Manager flunked the key moments and decisions during his tenure and few fans or players will mourn his departureIn the end, when the Arsenal statement dropped on Friday morning to confirm the departure of Unai Emery, it came as a mercy. For the past few weeks the mood among many of the players had been they wanted the manager out and they did not exactly hide it at the training ground, and for the past six or so – from the Premier League defeat at Sheffield United – Emery had looked every inch the condemned man, thrashing desperately but unable to find succour.There was a time when he had a clear plan about how to shape a team in the...
Flawed City defence meets hapless Newcastle attack, Leicester can end Silvas service and only a miracle can save EmerySteve Bruce said Newcastle were too passive during Mondays sorry defeat at Aston Villa. One thing he can actively do about that is drop Jonjo Shelvey, who was irrelevant in midfield at Villa Park. With Sean Longstaff available again after suspension, and Matty Longstaff in line for a return to the starting lineup, Shelvey should be parked on the bench. Bruce probably wishes he could also make changes up front to try to exploit Citys defensive flakiness. There is not often a good case for starting Andy Carroll but this time there are two: Citys fragility and Joelintons haplessness. At least Allan...
Emery’s Arsenal have lost their direction and Spurs’ problems start at full-back but Burnley’s Dwight McNeil is on songRiyad Mahrez impressed only in spells during his first season at Manchester City but, with Leroy Sané felled by a cruciate injury in August’s Community Shield victory, the onus was on the £60m man to step up. An imperious performance at West Ham on the opening day of the season suggested he would do exactly that, yet he has started only four league games since – two of those being defeats – and with his side desperate for goals in a critical game at Anfield he was not called on at all. Mahrez remains a magical player on his day but the...
Once hailed as a winner, the Portuguese is regarded in the new orthodoxy as pure plutonium, but his expensively badged pragmatism may be what Arsenal needsStrange how easy it is to end up missing things. Misplaced nostalgia is as old as people being old. Although oddly it is often the things that weren’t that good for you in the first place you end up missing most.Take, for example, José Mourinho, who has this week been linked with a return to the Premier League at Arsenal, albeit most likely by some covert arm of the Mourinho-Industrial complex. Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Continue reading...
Liverpool’s resilience faces biggest test, Vardy threatens to deepen Arsenal’s gloom and a welcome dilemma for NewcastleApparently there is a game going on in Liverpool on Sunday. Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Genk in midweek was very much a continuation of a theme – since mid-September they have also beaten Chelsea, Leicester, Tottenham and Aston Villa by the same scoreline, and they last won a league game by more than one goal at home to Newcastle on 14 September. In their last six league games they have a goal difference of only five, yet they have somehow converted that into a mathematically maximal 16 points. The day Liverpool beat Newcastle was also when Manchester City lost at Norwich, but since then...