John Cross, legitimate football writer or not? | Top 10 Football Transfer Gurus

John Cross of The Daily Mirror is arguably one of the most divisive journalists when it comes to writing or talking about football, especially his beloved Arsenal.

With 350k followers on Twitter, he has the perfect social media presence to be able to influence a wide range of opinions and when he does Tweet, it generates massive reactions.

The 54-year-old is currently the Chief Football Writer of The Mirror and has maintained deep roots within the London football community.

He ventured into journalism initially with the Islington Gazette and spent some time there writing about Arsenal before he was handed the opportunity to start working with one of the UK’s most popular newspapers, The Daily Mirror in 1999, he has remained there ever since.

His position on one of the biggest media outlets in the UK means that his voice carries a lot of weight, especially when it comes to transfer gossip and opinion pieces.

John Cross with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

His Love Affair with Arsenal

He has managed to build a reputation as a journalist that can easily divide the Arsenal fanbase with his opinions on all issues surrounding the club.

Growing up in North London, it is not surprising that he is a fan of the record FA Cup winners, one of the biggest teams in the capital city.

He remains an avid fan of the Gunners and he isn’t one that would turn away from criticizing the club, particularly their fan base, which he reckons can be toxic on occasions.

One fan group that is always on the receiving end of his sharp tongue is Arsenal Fan TV, popularly known as AFTV.

He has also published several books and one of them is well associated with Arsenal – Arsene Wenger: The Inside Story of Arsenal under Wenger.

His experience spans several media outlets and apart from The Mirror, his work has been featured in the New York Daily News, BT Sport, Daily Express, Daily Star (UK), Star Tribune, Bleacher Report, Wales on Sunday, Irish Daily Mirror, Kilmarnock Standard and many more.

Fans looking for authentic football news related to transfers can be sure to get those first-hand by following Cross on Twitter, though, it has to be said that he is a tabloid journalist and a lot of his “exclusives” tend to lack credibility.

If you are looking for even more in-depth articles, you can read Cross’ articles daily, online in the Mirror.

His book on Arsene Wenger offers one of the most telling insights into the time of the Frenchman at the club before he was removed as their manager in 2018.

According to Cross himself, he has a serious love affair with football, he is one of the few journalists currently accredited to go to stadiums to report live and has first-hand contacts rivaled by few.

How credible is John Cross?

Cross is handicapped by the fact he works for a tabloid, that affects the reputation of any that work there, however, that does not mean he should be disregarded out of hand.

He appears regularly on Sky Sports Sunday Supplement and that makes his views widely disseminated, however, because of the nature of his employment he is forced to push out more articles than he may wish.

Certain other respectable journalists that provide transfer gossip are not under such obligations, they can pick and choose and that gifts them the luxury of being particular with what they post, Cross lacks that advantage due to his role as a chief football writer for a national publication.

Cross is certainly worth listening to but his publications should be corroborated and not taken at face value.

John Cross with Match notes

Why is John Cross viewed as divisive?

This has more to do with his allegiance to Arsenal. Supporters of other teams disparage him because of his links to the Gunners while Arsenal fans do not take kindly to his criticism of the club and how it is both supported and managed.

If one can look beyond the team he supports they will find a Journalist that knows what he is talking about and has a fine understanding of the intricacies of the game, his Arsene Wenger biography is a testament to the quality of his work.

You do not get invited on the multiple Football shows, hired by world-renowned publications if you are no good at your job but the tribalism that exists in football makes that fact difficult to acknowledge by most.

Is John Cross worth listening to?

Yes he is, any search of YouTube or Google will provide you with enough examples of his work, both written and spoken and you will be richer for it.

He may not be a transfer guru in the strictest sense of the word, the reasoning for this has been covered above, however, John Cross is a highly respected journalist in his field and if his peers deem him worthy then those that do not have access to the influencers within the game can do a lot worse than listen to Cross.

Where can one watch, listen or read the works of John Cross?

The first point of call should be his Twitter account which can be found here.

For in depth articles and the latest transfer speculation you can read his latest articles here.

The following videos are definitely worth a watch, especially the first one where he rips into toxic Arsenal fans (including AFTV) and their treatment of Granit Xhaka.

Then there is this one from AFTV with John Cross as a guest.

And finally, this classic where Cross pays tribute to Arsene Wenger as the Frenchman bids farewell to Arsenal.

Check out our other articles in the Top 10 Football Transfer Gurus series:

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