Daily Cannon

James Wilson was linked with Arsenal ahead of transfer deadline day, but here’s why the young Hearts striker ended up joining Tottenham Hotspur instead.

Ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, Fabrizio Romano and Sami Mokbel of the BBC reported that Arsenal had made contact with Hearts over a loan move for 18-year-old striker James Wilson. Yet by the end of the window, Wilson had officially signed for Tottenham Hotspur instead.

In some ways, the deal to sign for Spurs was a similar one. Wilson has only moved to his new club on an initial loan, just as Arsenal were offering.

But the key difference is that Spurs have included an option to make the move permanent in the summer. Arsenal weren’t offering such an option, effectively viewing their initial loan offer as a trial for Wilson to prove himself ahead of a potential summer bid.

So perhaps part of the reason Spurs ended up securing the signing was because that purchase clause made the deal more appealing to Wilson and Hearts, but there’s also no evidence Arsenal ever followed up on their initial interest.

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes told the media on Monday afternoon that they hadn’t heard anything back from Arsenal after the Gunners’ initial contact on Sunday, saying: “There was a conversation with Arsenal [on Sunday], they called and spoke to Graeme [Jones, sporting director].

“But there’s been nothing since from Arsenal…those conversations with Arsenal were yesterday, we’ve heard nothing back from Arsenal today.”

Arsenal were clearly on the lookout for a youth forward, making contact with Hearts for Wilson and St. Mirren for Evan Mooney over the weekend. But after reaching an agreement to sign Mooney, there wasn’t quite as much need to bring in Wilson as well.

The Gunners also remain in the hunt for Igor Tyjon of Blackburn Rovers. Though they’ve now had many bids knocked back by the player’s club, he’ll be out of contract this summer.

With Mooney joining in the short term and the potential to add Tyjon in the summer, signing Wilson as well might have been overkill. That likely explains why Arsenal went cold after their initial talks, and why Spurs were ultimately able to snap the player up.

Rodri’s post-match comments following Manchester City’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur could constitute a breach of The FA’s Rules and Regulations.

Speaking after Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead to draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, City midfielder Rodri was incensed by what he believed to be an incorrect refereeing decision for Spurs’ opening goal.

The 29-year-old insisted the goal came from a clear foul, before going on to rant about City’s recent treatment by referees.

“I don’t know how to feel, honestly,” Rodri told Stan Sport. “Now I see the images, on the pitch of course you cannot see, basically a foul in the first action of the goal, it’s a clear foul! And VAR is for a reason, and these small details make the difference.

“It’s one game, and another game, and another game. It’s not possible.”

“But it’s not [just] today, it’s just two, three games in a row, and I don’t know why, honestly,” Rodri added.

“I know we won too much and the people they just don’t want us to win, but the referee has to be neutral. And for me, honestly, it’s not fair.

“We need to be fair in these situations. It’s not just one, because everyone can [make] a mistake, we all have mistakes, no worries about one. But when it’s one, two, three, four in a row…it’s not possible.”

Whilst most of Rodri’s comments fall into the same bracket as the usual complaints you get from players about referees and decisions, the comments implying people “just don’t want us to win” could prove problematic for him.

FA guidance states that they may take action in cases of “any comment which implies or appears to allege bias on the part of a match official”.

Rodri’s comments could also be considered to bring the game into disrepute, given the implication that the officials are pushing for a particular sporting outcome.

Pep Guardiola believes Jeremy Doku will miss Manchester City’s game against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, after he was forced out of Wednesday’s match against Galatasaray with an injury.

Jeremy Doku made an excellent start to Manchester City’s final Champions League League Phase game on Wednesday, setting up both of his team’s goals against Galatasaray.

But after just 37 minutes, Doku limped out of the contest with an injury.

Speaking after the game, Pep Guardiola confirmed that Doku was “injured”, adding that the problem was “a calf, [he] felt something”.

Guardiola added: “It’s a big miss. Jeremy is such an important player for many reasons. The creativity in the final third. But yeah, we’ll see.”

When asked whether Doku would miss City’s trip away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, the City boss responded: “I think so.”

Doku has already struggled with muscle injuries in recent months, missing three Premier League games and one League Cup game in December.

This would be very poor timing for another similar setback, with City playing Spurs (A), Newcastle (H – League Cup semi-final), and Liverpool (A) in their next three matches.

Doku didn’t make many friends in Arsenal circles ahead of the Galatasaray game, responding to a question about the Gunners’ defeat to Manchester United by laughing and saying: “Obviously if they lose, it’s better for us for sure.”

But the winger did add: “I saw that they lost, but I knew there are a lot of games in this competition. And I knew that United, we lost against them. There are a lot of games and we just need to focus on ourselves.”

Richarlison and Ben Davies have become the fourth and fifth Tottenham Hotspur players to be ruled out of the north London derby, still more than a month before the game.

Last week, we covered reports that Tottenham Hotspur had suffered three injuries to key players, with two almost immediately ruled out of the next north London derby.

First, Mohammed Kudus suffered a thigh injury, with Thomas Frank confirming it’s a tendon injury that will rule the player out until after the March international break.

Then, Rodrigo Bentancur tore his hamstring, with Sami Mokbel reporting for the BBC that the midfielder will need surgery and at least three months on the sidelines.

Richarlison then suffered an apparent hamstring injury as Spurs were eliminated from the FA Cup by Aston Villa, and further assessment has confirmed the forward is also facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“Richy, unfortunately, got a hamstring injury which will keep him out for up to seven weeks,” Frank confirmed ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

A seven-week absence from the date of Frank’s comments would mean a return on March 5th, but even just six weeks out would mean missing the north London derby against Arsenal on February 22nd.

Then Ben Davies has also been ruled out after Spurs confirmed he’s having surgery on an ankle fracture, and James Maddison remains out with his ACL injury, meaning at least five Spurs players are expected to miss the game.

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a few significant injury setbacks over the last week, with multiple players now ruled out of next month’s north London derby.

Over the last week, Tottenham Hotspur have suffered three injuries to key players, with two already definitely ruled out of Arsenal’s visit in February.

First, Mohammed Kudus suffered a thigh injury, with Thomas Frank confirming it’s a tendon injury that will rule the player out until after the March international break.

Then, Rodrigo Bentancur tore his hamstring, with Sami Mokbel reporting for the BBC that the midfielder will need surgery and at least three months on the sidelines.

To compound Spurs’ woes at the weekend, Richarlison also suffered an apparent hamstring injury as they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Aston Villa.

“It looks like [a hamstring injury], but we haven’t assessed him yet,” Frank said afterwards.

If Richarlison’s injury ends up being anywhere near as bad as Bentancur’s, he’ll miss the Arsenal clash on February 22nd as well. But at this stage, only Kudus and Bentancur are confirmed absentees for the derby.

James Maddison also remains out of action for Spurs with an ACL injury, whilst Dejan Kulusevski could potentially make his comeback in time for Arsenal if the next month of rehabilitation goes well.

Tottenham Hotspur bid for Leandro Trossard before Arsenal secured the forward’s signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, according to a report.

Isaan Khan reports for the Daily Mail that prior to Arsenal signing Leandro Trossard in January of 2023, Tottenham Hotspur had made a bid for the winger in the same window.

According to the report, Brighton wanted £20m plus add-ons at that stage of the window. Spurs were only willing to pay £15m plus add-ons, so the deal fell through.

Brighton’s firm stance ended up paying off, as Khan reports that Arsenal ended up paying £27m for the player. By that later point in the window, with the Gunners seeing their move for Mykhailo Mudryk hijacked, the club were willing to offer the asking price.

Even if Arsenal ended up paying significantly more than Spurs were willing to bid, the decision to meet Brighton’s terms has paid off for Mikel Arteta’s side so far.

Trossard has over 60 goals and assists for Arsenal in under three years, including many in big games against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, PSG, Bayern Munich, FC Porto, and others.

Arsenal have been so impressed with Trossard’s form that over the summer they handed him a pay-rise without extending his contract.

According to the same Daily Mail report, Trossard was told prior to signing his new deal that he’d likely be used as a squad player rather than as a consistent starter this season.

But after an excellent few months, we’ve now reached the point where Trossard was reportedly rested against Bournemouth to be ready for Thursday’s big game against Liverpool.

No Arsenal player has more goals and assists than Trossard this season, so it makes perfect sense Arteta would want him available for the big games.

Thomas Frank has admitted he didn’t notice he was using a cup with an Arsenal logo before Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to Bournemouth on Wednesday night.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank watched his team slip to another costly defeat on Wednesday, losing 3-2 away to Bournemouth to slip to 14th in the Premier League table.

Yet the night may well be remembered for something that happened before the game even kicked off, with Frank spotted walking around the pitch at the Vitality Stadium holding a cup with an Arsenal logo printed on it.

The Spurs manager was spotted by media photographers, who caught him on camera cradling the Arsenal cup. Speaking afterwards, Frank insisted he had no idea about it, and added it would have been “extremely stupid” of him to do it on purpose.

“Definitely [did] not notice it,” Frank said. “I think it’s fair to say that we’re not winning every single football match so it’ll be absolutely completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal (on purpose).

“So anyone thinking I’ve done that or the staff has done it… You know, [Arsenal have] been in the changing room of the game before us, it’s normal, take a cup, give me an espresso, [I] do that before every game.

“I think actually it’s a little bit sad, in football, that I need to be asked a question about that. I think we’re definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club.

“Of course, I will never do that [deliberately], that’s extremely stupid.”

Frank’s explanation makes sense. Arsenal were indeed the last team to visit Bournemouth’s home ground, the club probably left some spare unused cups in the away dressing room, and someone must then have picked up a cup without spotting the Arsenal logo.

Unfortunately for Frank, it doesn’t much matter whether he took the cup deliberately or not. The optics are the same either way, with an underperforming manager on the day of another defeat starring in photos holding a cup branded with the logo of his team’s biggest rivals.

At best, Spurs fans will forgive it as an honest but embarrassing mistake. At worst, it’s another stick to beat him with.

Antoine Semenyo has rejected Tottenham Hotspur and appears likely to move to Manchester City, Manchester United, or Liverpool in the early stages of the January transfer window, according to reports.

Speaking live on NBC Sports on Sunday night, David Ornstein reported that a January transfer for Antoine Semenyo appears very possible, and it’s likely to be sooner rather than later.

That’s because Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his Bournemouth contract, but it’s only valid until around January 10th. The clause will become active again in the summer at a lower value, but it currently looks as though the winger will be gone long before that.

Ornstein reports that Arsenal might have looked at the situation, but more in terms of a summer move. So with Semenyo seemingly unwilling to wait, that may rule the Gunners out of the race.

Instead, Ornstein reports that Manchester City and Manchester United are emerging as the leading contenders, with Liverpool also having great admiration but not moving on their interest to the same extent so far. That could change with Alexander Isak’s injury on Saturday.

But along with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur are out of the January race. Ornstein claims Spurs were very keen and willing to pay significant wages for the signing, but the player politely turned them down.

There may have been an Arsenal element to that decision, with Semenyo previously admitting he’s an Arsenal supporter.

“I am an Arsenal fan,” Semenyo told The Athletic amid links to the Gunners last year. “I don’t conflict the two with my job.

“It is great to play against Arsenal, a team I have watched all my life and I want to play for the top clubs as well. In order for that to happen I need to prove it.”

Despite Ornstein’s suggestions that the two Manchester clubs might be ahead of Liverpool at the moment, Mark Dobson reports for The Guardian that Semenyo has actually agreed personal terms with the Merseyside club, adding that he favours Liverpool over the alternatives.

That could well be a new development following Isak’s injury, with Liverpool suddenly short and in need of additions. But let’s see how things play out over the next couple of weeks.

If Liverpool do move for Semenyo, it’s not impossible his first game could come against Arsenal. With that January 10th deadline for his release clause, if a deal is going to happen it could well be done in time for the Arsenal match two days earlier.

Arsenal travel away to Bournemouth on January 3rd, so if a deal is done even earlier then Semenyo might miss that game at least. The Gunners then host Bournemouth on April 11th.

Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Matt Wells is close to becoming the new manager of Kroenke-owned Colorado Rapids, according to a report.

TalkSPORT report that Tottenham Hotspur assistant Matt Wells is closing in on becoming the new manager of the Colorado Rapids, his first senior managerial role.

Wells currently works as a first-team coach under Thomas Frank at Spurs, having previously coached under Ange Postecoglou, but he looks to be on the way to the MLS.

The Rapids reportedly interviewed multiple candidates from the U.S. and abroad, but Wells was the most aligned with the club’s transfer strategy.

As many Arsenal fans will be aware, Colorado Rapids share their ownership team with the Gunners, as the MLS side operates under Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.

The Rapids’ Arsenal connection was likely part of the reason they considered hiring Jack Wilshere in the past, interviewing him in 2023. But Wilshere has gone on to become the head coach of Luton Town instead.

Instead, it now looks like the Rapids will be making the much less expected appointment of a Spurs coach.

There’s no great rush to get Wells appointed, given the Rapids are currently in their offseason. They won’t have a competitive game until next February.

On the other hand, confirming the appointment early will help with transfer business ahead of the new MLS campaign.

Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope has been ruled out for the next three weeks of action, meaning former Gunner Aaron Ramsdale could face multiple of Arsenal’s London rivals.

Sky Sports News report that Nick Pope is set to miss the next three weeks of action with a groin injury, with a likely return date set for Newcastle United’s match away to Manchester United on Boxing Day.

Sky add that Pope was informed of the news from a specialist after picking up an injury in training on Friday, and former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is set to start in Pope’s place for the next few weeks.

Newcastle have some significant fixtures during that period, starting with the visit of Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night. Ramsdale’s previous association with Spurs’ north London rivals will likely add some extra spice to proceedings.

Newcastle also face Chelsea on December 20th, as well as playing a League Cup quarter-final against Fulham on December 17th. Two more games that could have an indirect impact on Arsenal’s trophy hopes.

On top of that, Ramsdale will face his former Arsenal teammate Granit Xhaka in the Tyne-Wear derby on December 14th, Newcastle’s first game against Sunderland this season.

But before most of those games, Newcastle host Burnley on December 6th and play a key Champions League match away to Bayer Leverkusen on December 10th.

If Ramsdale had the choice, he might have selected a slightly easier batch of games for his first serious run in the Newcastle team. But if he can really impress during this period, he may find himself competing for starts even when Pope returns.