Keiran Gibbs set on joining Newcastle after FA Cup Final omission

Arsenal have signed left-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer for next season and with Nacho Monreal first-choice, Kieran Gibbs' days are numbered at the Emirates.

The Englishman has been plagued by injuries his whole career and was reported as injured, then ill, before the FA Cup final but was angered after not being told about his omission from the squad by Arsene Wenger.

So Gibbs is set to leave Arsenal in the summer after a massive 10 years since making his debut for the North London club, with Newcastle his most likely destination. A fee of around £6 million should be enough to bring him to Tyneside and would be a much-welcomed addition to take over the left-back duties from Paul Dummett.

The semi-retired Welsh international Geordie wizard just isn't up to scratch for the Premier League. He was decent in the important games during our Championship campaign, with keeping Brighton's 'Championship Player of the Year' Anthony Knockaert quiet being the highlight, but he still showed on countless occasions his lack of positional sense, total reluctance to ever get forward and still has a massive mistake waiting to happen in his locker.

Gibbs is an experienced 27-year-old with a point to prove, given he has never quite made the most of his potential. If he can stay injury free, then he will be as solid a left-back as we could ever hope to bring in for a reasonable fee.

Watch this space.

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New leaked Newcastle kit looks nice - sponsorship details yet to be released

Many of us have caught a glimpse of the supposedly new Newcastle kit that has been 'leaked' on social media, which shows Dwight Gayle giving it the big one as he rocks the 'classic' black and white design we were all expecting, complete with a brand new sponsor.

This new sponsor seems to be Chinese betting firm Fun88, which would also confirm the rumours of such an establishment being the next business to flaunt itself on the black and white stripe, which is replacing the awful Wonga once and for all. Thank the Lord.

No details have been released yet on whether this is, in fact, our next sponsor or how much they are spending to promote themselves via ourselves but let's hope it's in the levels you would expect a top Premier League club to receive, and not some cheap job concluded by tax-avoider Lee Charnley.

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Newcastle signing up winger for £6 million - but is he good enough?

It looks like Newcastle are taking up the option to sign Christian Atsu on a permanent basis from
Chelsea for around £6 million. The infamous 'Sky sources' are all over the story claiming the club and Atsu are in negotiations today as the deadline from his loan clause to make his move permanent is closing in. Atsu has been decent overall in the Championship but is he good enough for the Premier League?

Well if you look at his record for Ghana this season he has become arguably their most influential attacker and his impressive performances helped Ghana to the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations.

Atsu has been pulling the strings for 🇬🇭 . Here are his 2016/2017 stats
9 matches
total shots 28
shots on target 11
goals 3#joyafcon pic.twitter.com/4L9btf9i0q

— #JoySports 99.7FM (@JoySportsGH) January 17, 2017

In the Championship for the Magpies he has put in some decent performances and some memorable moments on our way back to the Premier League. None more so than the free kick that finished off Cardiff in the penultimate game of the season - what a beauty!



His fee of £6 million is worth the punt for someone who obviously has talent but has never had a club yet to call home, as he has been continuously shipped out on loan all across Europe. We might just be able to get the best out of him next season.

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Newcastle Utd: Bring back Hatem Ben Arfa to the Premier League!

I love Hatem Ben Arfa. He is a genius. An enigma. The ultimate maverick. We need the ex-Newcastle man back in The Premier League as witnessing him sat on the bench at PSG every week is hurtful. A talent like HBA needs to be on the pitch to entertain the world. Ideally to entertain the Geordies once again. Newcastle please bring him back!

OGC Nice were amazingly chasing the French League title this season as they fought the mega rich PSG and AS Monaco head on. This somewhat surprising challenge is based off the back of their previous campaign in 2015/16 where, from absolutely nowhere, they were chasing the Champions League places despite only expected to be a mid table team at best. This was down to bringing in a player from the football scrapheap who didn’t have a club, who was unfit but did have amazing talent. That player was Newcastle and briefly Hull City outcast Hatem Ben Arfa.

Nice needed a player like Ben Arfa and Ben Arfa needed a team like Nice. A team with no expectations that would give him the platform to perform week in week out and potentially be their headline act if he got himself match fit. The enigmatic Frenchman did not disappoint as he tore through Ligue 1 almost from day one right through the whole season as the small French club were agonisingly close to qualifying for the Champions League. All of which was under the guidance of current Southampton boss Claude Puel.

Ben Arfa has been linked to joining the Saints when Puel left Nice to go to the South coast club, Ben Arfa was also leaving Nice on a free transfer. However, with likes of Barcelona looking into his signature the chances of him landing at St Mary’s were extremely thin. It was PSG who finally gave Ben Arfa a 2-year contract in hope to he could re-create his blistering form for the French champions. Unfortunately for HBA he has not been given a genuine chance by new boss Unai Emery to show his talent and is consistently left on the bench and given 10-minute cameos near the end of games or left out the matchday squad completely.

This is a sorry sight for Ben Arfa as his blatant talent is a crime to be wasted sat on the bench as he was arguably the best player in the whole of France last season, definitely the most exciting. If Claude Puel could rescue the skillful winger from his PSG slumber next season, or any other Premier League club, it would be a glorious site to see the lad in full flow again.

Ben Arfa had an amazing season in 2015/16 as he scored 18 goals in 34 games and had some of the best dribbling stats in Europe, he averaged 4 successful dribbles per game! Which is incredible. 


Hatem Ben Arfa is one of the most exciting players in Europe. He must play football to entertain the world. We want him back in the Premier League. We want him back at Newcastle.

Follow me on Twitter @ToonBano