Troy Deeney, has revealed that he had the opportunity to join Arsenal in 2020 following Watford’s relegation from the Premier League. However, he believes that a previous comment he made about the Gunners, where he claimed they lacked “cojones,” ultimately cost him the move.

Deeney’s comment about Arsenal, made after Watford’s victory over them in a previous season, created a divide between him and Arsenal fans. The remark seemed to have a lasting impact, as it affected a potential transfer to the Emirates.

Despite interest from top clubs in England following Watford’s relegation, Arsenal viewed Deeney as a suitable option for a backup role. However, the attention surrounding his “cojones” comment resurfaced, and as a result, Arsenal opted against pursuing the transfer further.

Speaking on the Filthy Fellas podcast, Deeney said: “You know I was close to signing for Arsenal. The year I got relegated.

“We lost at Arsenal, 3-2, me and Welbz [Danny Welbeck] scored, we could have probably beaten you, it was that COVID year, behind closed doors.

Arsenal has successfully completed its first significant move of the summer by securing William Saliba’s signature on a new four-year contract.

The French defender has been engaged in negotiations with Arsenal over a new deal following an impressive season with the club.

Initially, it appeared that Saliba would leave Arsenal after rejecting an initial contract offer, which reportedly surprised the Gunners with his demands.

Given Saliba’s strong performances for Arsenal throughout the past season, fans were concerned when the two parties struggled to reach an agreement.

Paris Saint-Germain had expressed interest in the former loanee from Nice and had hoped that talks between Saliba and Arsenal would not be successful.

Jack Wilshere, a former player of both West Ham and Arsenal, is eager to see Declan Rice join Arsenal and believes that the midfielder would be an exceptional signing for the club.

Rice has emerged as one of the most highly sought-after players in Europe as he looks to leave West Ham in search of a bigger club.

Arsenal has taken notice of Rice’s talent and sees him as a player who can significantly strengthen their team and potentially lead them to multiple silverware.

However, the competition for Rice’s signature is fierce, with numerous clubs vying for his services. Many clubs now consider Rice a player they would love to have in their squad.

Wilshere, who played alongside Rice during his time at West Ham, shares the sentiment and eagerly anticipates seeing him at the Emirates Stadium. He recognises Rice as a tremendous talent and believes that his addition would greatly benefit Arsenal.

Reality Winner, the first person to be prosecuted in violation of the Espionage Act under the Trump administration, said she was “blown away” by the voluminous detail found in the 49-page indictment against the former president in the sprawling Mar-a-Lago documents scandal. The former intelligence contractor and Air Force linguist made the comments in a new interview with NBC broadcast Friday.

In 2018, under the Trump administration, Winner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison after leaking a top-secret report on Russian hacking to the media—the longest sentence imposed for this crime at the time, according to prosecutors. Now, five years later, Trump himself has been accused of retaining and withholding national security information in violation of the Espionage Act, as well as conspiring to obstruct justice, and lying to the FBI. Winner has previously described the case against Trump “incredibly ironic.”

“It wasn’t hard to believe,” Winner told NBC on Friday. “This is a man that really likes trophies.”

In August 2022, the FBI seized top secret and classified documents from the former president’s Florida estate. On Thursday, Trump was indicted on 37 charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and including willfully retaining national defense secrets. Since the indictment’s announcement, Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. His personal valet, Walt Nauta, was also listed in the suite of charges.

Winner went on: “This is probably one of the most transparent and straightforward indictments that defines national defense information and gives the public a sense of the itemized description of every document, which is not how this particular law has been used against ordinary citizens.”

Arsenal has received a significant boost in their pursuit of Declan Rice as Bayern Munich has reportedly identified an alternative option, suggesting they may be willing to explore other midfield targets.

Declan Rice is a key target for both Arsenal and Bayern Munich, but it appears that the German club could be a more enticing option for the English midfielder.

While Bayern Munich offers the opportunity to win trophies almost automatically in Germany, staying in London with Arsenal would allow Rice to remain close to his family.

It seems Bayern Munich believes that Rice would choose a move to the Emirates Stadium, and according to a report from the Daily Mail, they have now identified Moroccan World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat as an alternative option.

Amrabat had an impressive campaign, helping Morocco reach the World Cup semi-finals and reaching the final of the Conference League and Coppa Italia in the last season with Fiorentina.

Arsenal’s summer transfer window has not started off on a positive note, as recent reports suggest they have lost out on one of their top targets to Benfica.

While there have been numerous rumours linking Arsenal to several midfielders, the club has yet to secure any agreements for their signings. The Gunners have reportedly been engaged in talks to bring in players such as Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, which may have hindered their pursuit of other targets.

One player Arsenal had a strong interest in for a considerable period of time was Orkun Kokcu. After leading Feyenoord to victory in the Dutch League, it seemed likely that he would join Arsenal’s squad.

However, Arsenal’s slow approach to the deal allowed Benfica to swoop in and secure his services, as reported by Record. The midfielder is expected to sign for £30 million after playing a crucial role in Feyenoord’s league triumph last season.

Just Arsenal Opinion

Moises Caicedo, a highly sought-after midfielder in the Premier League, has reportedly reached an agreement on personal terms with Arsenal for a potential summer transfer.

Despite failing to secure a move to Arsenal in the previous summer, the Ecuadorian international has continued to deliver impressive performances for Brighton.

Recent reports suggest that Caicedo has already agreed to personal terms with the Gunners, indicating the possibility of a move to the Emirates.

However, a new report from Birmingham World highlights Caicedo’s disciplinary record, ranking him as the second dirtiest player in the Premier League. In the last campaign, he accumulated ten yellow cards from committing 65 fouls, which puts him in the same category as Joelinton from Newcastle United.

If Caicedo were to join Arsenal, his presence in the midfield would add significant physicality and robustness to the team’s playing style.

There’s talk of Arsenal moving for Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, a transfer interest that I’m sure baffles many. What’s so special about Havertz? I believe if the Gunners are to sign a forward who was at Chelsea last season, then Joao Felix should be their man.

Initially, in the winter transfer window, Arsenal was keen on the Atletico Madrid man joining on loan as a replacement for the injured Jesus. However, the fact that Atletico Madrid wanted around €15 million and Arsenal to pay his full salary (of about €6 million) saw the loan deal fail to materialise.

Chelsea went on to get Felix on board. His loan stay at Stamford Bridge hasn’t been great. He started by missing games due to a red card he picked up on his debut, then failed to live up to his billing, only netting four goals in 16 games.

I’m against those who label the Atletico man as finished. For the better part of 2022 and even his time at Chelsea, the 2019 Golden Boy winner has struggled due to not being on good terms with his coach; reports suggested he didn’t see eye to eye with Diego Simeone, and the fact that at Chelsea, who never know how to get the best out of players, in 5 months he had to adapt to the styles of three different coaches.

With good coaching like Arteta’s one-on-one, Felix may see his career rejuvenated.

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Carolyn McGrath thought she was ready for her testimony in front of the New Jersey Department of Education. An art teacher, she had dressed in a jaunty polka-dot blouse and chunky green necklace, and had a written statement prepared in favor of teaching climate change in every school subject.

She hadn’t expected any controversy. But by the time it was her turn to walk to the podium last month, she was so nervous she visibly shook.  “It was such an uncomfortable situation,” she said later. “I don’t like confrontation.”

McGrath is passionate about teaching climate change; she’s given her students assignments like creating portraits of climate activists. So she was delighted this past fall, when the state of New Jersey joined the global vanguard in climate education. New Jersey is the first state in America to adopt standards for learning about climate change in each grade, from K through 12, and across several different subjects, even physical education. 

Initially these additions didn’t draw much political heat, possibly because sex education standards were being updated at the same time. But this year, the standards in the core subjects of math and English language arts came up for revision. Proposed draft revisions also include climate change. This is important, advocates say, because these are the core subjects that students are tested on, and for which schools and districts are held accountable.  

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