Manchester City’s midfield duke was sublime while Arsenal’s David Luiz had a night to forget at the EtihadWelcome back then, English football. Sport in the time of plague: this was never an easy prospect. In the event the Premier League’s live return was jarring, dream-like and lodged at all times on the spectrum between startlingly odd and startlingly everyday Some things were reassuringly the same. Grass remains green. The ball is still round. And Mesut Özil didn’t turn up. Literally so on this occasion: Özil was left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for the trip to Manchester City. Related: Manchester City return in style as Arsenal pay for David Luiz’s errors Related: Premier League return: five talking points from the...
After a three-month hiatus, some players are in desperate need of a successful end to the seasonEven before a lockdown during which he received a stern talking to from Arsenal for standing too close to his valet and then appearing to inhale nitrous oxide from a balloon, this has been a challenging campaign for Lacazette. After entering it as Arsenal’s player of the season, an early ankle injury stripped his confidence bare. His struggles in front of goal led to a nine-game drought until February, made worse by the fact that his presence shifted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the flank. This seems like an important opportunity for him to return with a clean slate and provide Mikel Arteta with some enthusiasm...
Shared experiences between people in separate places are quite the thing right now – plenty find the radio a comforting friendBig Del died last week. A fixture in my Brixton local, he hadn’t been in since Christmas and the cancer did for him pretty quickly in the end. Nobody in the pub, not even those closest to him, had known he was ill because he seemed the type who probably didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him.A retired brewery drayman, Del was a sweary old-school Londoner who loved his football, rooted for “those facking Gooners” and was England till he died. We’d even fallen out over it once; nothing serious, a clash of nationalities more than personalities. He knew this...
With no live football on in most countries, we have asked our writers to pick a game they will never forgetMuch as the internet wills it otherwise, football inhabits the grey areas: everything is subjective, nothing is absolute, and it is no more deviant to change your mind than it is fraudulent to say you don’t know.However, certain truths are elemental, and here’s one: the 1996-2005 rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United is the greatest the English game has seen, with – cue Arsène Wenger internal voice – quality, intensity and animosity beyond compare. And, though 2004’s “I’ll see you out there” encounter comes close, its zenith – and therefore English football’s zenith too – was the 1999 FA Cup...
A chance for Bournemouth at Anfield, Burnley and Spurs battle for European slots and Fernandes can seize big derby stageGiven their 22-point lead at the top of the table, no one at Liverpool is likely to be concerned by three recent defeats in four games across three different competitions. Of course, while a win against Bournemouth would help steady the ship and halt the onset of anything approaching mild jitters, Eddie Howe’s men will head to Anfield to face hosts recently derobed of what had previously resembled a cloak of invincibility. With Fabinho in poor form and Jordan Henderson still sidelined with injury, Liverpool look uncharacteristically vulnerable in midfield and are crying out for on-field leadership. While it ought to...