Alan Pardew is under pressure at Palace, José Mourinho must back his midweek stars and the omens are there for Manchester City to end Chelsea’s winning runOne of the biggest accusations aimed at José Mourinho down the years has been that he favours workmanlike players who can follow instructions over unpredictable talents who are harder to control but more likely to decide a game with a moment of genius. Mourinho’s treatment of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial at Manchester United has provided his critics with more ammunition. But now is the time for the United manager to give both of them a proper run in his strongest side. Mkhitaryan created Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s early opener in Wednesday’s League Cup win over...
With no international breaks and the festive season looming, the next five weeks could go a long way to deciding which of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal have the legs to be Premier League championsDecember is upon us, one third of the Premier League season has been completed and a definite hierarchy has been established. You could throw a blanket over the top four of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, who are separated by only three points after 13 matches. With the gap from the fourth-placed Arsenal to the best of the rest a more emphatic four points, the smart money suggests that barring an unlikely surge from Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United, this season’s Premier League title...
Alexis Sánchez scored twice against Bournemouth and showed that his work ethic remains undimmed as his partnership with Mesut Özil flourishesArsenal’s 3-1 victory against Bournemouth perfectly summarised their recent performances: three shots on target and three goals. It means their total for November, traditionally the month where Arsène Wenger’s side endure a slump in form, is 10 goals from just 11 shots on target – an entirely unsustainable rate.In a flat performance, Arsenal’s standout performer was Alexis Sánchez. Reverting to his centre-forward role having played wide in the 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain, the Chilean demonstrated his all-round ability here, scoring two goals, hitting the bar with a powerful shot from a tight angle, and also creating five chances for...
Arsenal rely on a fit Alexis Sánchez, Pep Guardiola is keeping Manchester City fresh and Jason Denayer may have aided Liverpool’s future opponentsOn the corresponding weekend of last season, Alexis Sánchez suffered the hamstring injury at Norwich City that would rule him out for two months. It was the afternoon when the Arsenal forward had also been pushed into the TV camera pit at Carrow Road by Ryan Bennett – an act that Arsène Wenger said “could have killed” the Chilean. Arsenal’s hopes have come to be closely linked to Sánchez’s fitness, on him staying out of the red zone, and there was plenty of nervousness at the club when he hurt his hamstring in training with Chile during the...
The Arsenal playmaker’s career has been defined by interruption, false starts and category-confusion but the early signs are that he can blossom with a fresh start at Bournemouth, who face his parent club on SundayHere’s an interesting thing: just over eight years ago Arsenal thrashed Sheffield United 6-0 in the League Cup, famously fielding a team of gossamer-touch man-ducklings with an average age of 19, described by Arsène Wenger as the best crop of young players he’d ever had. Related: Arsenal plan to offer Jack Wilshere extended deal in new year Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend And he was great that day, surging about with a flex of those stubby legs, a centaur let...