Arsène Wenger overcomes resistance to change, Aitor Karanka wants fighters more than Stewart Downing, and José Mourinho has more pressing concerns than getting revenge at ChelseaOne of the many criticisms routinely directed at Arsène Wenger concerns his tactical conservatism and it is fair to say that he has seldom deviated from his preferred and predictable 4-2-3-1 in recent years. But on the back of a crucial drop in form Wenger has actually started the last two games with a new plan, playing 4-3-3 against Bayern Munich and Lincoln to address the malfunctioning midfield by adding an extra man. He thinks some of his midfielders, namely Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, benefit from being in a three and perhaps it is...
Hull’s Harry Maguire is dreaming of England, Spurs are better placed than ever to best Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal and Aitor Karanka continues to divide opinionThe Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos In a cartoon history of Arsenal’s ongoing run of springtime top-four escapology acts – the battle, above all, to stay ahead of Spurs – Arsène Wenger would probably be depicted right now wriggling furiously inside a sealed lead trunk, still rattling his padlocks but descending towards the seabed. Tottenham are six points ahead of Arsenal with 11 games to play, to Arsenal’s 12. Tighter spots have been negotiated. But as Spurs beat Everton to take their half of the weekend’s London-Merseyside derby exchange it was hard to avoid...
Channels such as Arsenal Fan TV claim they give supporters the chance to have their say but are viewers just hoping to watch a car-crash moment?It was freezing outside the Emirates Stadium but that had not stopped the crowd. Small children were hoisted on the shoulders of their parents and one adult was holding a sign that read “#no bad energy”. All in all there must have been at least 200 people craning to hear a chartered accountant share his views on a hum-drum victory against Hull City. And they were all standing in absolute silence.This was the scene as Arsenal Fan TV recorded their latest instalment on Saturday. 22 latest instalments, to be accurate, each filmed, cut and uploaded...
Sean Dyche’s side turn game into a battle to make it an uncomfortable afternoon for the league leaders, who have only Manchester City of the title pretenders left to play this seasonAs he sought to disrupt Chelsea from their relentless rhythm, Sean Dyche may have reminded his players of their 2-0 win over Liverpool at Turf Moor on the second weekend of the season. On that afternoon his Burnley team were able to soak up what was thrown at them then when opportunity knocked punish their opponents by being quick and slick in front of goal.On Sunday they performed a similar feat and offered a clue to as to where Chelsea might be got at if they are to be...
Jamie Vardy’s running off the ball, Riyad Mahrez’s dribbling and perhaps even the manager’s decision-making have been nowhere near good enough this seasonAnother week another refereeing controversy, yet there was curiously little complaint from Leicester City over the legitimacy of the Sam Vokes goal that denied them a point at Turf Moor.“There might have been a handball but the referee said no and the referee is always right,” said a philosophical Claudio Ranieri. That is fine if you want to be completely civilised about this sort of thing and it would not be a bad idea if some of the more strident managers and coaches took a leaf out of Ranieri’s book of mannered restraint, though we all know, and...