Arsenal’s season looked incredibly promising on 1st April, with many fans and pundits backing the North Londoners for a top four finish. Since then, the Gunners have crumbled, leaving their hopes of finishing fourth all but over providing there are no end-of-season miracles.
Unai Emery’s men took to the field on Sunday afternoon knowing a win would put them in a very strong position for Champions League qualification via the league, as Chelsea and Tottenham face tricky games on the final day of the season.
It wasn’t to be as Granit Xhaka brought down Solly March in the penalty area, before Glenn Murray converted the spot kick to deny Arsenal the three points.
Social media erupted as the patience of Arsenal fans broke, leaving many star players in the firing line of criticism from their supporters.
One star in particular, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, received some rather misplaced criticism. The striker has contributed 20 goals and five assists in the Premier League this season, though has also been erratic in front of goal at times.
Arsenal have been crying out for a world-class striker for years, and in Alexander Lacazette and Aubameyang – who allegedly takes home £200k per week – they’re now blessed with two.
Though not all fans are happy with the Gabonese striker’s contribution…
Manchester United have it all to do against Barcelona inside the Camp Nou this evening.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men find themselves trailing by a goal to nil after a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford in the first leg, courtesy of an own goal by Luke Shaw – the England left-back is suspended for the game against the Spanish champions.
As a result, Solskjaer will need to replace the former Southampton full-back, although Marcos Rojo’s stint on the left of defence against West Ham at the weekend did little to strengthen the Argentine’s claim for another start.
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The Red Devils will need to go on the attack from the off against Ernesto Valverde’s side, as they need two goals to progress into the semi-finals in normal time having conceded an away goal to the Catalans at Old Trafford.
With that in mind, Solskjaer needs to pick an attack-minded eleven, although one that will be secure enough not to concede another, which would all but end their hopes of progressing.
Whilst that is easier said than done, we’ve put together a potential XI that Solskjaer could opt for this evening…
This line-up sees Ashley Young come in at left-back to replace Shaw, with Diogo Dalot slotting in at right-back to cover the former Aston Villa man’s swap over to the other side of defence.
Ahead of the backline, Scott McTominay, who performed so well in the first leg, is reinstated into the starting lineup after being rested against West Ham, whilst Fred, who has been playing well of late, comes in alongside him. Overall then, that’s four changes from the starting XI that beat West Ham on Saturday.
Liverpool’s lack of strength in depth in advanced positions has been masked by the brilliance of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane over the course of the past two seasons, but Jurgen Klopp needs to rectify that problem to keep in touching distance of Manchester City next season.
What’s the word?
Well, according to a recent report from Het Nieuwsblad, Klopp has already set the wheels in motion to add a quality talent to his forward-thinking options.
The report claims that the Reds are interested in Borussia Monchengladbach’s Thorgan Hazard, and the Bundesliga outfit want the 26-year-old attacker to move to Anfield instead of Borussia Dortmund, another interested party.
However, crucially, Hazard is eager to acquire regular opportunities and he views Dortmund as the destination which offers him greater guarantees of first-team football.
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic deal is key
It’s easy to sympathise with Hazard’s feeling that Liverpool may not offer him the opportunities he naturally craves at this stage in his career. Mo Salah and Sadio Mane are practically untouchable in their respective wide positions, and dethroning them would represent a monumental task for him to undertake.
But the situation is less complicated at Dortmund, especially now Chelsea have agreed to sign Christian Pulisic in a stunning £58 million. Not only was the deal stunning in the enormity of the transfer fee, it was one which very few had seen coming when the deal was announced.
Jadon Sancho has represented Dortmund’s first-choice attacking wide player for the majority of the season so far, while Pulisic, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Marius Wolf have all been vying for a spot in the starting XI.
The soon-to-be Chelsea talent has endured a stop-start season through injury but his departure undoubtedly leaves a gap in Dortmund’s squad which needs to be filled, and it appears Hazard, who has scored 12 goals in all-competitions this season, has been identified as the man to step into the USA international’s shoes.
Neither Larsen or Wolf have done enough to prove they are ready to cement a place in the starting line-up, leaving Dortmund with a place which is blatantly up for grabs.
At Liverpool, meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri has been a bit-part player at best and his inability to hold a place down in Klopp’s XI proves that opportunities are not easy to come by. Naby Keita has also struggled for regular opportunities since making his move from the Bundesliga, and his career will hardly be filling Hazard with deep enthusiasm over a potential switch to Merseyside.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that, in comparison with Liverpool, Dortmund will offer solid assurances over a regular starting berth next term – a notion that has been enhanced by Pulisic’s decision to move to Stamford Bridge.
Jack Grealish has revealed via his official Twitter account that he is raring to go ahead of Aston Villa’s return to Championship action this weekend.
The Midlands outfit will be looking to put their fifth straight Championship win on the board when they welcome Blackburn Rovers to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
Grealish has been in outstanding form since returning from injury and the Villa supporters are hoping that the 23-year-old will put in another impressive performance against Rovers.
There continues to be speculation surrounding the future of the attacker, which is not a surprise when considering his talent.
Grealish is currently leading his side’s charge up the table, however, and he will be fully focused on helping his team secure at least a playoff spot in the coming weeks.
To be honest, the Villa fans absolutely adore the 5 ft 9 ace and a selection of their Twitter reaction to his post on social media can be seen below:
The Sun are reporting that Borussia Dortmund and former Manchester City winger Jadon Sancho is top of Manchester United’s transfer list for the summer window.
What’s the word, then?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly considering four England stars to sign after the season’s end, Sancho, West Ham United’s Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Crystal Palace and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
Sancho is just 19 and one of the brightest prospects in Europe.
After breaking onto the Bundesliga scene in 2017/2018, he’s made 47 senior appearances for Dortmund, scoring 10 goals, bagging a remarkable 21 assists and breaking into Gareth Southgate’s England squad to become a full international.
Sanchez out, Sancho in
It’s time Man United admit that the deal to bring Alexis Sanchez in from Arsenal was a complete disaster and get rid of the Chilean.
At the moment, the 30-year-old is hoovering up wages with little contribution to Solskjaer’s recent success, his ridiculous £350,000 per week salary could even be disturbing the harmony of the squad.
It makes perfect sense to give up on Sanchez now and identify the wage waster’s perfect replacement, Sancho, and make the wonderkid a Red Devil.
In the 19-year-old, who is valued at £72 million by Transfermarkt, United would be signing the player they thought they were getting in Sanchez – but a much younger and better version.
Like Sanchez, Sancho likes to play out on the wing, although he is versatile enough to suit most positions within the attack, from central attacking midfielder to striker.
One could perhaps argue that replacing a left winger with a right winger would make no sense, however, while left wing by trade, the injury-prone ex-Gunner Sanchez has played on both flanks in Manchester.
And, despite the fact it would presumably take a ludicrous fee to sign someone who hasn’t even made 50 appearances in one of Europe’s top five leagues yet, Ed Woodward must pay whatever it takes to bring in one of the brightest talents in world football to fill the boots of an ageing and useless former star.
The rise of player power is spiralling out of control. A rasping tornado of arrogance, self-indulgence and greed has effectively made the virtue of loyalty redundant during the Premier League era. Players seldom feel strongly about the badge and the colours they represent; instead the nearest and most lucrative pay cheque reigns supreme.
Marko Arnautovic’s January transfer saga served as an acute reminder of how public displays of loyalty, however regular they manifest themselves, are often futile acts of deceit in the modern economic climate. The Austria international was, up until the turn of the year, adored by the Hammers faithful and a talismanic figure at the club.
Arnautovic ritually celebrated goals with stout loyalism. First he would wheel away and hit the badge on his chest with passion rippling through his eyes, as if his devotion to the club was worth the years he was knocking off his ticker’s shelf-life with every vigorous slap. Once he was finished putting his heart through its paces, he crossed his arms to an x shape to bring West Ham’s iconic badge to life, transmitting his personal affection for the club, the supporters and its values with every passing goal.
This was, as the fans later came to find out, a facade. West Ham rejected a £35 million offer from Shanghai SIPG for the bulldozing powerhouse in January, but Arnautovic then attempted to force through a move away from the London Stadium.
Speculation was temporarily brought to an end with his decision to sign a new contract, but a hazy lack of detail regarding the terms of the deal hinted that January merely hosted the first instalment of a saga which is bound to resurface in the summer. The 29-year-old hadn’t found the net in the Premier League since January 2nd heading into this weekend. He has resembled a disenchanted and sulky schoolboy on the pitch, merely counting down the minutes until he is finally released of the manacles which are keeping him in east London until the end of the season.
This cliff dive from West Ham poster boy to bit-part underachiever symbolises a growing trend in football in which there is a direct correlation between professionalism and the prospect of moving to a more coveted club – regardless of whether the attraction is financial, footballing or a combination of the two.
Dimitri Payet simply refused to train when Marseille came calling in 2016, Alexis Sanchez went off the boil when Manchester beckoned, Philippe Countinho was sidelined with a back injury in the summer of 2017 amid interest from Barcelona before making a mysterious return when the window closed, and Ousmane Dembele was suspended by Borussia Dortmund when he skipped training after learning of Barcelona’s interest in his services.
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However, there is an anomaly to the rule: Idrissa Gueye. Everton’s midfield anchor has been one of the most outstanding performers in the past two seasons, and he attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain in January. The Senegal international, like Arnautovic, submitted a transfer request to complete the transfer his heart desired, but his efforts were made in vain.
Yet, since news of PSG’s interest first began to emerge, he has conducted himself with a level of professionalism which puts the likes of Arnautovic and Dembele to shame. Gueye has continued to thrive at the base of Marco Silva’s midfield unit, breaking up play and playing percentage passes to keep Everton ticking over.
There has been no public fiasco, unexplained absence from training, dramatic dip in form or shift in body language. It’s been business as usual for Gueye. After the transfer market slammed shut at the end of January, Silva described the 29-year-0ld as a “good professional and a fantastic boy”, and the weight of substance behind that claim has been evident in the standard of his performances in the last five games.
The humble defensive midfielder often goes under the radar. Fundamentally speaking, the role is designed for a no-thrills, incredibly-reliable and steady footballer. It’s a selfless job which requires the player to sacrifice personal glory and recognition for the overall benefit of the team.
Those prerequisites for the role translate into a level of professionalism which Gueye has maintained amidst the lure of playing for one of Europe’s top clubs and living in one of the continent’s most desirable cities.
The Everton fans are in no mood for a laugh and a joke at the moment.
Ahead of next week’s Premier League clash with Cardiff City, a tweet from Everton’s official account made a joke about Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford recently becoming a father.
However, the Everton supporters were not having any of it.
The Merseyside outfit are on a rotten run of form at the moment, losing five of their last six matches in all competitions, including their last three in the league.
Many expected the team to make a challenge for the top-six this season, but they have not been victorious in the league since an unconvincing 1-0 success away to struggling Huddersfield Town at the end of next month.
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As a result, there is simply no downplaying the importance of Tuesday’s trip to Cardiff, which will be Everton’s first match since they lost 1-0 at Watford on February 9.
Everton’s Twitter account are doing their best to raise the spirits at the moment, but the club’s supporters are just not interested. Earlier this week, fans trolled a Twitter post showing off Lucas Digne’s skills in training and once again, the club’s account has been targeted for abuse from unhappy supporters.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
The sight of Manuel Lanzini in training with West Ham United on Wednesday was enough to send the club’s supporters into meltdown.
Lanzini has not played for West Ham this season, having picked up a serious knee injury ahead of the 2018 World Cup, which cost him the chance to represent his country, Argentina, at the biggest international tournament in the world.
The 26-year-old has been back in training for some time, however, and he is in contention to face Fulham in the Premier League on Friday night.
There is no question that the Hammers have missed the South American, who is capable of changing a match in a split second due to his immense quality.
On Wednesday, West Ham’s official Twitter account posted a picture of Lanzini in training ahead of the clash with the struggling Cottagers.
And the club’s supporters absolutely loved seeing the attacking midfielder looking ready for action.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Wolves’ transfer activity can be taken two ways – on the one hand, a step in the right direction but on the other, pretty underwhelming.
Only one senior player was signed as the west Midlanders splashed £16.9m on Olympiacos winger Daniel Podence, who is likely to provide vital backup to Adama Traore on the right flank whilst there were an array of U23 additions as Fosun continues to invest in the youth setup.
Luke Matheson, Leonardo Campana and Enzo Loiodice are just three of the new additions that could be fast-tracked through under Nuno Santo in the next 18 months or so.
However, they failed to sign a new striker after Patrick Cutrone ended his Wolverhampton nightmare just five months after joining from AC Milan in the summer.
The Athletic reported that Wolves wanted two attacking additions in January, while The Daily Mail claimed Nuno was hoping for his side to land a striker.
Ultimately, only Podence – a player to support the attack rather than spearhead it – arrived, but it might not be the end of the world.
Wolves were linked to AEK Athens striker Nelson Oliveira, hardly an inspiring choice given his pretty drab record in English football with the likes of Norwich City and Reading.
Via Transfermarkt, he’s scored just once in ten Premier League appearances, whilst 31 goals in 103 games in the second-tier is hardly encouraging towards the prospects of improving his PL numbers.
Although this standard – or quality if you like – of transfer target seemed to be the norm across the top-flight, even for bigger teams than Wolves themselves.
Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur for a player that Aston Villa knocked back the night before in former Watford man Odeon Ighalo, the 30-year-old that sold his career to the Chinese Super League (Sky Sports via The Sun).
Spurs were also trying to secure any one of Olivier Giroud, Eran Zahavi (yeah, who?), Islam Slimani and Willian Jose.
Even Chelsea struggled to attain a new forward, hence the out-of-favour aforementioned Frenchman sticking around at Stamford Bridge.
Obviously, if Wolves’ only senior striker, Raul Jimenez, picks up a serious injury this season they will be left in the mire, but are any of the realistic names above going to be much better than U23 option Campana?
Is Oliveira going to lead a line in the top-flight any better?
It’s doubtful.
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Nuno might’ve not gotten his striker in January, but it is a notoriously hard market to manoeuvre as seen with the struggles above.
It gives them time to look ahead to the summer and plan more strategically for an ideal addition – thus, this one could prove to be a blessing in disguise come the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
While in other news, Wolves have played a blinder over £15m man after his latest showing…
[ad_pod ]Loads of Leeds fans have been running the rule over their disappointing defeat to Stoke City, and they’re not too happy with the performance of Luke Ayling.Stoke picked up a much-needed three points at the bet365 stadium on Saturday, as goals from Sam Clucas and Joe Allen were enough to see of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds in a match packed with controversy.Clucas fired the hosts in front just after half time and Joe Allen made sure of the points with minutes to spare, although Ezgjan Alioski did grab a consolation goal in stoppage time.Pl>ymaker FC’s Theo Ogden found two rebelious Leeds fans in the home end at Loftus Road in QPR’s 2-1 FA Cup win. Find out what happened next in the video below…While much of the focus is on Pontus Jansson’s red card, as the Swedish international picked up a very soft second yellow card, Ayling is also taking plenty of flak from fans for his performance.The 27 year-old is a popular figure at Elland Road due to his work rate, passion and versatility, but he has looked a step off the pace on several occasions this season.You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…