As the summer transfer window winds down across the rest of Europe, Arsenal FC have jettisoned a couple of players. In the words of Homer J. Simpson “nacho nacho nacho man, I got to be a nacho man;” yes Nacho Monreal has seen his six and a half year spell with Arsenal come to an end.
The Spanish defender, who started three games this season and wore the captain’s arm band versus Burnley FC, has moved to Real Sociedad on a two year deal.
And midfielder Mohamed Elneny, who moved over from FC Basel in January of 2016, has now joined Besiktas on a season long loan. The Egyptian international made 89 appearances for the north London side. As for Nacho, he won three FA Cups during his time as a Gunner, scoring 10 goals in 250 appearances with the club.
The moves come on the eve of the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, certainly a “circle the date” kind of affair every year for the Gunners and supporters. Preview material for the big match is below.
North London Derby FYIs
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal
Kickoff: Sunday, Sept 1, Emirates Stadium, 2:30 pm
Google Result Probability: Arsenal win 41%, Draw 27%, Tottenham Hotspur win 32%
Odds via Betway: Arsenal 11/8, Draw 5/2, Tottenham Hotspur 19/10
Prediction: Spurs 3, Arsenal 2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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