It is sometimes difficult to keep up, but it does appear that the majority of Arsenal fans are still ‘Wenger out’ despite the Frenchman seemingly turning things around in recent weeks.
Arsenal have actually won each of their last six matches in all competitions, and the Gunners are on the verge of reaching the Europa League semi-finals.
Arsenal are not going to finish in the top four in the Premier League this season, but the capital outfit will be in the Champions League next term if they manage to win the Europa League.
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Arsene Wenger remains under serious pressure at the Emirates Stadium, and it will be very interesting to see what he chooses to do at the end of the season.
Arsenal’s record goalscorer Thierry Henry has previously been linked with the managerial role at the London club, and the Gunners supporters have urged the Frenchman to take control for the 2018-19 campaign.
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Henry is, without question, one of the greatest players to ever play for Arsenal, but is he ready to take on such a big role? The Arsenal fans seem to think so.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Leeds United have had a difficult second season in the Premier League with the Whites now in a relegation battle with just 23 points on the board from 27 games played.
Injuries have certainly played their part in the Yorkshire club’s dismal campaign, with the likes of Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford all missing substantial periods of the season.
Now it seems as though the season has ended for one other unlucky Leeds figure after Tyler Roberts was recently ruled out for three months after undergoing surgery to fix a hamstring injury he picked up in the club’s recent 1-0 defeat against Leicester City.
While this will be a blow for Jesse Marsch’s side and their hopes of avoiding relegation, this could pave the way for the newly appointed Leeds boss to give one other player the chance to play a bit more regularly and potentially save the club from the dreaded drop down to the Championship.
Opportunity knocks
Labelled as an “absolutely outrageous” player by Beren Cross, 19-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt has made 11 appearances in the Premier League this season but has only started two of them, chipping in with one goal and three assists along the way.
With Roberts now ruled out for the next few months and the fact that the Whites haven’t managed to score a goal in their three previous league games, it seems as though Marsch could do with making some changes to his team, particularly at the top of the pitch.
As well as the Welshman’s unfortunate injury, Rodrigo and Dan James have only found the back of the net once between them in the club’s past five league outings, which could also persuade the American to give the teenage striker a chance to lead the team from the start to see if he can be a more clinical presence than some of the other attacking options in the squad.
Also, with Leeds set to face Aston Villa on Thursday evening in their latest league fixture and the fact that Bamford was only fit enough to be an unused substitute over the weekend, Marsch could turn to the £2.7m-rated youngster if he doesn’t want to put the more experienced striker in from the start and risk him getting another injury.
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If this were to happen and the teenager did find some goalscoring form, he could well be seen as the club’s “saviour” for this campaign, as he has been described before by Cross.
In other news: £13.5m loss: Radz had Leeds howler over “non-existent” flop who’s cost £2.6m per goal – opinion
As shared by football.london, Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte holds a very promising belief on star striker Harry Kane.
The Lowdown: Kane shines in north London…
Since the Italian’s arrival at N17, coming after a summer being repeatedly linked with a move to Man City, Kane has now rediscovered his imperious form which attracted Pep Guardiola’s interest in the first place.
The England international, despite not getting on the scoresheet against Middlesbrough, has been fantastic in the Premier League recently – putting in match-winning displays against both Manchester City and Leeds United away from home.
Following his most recent heroics at Elland Road, Conte now believes that the 28-year-old is undergoing a transformation.
The Latest: Conte wowed by Kane…
The former Chelsea boss, speaking to the press (via football.london), says the forward is now evolving into a ‘complete’ and ‘total’ player.
“Harry is not only a number nine. He can became also a number 10 at the same time,” the Spurs coach said.
“You’ve seen the assist for Sonny which was amazing, it was incredible, but for sure, for him to continue to work in this way, he’s becoming a total player, a complete player.
“To be a number nine and 10 the same moment, it means you’re really, really one of the best strikers in the world.”
The Verdict: Exciting turn of form…
Kane’s spell of form under ex-manager Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of 2021/2022 was certainly one to forget.
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However, after Conte’s arrival, it appears Spurs supporters can enjoy seeing the Three Lions superstar back to his often unplayable best.
Journalist Matt Law of The Telegraph, speaking to GiveMeSport, claimed the player is even ‘underrated’ despite his world class status, but if he continues in this vain, he certainly won’t be for much longer.
In other news: Conte green-lights move for new top target as Spurs hierarchy pressured to seal deal, find out more here.
Manchester United must take an important three points against Tottenham Hotspur this evening at Old Trafford as the race for Champions League qualification gets tighter.
Conceding a second consecutive defeat against Spurs today would put United in a vulnerable position in their pursuit of a top-four finish, as three points for Antonio Conte’s side would see them push the Red Devils further down the table into sixth, leapfrogging them in the Premier League table.
With that in mind, the German will need to put out his best team today following a disappointing defeat last weekend in the Manchester derby, and following another week of negative headlines for the club, this could be Rangnick’s opportunity to drop an out-of-form and unsettled Marcus Rashford.
It is no secret that the 24-year-old forward has been having problems at his boyhood club this season, and these issues were further highlighted when it was revealed that he is now considering his future at Old Trafford according to reports from Fabrizio Romano, the day after he was not selected to start against Manchester City.
Rangnick spoke in his pre-match press conference regarding the reports and was clear about his feelings on the forward’s potential exit, saying: “Even suppose he and his agents or his family at one stage of the summer think about maybe going to another club, well then he can do that but in the summer.”
In terms of Rashford’s output this season, he has been scathed repeatedly for poor performances. Jamie Carragher claimed that the 24-year-old’s performances are “not acceptable” and former Man United player Micky Gray labelledthe forward “absolutely shocking”, and it’s no wonder when you look at his statistics in the Premier League.
Rashford has become more of a hindrance than a help in the attacking ranks at Old Trafford, scoring just four goals this season during his 18 league outings, losing possession of the ball on average once every 2.8 touches. He has also lost the majority of his duels (58%), and his goal conversion compared to his shots is 21% according to SofaScore.
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With a high-pressure match against Spurs this evening, it would be best for Rangnick to axe Rashford from the team. Given the headlines surrounding the player’s future, alongside his disappointing performances, the forward could do with being kept out of the firing line.
In other news: One Man Utd player has hit his highest-ever market value
Newcastle lost for the second match in succession as they were beaten 1-0 by 10-man Everton in the Premier League on Thursday night.
The Magpies lost 1-0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last time out and were unable to bounce back in a controversial clash at Goodison Park.
In a game devoid of quality, the most exciting period of the match came when a pitch invader successfully ziplocked himself to the Toffees goalpost as part of a protest. It took multiple stewards and a failed attempt to cut the tie before they eventually got him out after an eight-minute delay.
The home side found their winner, after Allan was sent off for a lunge on Allan Saint-Maximin, during the lengthy stoppage time as Alex Iwobi played a one-two with Dominic Calvert-Lewin before sliding the ball into the back of the net. Martin Dubravka left a large gap to his left and the ex-Arsenal man took full advantage to secure the three points.
First mistake
Eddie Howe has worked wonders since arriving at St. James’ Park as he recently led the team on a nine-game unbeaten run to send them clear of the relegation zone.
In this match, however, he made his first mistake as he opted to select Joelinton in midfield.
Ahead of the game, Howe said this of the Brazilian’s availability:
“He is touch and go for this game. We have a decision to make. Whether we look after him with the break we have afterwards or whether we push him back out there – we’ll have to make a late call on that one.”
This was after he missed the clashes with Southampton and Chelsea due to injury, with his comment pre-match suggesting that he was not fully fit.
Instead of heeding his own warning, Howe decided to start with Joelinton and his performance was one of a player lacking in fitness and match sharpness. He struggled throughout the game and ended up proving that picking him was a big mistake from the head coach.
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As per SofaScore, he lost possession every 3.1 touches as he flopped big time on the night. He failed with three of his four attempted dribbles and did not create a single chance throughout the game, whilst only completing 74% of his attempted passes.
Off the ball, he left a lot to be desired. Via SofaScore, he lost nine of his 13 ground duels and failed to make a single block, tackle or interception, whilst he was dribbled past three times. This shows that he was unable to deliver on or off the ball as he looked off the pace.
However, it is hard to blame Joelinton for his performance as the evidence suggests that he was not ready to play the game. Howe took a risk by selecting him and it backfired badly, with his display contributing to the defeat on Thursday night.
AND in other news, NUFC plot bid for £101m ace who Messi says “is one of the best”, it’s a huge statement…
Celtic have not been shy when it comes to signing players from their fellow Scottish clubs, either on loan or on permanent deals.
One player that the Hoops signed from a fellow Premiership side in recent memory who has turned out to be a great bit of business is David Turnbull.
In August 2020, Celtic struck a deal with Motherwell for the signing of the midfielder, 14 months after a previous deal for him between the two clubs collapsed.
Since arriving at Parkead, the 22-year-old – who is currently picking up £14k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has already racked up 70 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions, scoring 18 goals and providing 15 assists in the process, highlighting how important he is to Ange Postecoglou’s side.
With five goals and four assists to his name in 19 league appearances this season, the midfielder has also shown in his overall performances how important he is for the team. WhoScored list him as the highest-rated player in Postecoglou’s current squad with a rating of 7.66/10, which also makes him the second-highest rated player in the entire Scottish top flight.
In January 2021, just a few months after becoming a Celtic player, Transfermarkt had Turnbull’s market value listed as £1.62m. It now stands at £5.85m, making him the second-most valuable player at the club and also showing a massive increase of 261% based on what he’s delivered for the Hoops on the pitch in terms of his goal contributions and overall performances.
Labelled a “phenomenal” player by Alan Hutton, Turnbull has certainly shown why the club were right to reignite their interest in him and finally secure a deal with Motherwell for the midfield maestro.
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If the 22-year-old can keep delivering solid displays and add further goal contributions to his record for the campaign – especially in their next league game against Rangers once the current international break concludes – then he will definitely be seen as a big reason as to why the Hoops could be getting their hands on the league trophy by the end of the season.
In other news: Celtic now handed huge boost ahead of Old Firm clash, Postecoglou surely buzzing
Sunderland have been handed a triple injury boost ahead of their League One clash with Gillingham today…
What’s the latest?
Black Cats boss Alex Neil has revealed that Alex Pritchard and Nathan Broadhead have been back in training this week and might be available for selection.
He told The Sunderland Echo: “Alex and Nathan have been making really good progress this week and they’ve been out training on the grass. We’ll make a late call on them in terms of Saturday’s game.”The Sunderland Echo added to his comments by stating that central defender Danny Batth is also set to return after he featured for the under-23 side during the international break. Delight
These updates will surely delight the Stadium of Light faithful, as they provide Neil with a massive boost heading into the clash with Gillingham today.
All three players being fit are boosts in their own way. Firstly, having Batth as an option will add further depth to the head coach’s options at the back. Sunderland have kept an impressive four clean sheets in their last five games, which suggests that there is no need to throw him straight back into the starting line-up.
However, having him available to potentially play will delight the 40-year-old. Batth may not have had a dream start to his Sunderland career but he has shown that he can excel at Championship level, with an average SofaScore rating of 7.10 for Stoke earlier this season, and he still has time to show that form in the third tier on Wearside.
With Pritchard and Broadhead, meanwhile, Neil has two players who have proven themselves in Sunderland colours this season. The former has four goals and seven assists in League One this season, whilst the latter has found the net seven times in his last 10 outings for the Black Cats, with five goals in nine third-tier starts since joining on loan from Everton.
Sunderland failed to score in their last match against Lincoln, which suggests that they will benefit from having both players back fit and available. Pritchard and Broadhead are capable of delivering quality in the final third and they can be difference-makers for the club, potentially winning crucial points in the race to secure promotion to the Championship.
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Therefore, Black Cats supporters will surely be buzzing with their progress and hoping that they are both fit enough to play a significant part in the match today.
AND in other news, Donald howler: Sunderland will have nightmares over “surprise” 18-year-old, he’s the new Harry Kane…
West Ham United returned to Premier League action yesterday with a home clash against relegation-battling Everton.
The Hammers secured a 2-1 win over Frank Lampard’s Toffees thanks to goals from Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen, setting themselves up nicely for their Europa League quarter-final match against French club Lyon on Thursday night.
Despite the win, the east London club were without one of their key players, who they will now be sweating over in regards to whether or not he’ll be available for their midweek showdown.
What’s the news?
With Ben Johnson not involved at the weekend, David Moyes had this to say after Sunday’s victory about the full-back’s current fitness situation.
“He felt his hamstring playing for England on Wednesday night. He trained Friday and Saturday but felt it again Saturday. We don’t think it’s bad but it was a decision today. We didn’t not want him for other weeks. I’m hoping he’ll be ok.”
So far this season, the 22-year-old has made 26 senior appearances for the Hammers across all competitions, showing how much of a useful squad option he is for Moyes.
Having played through the entire 90 minutes of West Ham’s four previous league games prior to the win against Everton, this shows what a consistent run of form he was on before picking up this injury while away on international duty.
Fans will be sweating
To highlight how significant the defender has become for the team since his days of playing in the U18 and U23 sides, he has averaged 1.8 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 2.5 clearances per game in the league this season, placing him in the top five for each statistic in Moyes’ squad.
With the reoccurrence of the hamstring issue on Saturday and the fact that Moyes is hopeful rather than sure that the Englishman can make a speedy recovery, this will surely leave plenty of Hammers fans sweating for the time being.
Given the significance of Thursday’s game, the club will undoubtedly be hoping that Johnson will be available for selection by that time and can keep his fitness up for the remainder of the season.
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Should the right-back be unable to play, the Hammers may have to rely on Ryan Fredericks or Vladimir Coufal to do a job for them in midweek.
That may not be ideal given the Czech star has been out of action for the past few weeks with injury despite being on the bench against Everton.
In other news: Moyes can finally axe “shocking” WHU dud as claim emerges, supporters surely buzzing
Wilfried Nancy admitted people will doubt him after his start at Celtic and Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on the Frenchman’s future at Parkhead.
Wilfried Nancy under pressure after cup final defeat
Nancy can understand the scepticism around him after his disastrous start to life in Glasgow continued with a 3-1 defeat by St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final.
“You don’t know me, you’re going to think that I’m all over the place,” the 48-year-old said. “No, I know exactly what we need to do to help the players. We had many, many situations where we did exactly what I’m looking for.
“This is obviously not the result we wanted. But in terms of the way we want to do it, I’m really confident with that.
“But I have to also be humble. The reality is the last three games in terms of results, this is not enough.
“I can understand why the fans can doubt. I can see an evolution all the time, I can see something good, but this is not enough, we are not able to be consistent.
“So obviously, I understand the fans. Yes, I can ask them to believe in me but this is not my job to do that. I have to act instead of talking.”
Fabrizio Romano has since responded to questions about whether the former Columbus Crew boss is facing the sack after his nightmare start in Glasgow.
Nancy fires back at tactical criticisms
Celtic fell behind to Marcus Fraser’s header after 90 seconds before Reo Hatate levelled midway through the first half. But St Mirren were worthy winners through their second-half performance as Jonah Ayunga’s double took the trophy to Paisley.
Nancy took over a team that had won seven out of eight games under interim manager Martin O’Neill but opted to change Celtic’s long-standing 4-3-3 formation and start with three centre-backs, wing-backs, a box midfield and a lone striker.
Celtic have suffered three consecutive defeats for only the third time in 30 years.
Worse than Scales: Nancy must drop 4/10 flop who cost Celtic the trophy
Wilfried Nancy must drop this Celtic flop who was even worse than Liam Scales against St Mirren.
2 ByDan Emery
When asked if his formation change had backfired, the 48 year-old said: “Not at all because we had a really good performance in the first half against Hearts, second half against Roma, and first half today.
“I’m questioning everything. This is my job, to find solutions. But I don’t see it like that. The structure that we had was really interesting, we were able to go wide, we were able to go through the middle, and we were able to attack the box.”
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Nancy felt the first half went to plan after the early goal but added: “When we started the second half, the first five minutes we didn’t control the ball, we started to play long balls.
“So that’s why I was a bit frustrated because I wanted them to keep doing what they did in the first half. After conceding the second goal, we did a kind of ping-pong game. We had the ball, we lost the ball. I want my players to have more belief in themselves.”
Nancy added: “I know that I came in and it was not easy for them to adapt to certain things. And they are really engaged.
“But now this is more about what I ask individually – recognise when we have time on the ball to attack the box. And instead of playing the long ball, can we play (short)? Instead of playing back, can we play forward?”
Alan Pardew has played down talk of European football at Newcastle United ahead of their English Premier League encounter with Everton.The Magpies could rise as high as sixth place on Saturday if they can see off David Moyes’ men, with that position perhaps enough to earn a place in the Europa League if other sides above them succeed in any of the cup competitions. Pardew’s first priority is survival, but he is keeping an open mind and said ahead of the game with Everton: “It’s not lost on us where we could be on Saturday night.” “With the goal difference we’ve got we can jump a couple of places and that’s what you want to do at any football club.” “We’re thriving to get a victory on Saturday and we’ll see where it leaves us at 5pm.” The Europa League would mark major progress for the Magpies, with the team plying their trade in the Championship just 12 months ago. Pardew said: “We can jump up the league but that’s different to saying we can get into Europe.” “We have a team that is functioning well and the results have been good since the turn of the year. We want to keep it going.” “We’ll face the dilemma of whether being in Europe affects us at the end of the season, if it is a dilemma.” Pardew, however, is aware that his team could be facing a wounded animal of sorts in Everton, who were dumped out of the FA Cup by Reading on Wednesday. He said: “I’m expecting a typical game against Everton and a David Moyes side.” “They are a good side full of quality players. Although he hasn’t had much to invest this year he has in the past and that’s left them with good players.””We’re all aware of that but we’re at home and expect to win.” Pardew will be without suspended utility man Ryan Taylor, who is banned for three games after being sent off against Bolton Wanderers. But he will have Shola Ameobi available after his cheekbone injury, with the big striker to wear a protective mask. “Shola is getting more comfortable with his mask and there’s a chance he could be involved,” Pardew said.
And he could be joined by Aston Villa loanee Stephen Ireland if he shakes off a thigh problem. Pardew added: “Stephen Ireland has come back and the injury he had when he arrived here has cleared up but he may have a slight thigh strain that rules him out.” “When you come back from injury you get these little pulls and tugs and it might just keep him out at the weekend which would be a shame as he’s trained well.” Joey Barton is a doubt with a thigh problem sustained in the warm-up against Bolton: “Joey is better but he’s 50-50,” Pardew said.