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Ben is an experienced sports journalist and senior editor at Football FanCast, specialising in transfer reporting, Premier League coverage and football analysis. He graduated with a Master's degree in Sports Journalism in 2017.
Ben has written for publications including the Liverpool Echo and the Lincolnshire Echo. Throughout his career, he has covered a range of sports, from American football to mixed martial arts, but his primary passion has always been football journalism.
Since joining Football FanCast in 2018, initially as a freelance writer covering clubs across the English football pyramid, Ben has established himself as one of the publication's leading transfer reporters. His expertise lies in assessing the credibility of transfer stories, analysing what they mean for clubs and supporters, and providing context behind football's biggest talking points. Along the way, he has built an extensive network of trusted sources across the football industry that strengthens both his reporting and editorial insight.
Today, Ben leads Football FanCast's news team as Senior Editor, overseeing the publication's football coverage while helping shape its editorial standards, transfer reporting and analysis.
Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday, blown away by a rampant Brighton side at the Amex.
Pascal Groß opened the scoring before Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the lead right before half-time, and Chema Andres added a third early in the second half to complete a thoroughly deserved win for the Seagulls.
|
Possession |
40.1% |
59.9% |
|
xG |
1.3 |
1.58 |
|
Shots |
17 |
11 |
|
Shots on Target |
5 |
2 |
|
Touches in Opposition Box |
30 |
36 |
It brought an abrupt end to Arsenal's perfect start to the season and leaves them second behind Man City heading into the international break, and Mikel Arteta didn't shy away from the scale of the defeat afterwards.
"Extremely disappointed. But first I think we have to congratulate Brighton for the victory. I think they deserve it, I think they were the better team," he said.
Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra"From our side, there were certain basics you need to accomplish in football, especially in the Premier League that we were very far from. Winning the first duel, the second ball, that put to the game, especially how direct they were in a really difficult place for us.
"On top of that, especially in our own half, we didn't respect any of the principles of play to get out of that man-to-man situation. That puts us on the back foot, so it was very difficult to control the game.
"When we had moments of dominance and control, we did open them up, but we didn't finish those actions with the quality that is required to compensate for the things we did wrong. So overall, they deserved to win the game, and it's a big lesson for us."
The result has reignited frustration among Arsenal supporters over the club's lack of business up front during the summer window, as the Gunners failed to add further to their attacking ranks following the signing of Christos Tzolis.
|
Bukayo Saka |
£300,000 |
Jun 30, 2030 |
|
Kai Havertz |
£280,000 |
Jun 30, 2028 |
|
Viktor Gyokeres |
£200,000 |
Jun 30, 2030 |
|
Noni Madueke |
£150,000 |
Jun 30, 2030 |
|
Christos Tzolis |
£90,000 |
Jun 30, 2031 |
|
Ethan Nwaneri |
£80,000 |
Jun 30, 2030 |
Andrea Berta and Co are reportedly keeping tabs on potential January options such as Kevin Schade and Eli Junior Kroupi to bolster Arteta's options up front, but there could also be movement in defence, where Ben White has long been tipped for a potential exit.
Arsenal battling Liverpool for 5-assist star
According to TEAMTalk, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all have long-standing interest in Feyenoord's Givairo Read, having been closely monitoring the Dutch right-back for months.
REUTERS/Maurice Van SteenRead has racked up five assists in just seven Eredivisie appearances so far this term, and Premier League scouts have been impressed by what they've seen, particuarly in his playmaking ability from out wide.
They'll also be watching closely when he links up with the Netherlands Under-21s during the international break for their European Championship qualifiers against Norway, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Liverpool, who have their own issues at right-back with Jeremie Frimpong out of form and Ronald Araujo being shoehorned in at full-back, are thought to be considering a move in January to get ahead of the competition, so Berta may need to act quickly when the winter window opens.
REUTERS/Maurice Van SteenFor now, though, the focus is on responding domestically. Arteta was quick to stress there's no quick fix awaiting Arsenal once the break ends, admitting there are no easy games: "That for us crystal clear. We knew when we talked for two days what we had to do here.
"We've played our fourth away game in a very short space of time, and we know what it takes to win every single match. We know what it has to take to beat Leeds when we come back."
Arsenal host Leeds after the international break, with Daniel Farke's side one of the toughest teams to play against in the division so far this term, conceding just three times in total in their first five matches, with no defeats.

















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