Miguel Delaney reports for the Independent that there is ongoing tension between the Newcastle United hierarchy and Arsenal, with Newcastle unhappy at the Gunners’ attitude towards state-owned clubs.
Delaney writes that some Arsenal executives have been at the forefront of Premier League moves to restrict the financial power of Manchester City and Newcastle, which has led to colder relationships at boardroom level.
That tension came to the fore this summer amid Arsenal’s interest in a couple of Newcastle’s key players, Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes. Newcastle want to keep both, and didn’t entertain the Gunners for long.
On the surface, that sounds like a bad thing for Arsenal, and Newcastle’s unwillingness to do business with the Gunners may yet prove to be an issue.
But Newcastle aren’t selling Isak or Guimaraes to anyone else either.
Manchester City in particular have been credited with an interest in Guimaraes, and as another state-owned club, they should be on Newcastle’s side in any Premier League disputes. Yet they’ve been no more successful in completing that signing than Arsenal.
If anything, Newcastle’s feelings towards Arsenal have somewhat helped the Gunners this summer, as the Isak saga came to a swift conclusion and they haven’t wasted any more time on it.
It would be a different story if Newcastle had decided to sell and specifically ruled Arsenal out as a potential destination. That’s not what’s happened.
