Mousett for the game’s only goal after a corner in the 30th minute. Mousett, a 23-year-old France native making his first-ever Premier League start, will likely never forget this night.

Arsenal dominated possession of the ball, holding onto the ball for 68% of the match, but they were unable to find the net. They managed only 3 shots on goal, which wasn’t enough to take a single point back to London after their matchup against the determined Blades.

Arsenal will look to get back on track when they host Vitoria de Guimaraes in Europa League group stage action at Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

The post Arsenal Shocked With 1-0 Loss to Sheffield United appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Arsenal’s striker Alexandre Lacazette opened the new Premier League in great fashion, scoring two goals in three games. His hot streak, however, ended before it even really started as Lacazette is forced to miss a month of action with an ankle injury.

Arsenal announced on Friday that Lacazette has been playing through ankle pain in recent weeks and that he needs to take a break and “strengthen his ankle to regain full fitness.” The club expects him to return to action at some point in October.

Alexandre Lacazette joined Arsenal in 2017 from Lyon in a transfer worth around $60 million. Since then he played 91 games with the club, scoring 38 goals in the process and adding 15 assists.

Lacazette is also a French international and has 16 appearances and three goals scored for the senior team. 

Although they’ve lost Lacazette, Arsenal received some good news on Friday. Their full-backs Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney have recovered from injuries and are fully participating in the training. However, they are still not certain to play in the club’s upcoming match against Watford.

The post Arsenal’s Striker Alexandre Lacazette Out For a Month With Ankle Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

With the transfer window closing, all of Europe’s major clubs were looking for last-minute signings. This includes Arsenal’s new center-back David Luiz, who left one of Arsenal’s rivals Chelsea for a fee of 8 million. David Luiz will once again have a chance to work with his former coach from Paris Saint-Germain, Unai Emery.

With this signing, Arsenal’s defense has become noticeably stronger, as they also signed Kieran Tierney from Celtic earlier this week. As the rumors go, Luiz will be wearing the Number 23 shirt in Arsenal FC.

The Brazilian center-back played in Chelsea twice in his career. First, from 2011 to 2014, after which he returned for the Ligue 1 team, Paris Saint-Germain in 2016 on a three-year contract and for a fee of 36 million. He returned to Chelsea again in 2016, on a three-year contract worth $41 million.

Luiz started his career in Brazilian Serie A team Vitoria, where he played only a single season before completing a transfer to the Portuguese giants Benfica. He remained in the team for the next 5 years, winning the double crown and then moving on to Chelsea.

After his first stint in Chelsea, he became the most expensive defender in the world, signing for PSG on a record $50 million deal.

The post Arsenal Lands David Luiz On Deadline Day appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After a long period of negotiations and counter-offers, Arsenal finally won the race to sign Lille winger Nicolas Pepe on Thursday.

Arsenal came out on top after battling for Pepe’s services with other European giants such as Paris St-Germain and Manchester United. Their $93 million bid and their contract offer won out, and Pepe was announced as a Gunner on Thursday.

The Ivory Coast international is considered to be one of the top young wingers in soccer. After coming up through the Poitiers youth academy in relative obscurity and then gradually making moves to bigger French clubs such as Angers and Orleans, Pepe burst onto the scene after joining Lille on an $11.1 million transfer in 2017.

The right-winger scored 35 goals in only 74 matches with the Great Danes, impressing with his agility, velocity, and strong left foot. He was unstoppable with Lille in its 2018-19 Ligue 1 campaign, which finished with a 2nd place slot in the league, scoring 22 goals and recording 11 assists.

Now, Pepe will have the opportunity to play Premier League soccer and establish himself as Unai Emery’s biggest offensive weapons. Pressure will be high on the 24-year-old, but he undoubtedly has all of the tools to succeed at one of England’s most legendary clubs.

The post Arsenal Wins Race to Sign Lille Winger Nicolas Pepe appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It’ll be an all-English Europa League Final in Baku later this month after Chelsea and Arsenal took care of business on Thursday night.

Arsenal walloped Valencia in the second leg of their matchup against the Spanish giants. They already held a 3-1 advantage in the draw after their win in London last week, and they left little doubt as to who the superior team was after a 2-4 win at Mestalla.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned in yet another stellar performance, scoring a hat trick for the Gunners. Alexandre Lacazette, his striking partner, also added one for Arsenal. Kévin Gameiro’s two goals were simply not enough for Los Che.

In the other semi-final matchup, Chelsea had to go to penalty kicks to dispatch of Eintracht Frankfurt and advance to the final.

Chelsea took an early lead in the 28th minute with a Ruben Loftus-Cheek goal. However, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic tied the game with a goal just after halftime.

After neither team scored through 40 more minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time, the match went to penalties. Eden Hazard scored the clinching goal to send his team forward after a 4-3 shootout win in what may end up being his last game at Stamford Bridge.

The final will be held on May 29th in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The post Chelsea to Square Off with Arsenal in Europa League Final appeared first on SportzBonanza.

In the two first legs of the Europa League’s semi-final matchups, Arsenal grabbed an important home win and Chelsea picked up a valuable road draw.

Arsenal faced Valencia at home in the first leg of the teams’ matchup, and they left Emirates Stadium happy with a 3-1 victory.

Valencia tasted first blood after Mouctar Diakhaby scored a 10th-minute goal to give his team a 0-1 lead. Arsenal then scored three of its own, however, with Alexandre Lacazette bagging a brace before halftime.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a stoppage-time goal to sentence the encounter with a 3-1 final.

In the Chelsea matchup, they drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt on the road.

Eintracht Frankfurt found the net first when talented striker Luka Jovic scored in the 21st minute, but then Chelsea found the net after a Pedro goal to tie the game up just before the half.

The game ended with this 1-1 result, putting Chelsea in a favorable position to win and advance to the final in Baku.

The second leg of the matchups will be played next Thursday in Valencia and London, respectively.

The post Arsenal Wins, Chelsea Draws in Europa League Semi-Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

In the race for 4th place in the Premier League and the competition’s last Championship League spot for the 2019-20 season, no one wants to take advantage of other teams’ missteps.

After Matchday 36 and with only 2 remaining, Chelsea holds the final spot with 68 points. Arsenal is in 5th with 66 points and Manchester United is in 6th with 65. But any of these teams could’ve been in 4th after the weekend.

It all started with Arsenal, who was blown out 3-0 at Leicester City on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners lost Ainsley Maitland-Niles to a second yellow card ejection in the 36th minute and things went downhill from there.

Leicester waited until the 59th minute to capitalize when Youri Tielemans scored the opener. Jamie Vardy added two more goals in the final 10 minutes to lead the Foxes to a 3-0 home win and leave Arsenal without any points on the day.

Meanwhile, Manchester United hosted Chelsea with a big chance to move ahead of the Blues but came up short. They drew 1-1 with Chelsea in a game marked by a horrible David de Gea error in the goal.

The Red Devils went up early with an 11th minute Juan Mata goal and looked poised to climb into 4th, but a 43rd minute David de Gea error on a routine save trickled out to Marcos Alonso. He buried a shot and leveled the game at 1-1, where it eventually finished.

No one seems ready to take advantage of other teams’ missteps. It remains to be seen who will grab the last slot.

The post Arsenal, Man U Let Opportunities Go to Waste in Chase for Champions League Spot appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the talented attacker who has been a bright spot in a rough patch for Arsenal over the past couple of seasons, has received some controversial advice from the president of his native country’s football association.

Pierre Alain Mounguengui, the head of Gabon’s football association, said in an interview with ESPN that he believes that his country’s biggest star should aim for a club with loftier goals.

Mounguengui stated, “I don’t want to say that Arsenal aren’t ambitious, but Arsenal don’t have ambitions as high as some other clubs as far as Europe is concerned.” He went on to add, “If Pierre could secure a contract with a more ambitious club, he’d definitely find his place there.”

The Gunners have disappointed fans over the past two seasons, wondering if Aubameyang might leave for greener pastures. Arsenal finished in 5th place in the league last season without any trophies, and then were shockingly eliminated by Olympiacos in the first knockout round of this year’s Europa League.

Aubameyang, who turns 31-years-old this summer, has scored 49 goals in 75 games with the Gunners since joining the team in 2018 from Borussia Dortmund.

It remains to be seen if the Gabonese star will heed Mounguengui’s advice or keep trying his luck in North London.

The post Gabon FA President: Aubameyang Should Look For a “More Ambitious Club” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea played a derby match in this week’s 20^th fixture in the Premier League at Emirates Stadium. This match was the first for Mikel Arteta in front of Arsenal fans, but the end result ruined his moment. 

Arsenal scored early in the 13^th minute through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when Callum Chambers found Arsenal’s top striker after a corner kick. Before the end, Chelsea’s former defender David Luiz was almost sent off after he raised his leg and nearly missing Ngolo Kante’s head, avoiding a bigger incident. The referee saw the situation, but no whistle was blown. 

Frank Lampard’s team was isolated throughout the entire game, with Tammy Abraham having no chances until the very end. Brazilian-born Italian Jorginho replaced Emerson before the 2^nd half and that move by Lampard changed the outcome. Late in the 83rd minute, Mason Mount found Jorginho after a free kick in the box but the goal was given 2 minutes later after the VAR replay. This goal changed the momentum on Chealsea’s side when their top striker Tammy Abraham delivered the final blow just 3 minutes before the end. Abraham had one more chance to seal the win, but his shot went way over the crossbar. 

The post Chelsea Beats Arsenal in Terrific London Derby appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Arsenal narrowly avoided a shocking loss on Thursday night in Europa League group stage action, coming back in the game’s final minutes to beat a Vitoria de Guimaraes side that looked primed for a big upset.

Free-kick specialist Nicolas Pepe scored two brilliant free-kick goals in the 80th minute and then in extra time to bring Arsenal back from the brink of a loss that no one could have seen coming.

The plucky Portuguese side, which has yet to record a single point in group stage action, took an early lead at Emirates Stadium when former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards scored.

Arsenal brought the game back to a deadlock with a goal from 18-year-old forward Gabriel Martinelli, but Bruno Duarte struck only 5 minutes later to regain the lead for Vitoria Guimaraes.

The game remained 2-1 until Pepe came in at the 75th minute. He promptly scored a stunning free-kick from nearly 30 meters out to tie the game, and then knocked in a shorter free kick in extra time to give Arsenal the 3-2 win.

The Gunners now have a perfect 9 points and look to be a lock to advance to the knockout stage of Europa League play.

The post Arsenal Comes Back Late to Avoid Europa League Upset appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Arsenal’s chance to move up to third place in the Premier League standings passed after the Gunners took a surprising loss at the hands of newly-promoted Sheffield United on Monday night.

Unai Emery’s side was unable to score a goal during their visit to Bramall Lane, leaving without winning a single point against the Blades. It was a disappointing and frustrating night for Arsenal, who simply did not look up to the task of taking advantage of a golden opportunity.

Sheffield United took a 1-0 lead that they’d carry to the end of the match after Jack O’Connell assisted Lys Mousett for the game’s only goal after a corner in the 30th minute. Mousett, a 23-year-old France native making his first-ever Premier League start, will likely never forget this night.

Arsenal dominated possession of the ball, holding onto the ball for 68% of the match, but they were unable to find the net. They managed only 3 shots on goal, which wasn’t enough to take a single point back to London after their matchup against the determined Blades.

Arsenal will look to get back on track when they host Vitoria de Guimaraes in Europa League group stage action at Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

The post Arsenal Shocked With 1-0 Loss to Sheffield United appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Arsenal’s striker Alexandre Lacazette opened the new Premier League in great fashion, scoring two goals in three games. His hot streak, however, ended before it even really started as Lacazette is forced to miss a month of action with an ankle injury.

Arsenal announced on Friday that Lacazette has been playing through ankle pain in recent weeks and that he needs to take a break and “strengthen his ankle to regain full fitness.” The club expects him to return to action at some point in October.

Alexandre Lacazette joined Arsenal in 2017 from Lyon in a transfer worth around $60 million. Since then he played 91 games with the club, scoring 38 goals in the process and adding 15 assists.

Lacazette is also a French international and has 16 appearances and three goals scored for the senior team. 

Although they’ve lost Lacazette, Arsenal received some good news on Friday. Their full-backs Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney have recovered from injuries and are fully participating in the training. However, they are still not certain to play in the club’s upcoming match against Watford.

The post Arsenal’s Striker Alexandre Lacazette Out For a Month With Ankle Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

With the transfer window closing, all of Europe’s major clubs were looking for last-minute signings. This includes Arsenal’s new center-back David Luiz, who left one of Arsenal’s rivals Chelsea for a fee of 8 million. David Luiz will once again have a chance to work with his former coach from Paris Saint-Germain, Unai Emery.

With this signing, Arsenal’s defense has become noticeably stronger, as they also signed Kieran Tierney from Celtic earlier this week. As the rumors go, Luiz will be wearing the Number 23 shirt in Arsenal FC.

The Brazilian center-back played in Chelsea twice in his career. First, from 2011 to 2014, after which he returned for the Ligue 1 team, Paris Saint-Germain in 2016 on a three-year contract and for a fee of 36 million. He returned to Chelsea again in 2016, on a three-year contract worth $41 million.

Luiz started his career in Brazilian Serie A team Vitoria, where he played only a single season before completing a transfer to the Portuguese giants Benfica. He remained in the team for the next 5 years, winning the double crown and then moving on to Chelsea.

After his first stint in Chelsea, he became the most expensive defender in the world, signing for PSG on a record $50 million deal.

The post Arsenal Lands David Luiz On Deadline Day appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After a long period of negotiations and counter-offers, Arsenal finally won the race to sign Lille winger Nicolas Pepe on Thursday.

Arsenal came out on top after battling for Pepe’s services with other European giants such as Paris St-Germain and Manchester United. Their $93 million bid and their contract offer won out, and Pepe was announced as a Gunner on Thursday.

The Ivory Coast international is considered to be one of the top young wingers in soccer. After coming up through the Poitiers youth academy in relative obscurity and then gradually making moves to bigger French clubs such as Angers and Orleans, Pepe burst onto the scene after joining Lille on an $11.1 million transfer in 2017.

The right-winger scored 35 goals in only 74 matches with the Great Danes, impressing with his agility, velocity, and strong left foot. He was unstoppable with Lille in its 2018-19 Ligue 1 campaign, which finished with a 2nd place slot in the league, scoring 22 goals and recording 11 assists.

Now, Pepe will have the opportunity to play Premier League soccer and establish himself as Unai Emery’s biggest offensive weapons. Pressure will be high on the 24-year-old, but he undoubtedly has all of the tools to succeed at one of England’s most legendary clubs.

The post Arsenal Wins Race to Sign Lille Winger Nicolas Pepe appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It’ll be an all-English Europa League Final in Baku later this month after Chelsea and Arsenal took care of business on Thursday night.

Arsenal walloped Valencia in the second leg of their matchup against the Spanish giants. They already held a 3-1 advantage in the draw after their win in London last week, and they left little doubt as to who the superior team was after a 2-4 win at Mestalla.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned in yet another stellar performance, scoring a hat trick for the Gunners. Alexandre Lacazette, his striking partner, also added one for Arsenal. Kévin Gameiro’s two goals were simply not enough for Los Che.

In the other semi-final matchup, Chelsea had to go to penalty kicks to dispatch of Eintracht Frankfurt and advance to the final.

Chelsea took an early lead in the 28th minute with a Ruben Loftus-Cheek goal. However, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic tied the game with a goal just after halftime.

After neither team scored through 40 more minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time, the match went to penalties. Eden Hazard scored the clinching goal to send his team forward after a 4-3 shootout win in what may end up being his last game at Stamford Bridge.

The final will be held on May 29th in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The post Chelsea to Square Off with Arsenal in Europa League Final appeared first on SportzBonanza.

In the two first legs of the Europa League’s semi-final matchups, Arsenal grabbed an important home win and Chelsea picked up a valuable road draw.

Arsenal faced Valencia at home in the first leg of the teams’ matchup, and they left Emirates Stadium happy with a 3-1 victory.

Valencia tasted first blood after Mouctar Diakhaby scored a 10th-minute goal to give his team a 0-1 lead. Arsenal then scored three of its own, however, with Alexandre Lacazette bagging a brace before halftime.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a stoppage-time goal to sentence the encounter with a 3-1 final.

In the Chelsea matchup, they drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt on the road.

Eintracht Frankfurt found the net first when talented striker Luka Jovic scored in the 21st minute, but then Chelsea found the net after a Pedro goal to tie the game up just before the half.

The game ended with this 1-1 result, putting Chelsea in a favorable position to win and advance to the final in Baku.

The second leg of the matchups will be played next Thursday in Valencia and London, respectively.

The post Arsenal Wins, Chelsea Draws in Europa League Semi-Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

In the race for 4th place in the Premier League and the competition’s last Championship League spot for the 2019-20 season, no one wants to take advantage of other teams’ missteps.

After Matchday 36 and with only 2 remaining, Chelsea holds the final spot with 68 points. Arsenal is in 5th with 66 points and Manchester United is in 6th with 65. But any of these teams could’ve been in 4th after the weekend.

It all started with Arsenal, who was blown out 3-0 at Leicester City on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners lost Ainsley Maitland-Niles to a second yellow card ejection in the 36th minute and things went downhill from there.

Leicester waited until the 59th minute to capitalize when Youri Tielemans scored the opener. Jamie Vardy added two more goals in the final 10 minutes to lead the Foxes to a 3-0 home win and leave Arsenal without any points on the day.

Meanwhile, Manchester United hosted Chelsea with a big chance to move ahead of the Blues but came up short. They drew 1-1 with Chelsea in a game marked by a horrible David de Gea error in the goal.

The Red Devils went up early with an 11th minute Juan Mata goal and looked poised to climb into 4th, but a 43rd minute David de Gea error on a routine save trickled out to Marcos Alonso. He buried a shot and leveled the game at 1-1, where it eventually finished.

No one seems ready to take advantage of other teams’ missteps. It remains to be seen who will grab the last slot.

The post Arsenal, Man U Let Opportunities Go to Waste in Chase for Champions League Spot appeared first on SportzBonanza.