Arsenal FC player ratings vs Newcastle: Mikel Merino shines as Max Dowman impresses again
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Daily Mirror
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'I squared up to Thierry Henry – the Arsenal dressing room had a fight every day'
David Bentley emerged at Arsenal as an exciting young talent in the early 2000s and witnessed the peak of one of English football's greatest ever sides that went on to become invincible David Bentley has revealed he once squared up to Thierry Henry during one of Arsenal 's training sessions. Arsenal, under Arsene Wenger in the early noughties, matched Manchester United as the most dominant team in England. Their wealth of attacking talent at the time, which included Henry, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and Dennis Bergkamp, meant they won the Premier League in 2001/02 and 2003/04, along with three FA Cups between 2002 and 2005. Equally crucial to their success was their grit, aggression and strong mentality, which often spilled over and resulted in clashes on the pitch. That was clear on matchdays as the Gunners racked up 33 red cards between 2000 and 2005. But, according to several Arsenal legends in recent years, training sessions at London Colney were just as vicious, if not more heated, than games against rivals. Bentley was an academy graduate who had not long been promoted to the first team, meaning he witnessed firsthand the good and the bad among one of English football's greatest ever squads. Speaking on Undr The Cosh, the former winger recalled the carnage he witnessed as a teenager during training, including some of his own altercations with club superstar Henry and team captain Patrick Vieira. Bentley began by saying: 'Every day [there] was a fight. "You talk about personalities. No chance. You've got Ray Parlour - loves it, lunatic, beautiful man. Then you've got Martin Keown, Dennis Bergkamp's an animal - he'd kick the c**p out of everyone. 'Giovanni van Bronckhorst - I used to come up against him and I'd come away with black eyes and bloodied eyes, he used to elbow the life out of me. Fights. Pascal Cygan against Kolo Toure was the best fight I've ever seen on the training ground. Two animals going at each other. To try to break them up we needed the whole team. Vieira stamping on me.' Bentley described the shocking moment he offered to fight star player Henry, considered at the time to be one of the best players in the world, before stating his Arsenal team-mates were more invested in winning small-sided training ground matches than weekend games - such was the quality within the squad. Bentley, who later joined rivals Tottenham, said: 'I squared up to Thierry Henry, ripped off my gloves, 'Come on, let's have it.' What they did - Wenger, [assistant manager] Pat Rice and the coaching staff - was put on seven-a-sides everyday. 'The dressing room was more concerned about winning the seven-aside tournaments than the game on Saturday. It was hell for leather and it was just slide tackles and fighting. Especially in the last game, that's where I squared up to Thierry, bless him. I would have got a good hiding as well!' He went on to say: 'I gave it a bit of banter with Martin Keown too, I scored a header against him and said, 'Martin, you're getting a bit old now, aren't you son?' Worst thing I could have done. The ball then came in and I was shielding it, he grabbed me by the neck and threw me from behind. My shirt ripped and I'm going, 'Gaffer! Pat!' and they'd say, 'Get on with it!'' Bentley then shed light on an incident during a training camp in Austria where he sat in Vieira's seat during breakfast and refused to let the Arsenal skipper have it back. His bold move earned the respect of the Frenchman, but he admitted that it meant he was not invited to team outings and was 'snapped' by Vieira every training session for a few months. Bentley was sent out on loan to Norwich City in 2004/05 and, desiring more regular football, joined Blackburn Rovers in August 2005, with the move becoming permanent in January 2006. Despite the regular bust-ups, Bentley insists that such needle was the 'key ingredient' in Arsenal going unbeaten in the 2003/04 season. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Metro
7 minutes ago
- Metro
Arsenal scare off Porto with Jakub Kiwior transfer fee demand
Arsenal 'scared off' Porto by demanding a €30 million (£26m) transfer fee for Jakub Kiwior, according to reports in Portugal. Mikel Arteta's side signed the Poland international from Spezia in a deal worth £20m in January 2023. Kiwior started just 10 games in the Premier League last season and has struggled to secure regular playing time ahead of Arsenal's solid centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. The 25-year-old has been linked with a move away this summer although Arteta is keen to keep the defender at Arsenal. A Bola reports that Porto made an approach to sign Kiwior earlier this summer but the Portuguese 'lost all hope' when Arsenal responded by asking for a €30m (£26m) fee. In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – click here and sign up before Friday to make sure you don't miss the first edition. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Porto did not follow up their interest in Kiwior and instead opted to sign Jan Bednarek in a €7.5m (£6.5m) deal from Southampton. More Trending Speaking in May, Arteta praised Kiwior for his performances while Gabriel was sidelined due to a hamstring injury. 'He deserves a lot of credit because he hasn't played too much throughout many months, and suddenly he's been thrown into the most difficult context, at the highest level, playing against the best opponents, when you haven't had the physical rhythm or the confidence to do it, and I think he's been exceptional,' Arteta said. Kiwior is in line to start alongside Saliba for Arsenal's Premier League opener against Manchester United on August 17 as Gabriel is yet to feature during the club's pre-season campaign this summer. MORE: Arsenal's Max Dowman sends two-word message to Liverpool wonderkid Rio Ngumoha MORE: Man Utd respond to offer to sign £66m former Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target MORE: Arne Slot provides Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker updates after missing Liverpool friendlies
Metro
7 minutes ago
- Metro
Arsenal's Max Dowman sends two-word message to Liverpool wonderkid Rio Ngumoha
Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha has attracted plenty of attention in pre-season, with Arsenal's own wonderkid Max Dowman one of those impressed by the emerging talent. The 16-year-old started in Liverpool's first of two friendlies against Athletic Club on Monday and made an immediate impression. Picking up the ball in midfield, the teenager drove forward and produced a brilliant finish from the edge of the penalty box to open the scoring within two minutes. Before five minutes were on the clock at Anfield, the England Under-17 international had also chalked up an assist for Darwin Nunez who scored Liverpool's second. It is not the first time the young forward has been involved this summer, starting against AC Milan and coming off the bench to score against Yokohama FM on the pre-season tour of Asia, with Slot clearly a big fan of his work. In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – click here and sign up before Friday to make sure you don't miss the first edition. The Reds won both games on Monday, the first 4-1 and the second 3-2, and speaking after the pair of victories, Slot said of Ngumoha: 'Rio is showing good things every time in pre-season.' 15-year-old Dowman, who has attracted plenty of attention himself during Arsenal's pre-season, knows Ngumoha from England youth team duty and commented on his latest performance. The Gunners prospect posted a picture of the Reds talent celebrating his goal, with the simple caption: 'The coldest.' Slot already showed his faith in Ngumoha last season when he handed him his professional debut in the starting XI as Liverpool beat Accrington Stanley 4-0 in the FA Cup in January. That saw the London-born prospect become the second youngest Liverpool player in history (behind Jerome Sinclair) and the youngest to ever start a first team game at 16 years, 135 days. Ngumoha actually came through the youth ranks at Chelsea and only joined Liverpool last year. The Blues were so annoyed that the youngster had been tempted away to Anfield that they banned Liverpool scouts from attending matches at training base Cobham. More Trending On leaving London, Chelsea legend John Terry lamented: 'This boy is and will be a top top player.' The teenager started on the left wing on Monday and will hope to get more opportunities when the season gets underway, but clearly has a lot of competition in Liverpool's forward line. New signings Huko Ekitike and Florian Wirtz both started the second game against Athletic Club on Monday, alongside Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo. However, with Luis Diaz leaving for Bayern Munich and the tragic death of Diogo Jota last month, the 16-year-old may be handed a Premier League debut sooner rather than later. MORE: Man Utd respond to offer to sign £66m former Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target MORE: Arne Slot provides Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker updates after missing Liverpool friendlies MORE: Newcastle make improved Benjamin Sesko bid amid transfer race with Man Utd
