Arsenal reap the rewards of an old-school striker, Thiago Silva turns back the clock and Ten Hag’s tactics hit a snagFast-paced, tactically intricate and dramatic to the last, Arsenal v Manchester United was a heavyweight clash that lived up to its billing. It also showcased two models of centre-forward that were meant to be extinct: the old-fashioned target man and the old-fashioned poacher. Spearheading United’s attack, Wout Weghorst pressed with zeal and offered a focal point for United’s free-roaming wide men. It was his peeling run, drawing Gabriel to his left, that afforded Marcus Rashford the angle to blast home the opener. Nketiah pressed with similar intelligence but dropped deep when required to link with his midfield. Both his goals...
Expectation and reality seem to have aligned in north London, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a sense of unstoppable momentumSunday in London and all you can see is fumes: hot breath on cold air and vape smoke and dope smoke and steam rising from sweaty heads and a hype they can finally believe in. Of course Eddie Nketiah is delighted and of course Oleksandr Zinchenko is delighted, but have you ever in your life seen such happy unused substitutes? Sunday in London and it doesn’t matter whether you’re in the back row pressed against the stained glass, or so close you can grasp the hem of the preacher’s garment. Everyone in this congregation gets saved in the end.The post-Christmas Emirates is...
Led by a manager who is treading water, Tottenham are going nowhere, while their derby rivals kick on with commitmentAfter the final whistle, after the booing and brawling had subsided, as Arsenal’s giddy players jigged and danced their way over to their supporters in the corner, Yves Bissouma stood alone in the Tottenham half watching them. Watching with longing, and envy, and perhaps even a certain curiosity. Joy? Pleasure? Celebration? What are these strange new things?By that stage, of course, Bissouma’s teammates had long since retired to the warmth of the dressing room. They did not want to be there any longer, and nor did the Tottenham fans who were already slogging down the High Road in search of liquid...
Arsenal and Newcastle played out an entertaining goalless draw, personified by the visitors’ defender, who seems always to be hurling himself into an offshore headwindIt seemed fitting that the Newcastle’s final active part in this game, deep into stoppage time, should feature Dan Burn wheeling away deep on the left wing, bouncing red shirts out of his orbit, cheered wildly by and away support led by a pink, shirtless quivering man who seemed utterly intoxicated by this spectacle, mainlining it, high on that sweet, sweet Big Dan Burn energy.This was a thrilling, messy, infuriating 0-0 draw; a messy, shirt-grappling, highly entertaining wrestle of a game. This was the kind of game where half of the stadium crowd screams and punches...
Welcoming players back from Qatar now may provide a crucial advantage when the hectic domestic schedule restarts“If they all go out of the competition early and can train with us, that would be absolutely outstanding,” Jürgen Klopp joked of his Liverpool players before the World Cup. The German was lucky that just seven of his squad were called upon to travel to Qatar, although only Darwin Núñez has exited before the quarter-finals. The Uruguayan is one of 73 Premier League players no longer involved in the World Cup, leaving 61 in Qatar for their managers to worry about.Many clubs have enjoyed warm-weather training, and have played or are still to play friendlies to prepare for the Premier League’s Boxing Day...