Over the next few weeks, we're bringing you some of our favourite Football Ramble Presents episodes from this season!

Back in November, Andy went to a rain-soaked Barcelona as a new-look Barça took on Benfica in their first Champions League game of the Xavi era! Despite the reduced capacity, Andy said it was one of the best atmospheres he'd ever experienced at the Nou Camp. He also chatted with GOAL's Rik Sharma for the inside track on Barcelona's recent struggles and their hopes for Xavi.  

We'll be showcasing a range of shows from across the Ramble universe over the summer before we come roaring back for the new season in August!

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Charles Watts has questioned Marseille’s ability to find the funds needed to convince Arsenal to sell William Saliba, as much as they wish to re-sign him.

The 21 year-old enjoyed a thoroughly impressive season on loan with the Olympiens, helping them to secure a place in the Champions League with a second-placed finish in Ligue 1, picking up the Young Player of the Year award in the process.

While they are claimed to be keen on bringing him back from north London ahead of the new season, Arsenal appear to have made their intention to include him in their first-team squad for the upcoming campaign clear, yet they do not seem ready to give up on his return just yet.

Watts insists that it would take an offer outside of Marseille’s budget to strike a deal with the Gunners however.

“It’d be it’d be big money, he’s still got two years left has contract, he stated on his YouTube channel. “He’s a fully fledged international now, he is Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year.

Hellas Verona are claimed to be eyeing a move to sign Arsenal’s Pablo Mari.

The defender was one of Mikel Arteta first signings, joining on an initial loan deal from Flamengo a month into the Spaniard’s reign in north London, but found himself surplus to requirements last term as Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White formed a strong partnership at the back.

Mari eventually left to join Udinese on loan in January, but has since returned to the club, and is now on the lookout for a new permanent home.

He could be set for a return to Serie A however with reports that Verona are now considering a move to sign him, as quoted in La Gazzetta’s printed edition (as quoted by UdineseBlog.it).

I was a little surprised by how quickly Mari fell out of favour at the Emirates, as I thought he was one of Arteta’s favourites in his opening 18 months, but it is clear at this point that he would have no role to play if he stayed into the new season.

Darren Ambrose has claimed that ‘Chelsea and Manchester United’ should be worried about Arsenal’s recent transfer activity, with seemingly the most active side in the window at present.

The Gunners have completed deals to sign Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira at this early point of the close-season, as well as having deals in place to sign Matt Turner and Gabriel Jesus also, and there is no signs of us slowing down at present.

The likes of Chelsea and Manchester United have only seen outgoings thus far however, with both losing key players in Paul Pogba and Antonio Rudiger already.

Ambrose told TalkSPORT listeners that Arteta may be putting pressure on himself to succeed with another strong transfer window, with expectations certainly going to rise after another transfer splurge.

“I think Arteta is putting pressure on himself again.” he said on The Saturday Session.

Paul Merson has claimed that Arsenal striker Eddie NKetiah wouldn’t get in Fulham’s team, insisting that we wouldn’t be able to earn a Champions League place with him in our first-team.

The Gunners narrowly missed out on the top-four last term, with Alexandre Lacazette having held down the first-choice role for much of the campaign, while Nketiah came into the side after impressing in the absence of the Frenchman. I would argue that we wouldn’t have finished as close to fourth as we did if young Eddie hadn’t stepped up when he did, but Merson claims that there is ‘no chance’ that he would be able to fire us into the CL places.

‘All Arsenal have got up front right now is Eddie Nketiah, who recently signed a new contract when it looked like he might leave,’ Merson told the Daily Star.

‘And no disrespect to Nketiah but Mikel Arteta must realise he won’t get you into the top four. Absolutely no chance. That’s a fact.

‘Nketiah can’t be spearheading your Champions League push. He’s not getting in ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison at Everton and they almost got relegated.

Darren Bent has claimed that he would prefer Arsenal to sign Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku over Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus this summer.

The Gunners appear to be closing in on the Brazilian’s signature at present, with reports claiming that we have now agreed a £45 Million fee with the Citizens, but talking to TalkSPORT, Bent has claimed that his preference would be the Belgian star.

When asked who he’d sign if he was in charge of Arsenal’s transfers this summer, he said (via the Metro): ‘I’d take Lukaku on loan, 100%. I’d be over the moon.

‘I look at Lukaku and I think he wants to go somewhere where he’s going to feel most loved, and at Inter Milan he was fantastic.

‘He scored a lot of goals and felt the passion from the Inter fans.

Arsenal have been linked with a move to sign Richarlison from Everton this summer, but Tottenham are now claimed to be considering using Everton’s interest in Harry Winks in a swap deal.

The Gunners have been actively looking at attacking targets to add to our front line this summer, with both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang yet to have been replaced. While Gabriel Jesus looks likely to come in this summer, we are expected to add one more, likely someone who can not only provide backup at CF but also in behind, and Richarlison ticks those boxes.

The Brazilian has proven to be a consistent performer during his time with both Watford and Everton in the Premier League, and after helping his side to avoid relegation he now seems open to a move to a bigger club.

While we have been linked with such a move, it is Tottenham who are now claimed to have been asked to be kept informed about his situation, and that they are considering using Everton’s interest in Harry Winks to work out a deal.

Tottenham are still well informed on Richarlison – was discussed during talks for Harry Winks-Everton. Richarlison would be open to Spurs move #THFC

Willam Saliba is set to stay with the Arsenal squad for the upcoming season, but with Marseille said to be ‘confident’ of a deal, I’m not wholly convinced that the player has completely made up his mind.

The Gunners are readying themselves for a return to European football ahead of the new season, having missed out on any form of continental football last term, and are believed to be building up their squad to tackle just that.

Willam Saliba joined the club from St Etienne in 2019, but as yet has not made his senior debut for the club, spending two-and-a-half years of that on loan with his former club, Nice and most recently Marseille.

While everything coming out of north London has stated that he will be staying to vie with Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White for a first-team role this season, the player is yet to come out with a statement which firmly backs up his intention to do so, and the fact that Marseille are claimed by RMC to be ‘confident’ of persuading him to return tells me that the defender may be in contact with the Ligue 1 side.

I would be pretty annoyed if we allowed Saliba go without giving him a fair shot, with not a single minute of competitive yet in his three years under contract with us, but at the same time, he isn’t guaranteed to earn a place ahead of either White or Gabriel regardless.

Charles Watts claims that Arsenal are really disappointed that Fiorentina opted against triggering their option to buy Lucas Torreira following an impressive loan spell.

The Uruguayan midfielder has spent the last two years on loan, enjoying a La Liga winning campaign with Atletico Madrid before returning to Serie A to impress for La Viola, and it was a surprise when they opted against meeting his pre-agreed fee to sign him on a permanent basis.

He has now returned to north London but isn’t expected to stay beyond the current window, and Watts claims that we are unhappy with the way it played out.

“Lucas Torreira – Arsenal are so disappointed with how that one turned out, over what happened with Fiorentina,” Watts told listeners to his podcast.

“They thought that one was pretty much a given that was going to happen.

The amount of Arsenal transfer rumours being shared by usually reliable transfer gurus like Romano, Ornstein and Watts has been incredible this summer, and even with the imminent arrival of Gabriel Jesus, there would appear to be many more incoming deals in the pipeline, if the “insiders” are to be believed.

One of our most-needed targets this summer must be a backup to the injury-prone Kieran Tierney and the inexperienced Nuno Tavares, so the links with the Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez is hardly a surprise, and at 24 years old is perfect for Arteta’s long term project.

Out interest has been confirmed by David Ornstein in the Athletic, who wrote: “Arsenal would like Martinez to join the defensive block — Ajax’s left-sided centre-back would add more depth in the position Gabriel made his own last season. Sources indicate Arsenal have had an offer — in the region of €30 million — rejected already. The 24-year-old, who is said to be keen on joining Arteta’s side, would also provide cover at left-back for Kieran Tierney, similar to how Takehiro Tomiyasu is also able to play both positions on the right side of defence.”

As we heard earlier, Fabrizio Romano has stated that Edu will be concentrating on the Leeds winger Raphinha after Jesus is in the bag, but personally I believe that Martinez should be the priority out of the two, and should be signed quickly so we are ready for the beginning of the season.

Admin Pat

It would appear that Edu and Mikel Arteta are trying to get as many deals done as possible before Arsenal’s first game of the season against Crystal Palace, and it is looking good so far.

The Gunners have already officially confirmed the signing of Marquinhos from Sao Paolo, which appears to be a steal due to his contract problems in Brazil.

Then we had the surprising out-of-the-blue acquisition of Fabio Vieira from Porto, who stats from last season were amazing, and if he can settle quickly in England we could have a real star on our hands.

In another bargain deal, Arteta persuaded Eddie Nketiah to re-sign for us on a long term contract. Considering his form at the end of lastseason and how much it would have cost to replace him, it looks like another excellent bit of business.

Another signing yet to be confirmed by the club is the USA international keeper Matt Turner, but him and his wife are now in London house-hunting. He also looks like a bargain and I like his attitude. He told SkySports: “I’d agree with it for now (being second choice to Ramsdale). I’m coming in to push him and become the best goalkeeper I can become, while also making him the best goalkeeper he can become. That’s really my goal for it all.

The football season has one final huge fixture before its quick summer break: Andy Brassell vs Vithushan Ehantharajah, of course! Explicit language warning for this one…

Jim, Andy and Vish are back for the final daily Ramble of the season to chat Romelu Lukaku’s mooted Chelsea u-turn, Arsenal’s surprise execution of The Quiet Transfer™, and our new favourite commentator over in Anguilla! 

We kick off with an announcement about our upcoming schedule over the summer!

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The respective fixture gods have been kind to us! On the day that Big Jim Campbell gets in the hosting hot seat, the Premier League have announced next season’s fixtures. And Arsenal head to inevitable doom at Crystal Palace on the opening night! 

Elsewhere, Mauricio Pochettino may well have finally been sacked from PSG and we hear some predictably idiotic thoughts from Laurence Bassini - remember him?

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We love you Gareth, but what on earth was that nonsense? Kate, Jim and Luke pick through the wreckage of England’s worst defeat on home soil in nearly a century. Qatar, here we come!

New Zealand were also let down by football’s cruel whimsy, as their World Cup spot slipped through their fingers. Better luck for Scotland though, and Ireland's Nathan Collins turned into prime Ronald Koeman - bosh!

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Kate, Luke and Pete have a Captain Cook at the Socceroos’ glorious procession to World Cup glory, on the back of mad Andrew Redmayne dancing and sod all else. 

Elsewhere, France lulled us further into a sense of false security with another loss, Harry the Hornet remains a marked man and some seismic rule changes rear their head in Holland!

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Marcus, Andy and Pete react to a reminder of England's dark past after their turgid, uninspiring 0-0 draw with Italy in front of a few children. 

Meanwhile, Ireland had a glorious saunter through the Dublin sunshine against an abject Scotland while Wales impressively held Belgium. And - brace yourselves - there's been more questionable scorelines! Ah, the off-season.

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Kate, Vish and Jim prepare England’s masterplan for how we can guarantee Nations League success: bring Jack Grealish on as a sub… after three minutes. You’re welcome.

It’s a big weekend of action for England’s neighbours too, as Wales end their week-long hangover with a Belgian battle, while Andy Robertson prepares to man-mark Matthew McConaughey at Soccer Aid. Well, alright!

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It’s villainous behaviour all the way on today’s show: an Armenian player lobbing a water bottle at a ref, Craig Bellamy’s swinging his way back to the north west, and Andy reveals he got arrested at a Green Day concert. 

Oh, and a team in South Africa conceded 41 own goals. Nothing to see here.

Join Marcus, Luke and Andy as they navigate all that, last night's internationals, and much more!

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England extended their unbeaten run against Germany to three games last night and took the mick out of that crying child from the Euros last summer. A victorious day all round.

Marcus, Jim and Andy run the rule over a huge clash in Munich as Gareth Southgate tinkered with a new system that didn’t quite suit anyone. Elsewhere, Australia clinch a huge win over UAE, Cardiff City are sniffing around bar-owner Gareth Bale and Barcelona are going to pay Robert Lewandowski with… weddings?

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Is Ralf Rangnick the new Kevin Keegan? All we’re saying is there was a 90 minute power cut at Austria’s game last night and a sinkhole opened up in the middle of the pitch, so…

Marcus, Luke and Vish put last night’s internationals under the Ramble microscope and discuss what England need to change ahead of their meeting in Munich tonight. Plus, the whole of Australia gets in touch with Vish.

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