Mikel Arteta does not seem to have a plan of attack, Everton’s defence must improve and Jürgen Klopp should pick his battlesMikel Arteta has been the Arsenal manager for just under a year, and though some things have improved under him – attitude, intensity, FA Cup tally – it’s still not clear what the plan is, especially going forward. And while it’s important to emphasise how much Thomas Partey is being missed, the feeling persists that it really doesn’t have to be like this. When Arteta was appointed, he was gifted half a season of minimal expectations, meaning he could experiment in order to find the personnel and formation best able to execute his ideals. But though he did brilliantly...
Ancelotti has Everton aiming high, Manchester United need more than Cavani and flying full-backs impressedHéctor Bellerín has had his doubters over the past year. There have been suggestions a touch of his old pace has gone after long-term injury, and when PSG bid for him last month there was an argument it could be a good time for Arsenal to cash in. But Bellerín set up both goals against Sheffield United, the first after a typically barnstorming burst to the line, and is looking a touch nearer to his old self. “After such a long time at the club he doubted what ambitions he had here, how he could evolve here,” Mikel Arteta said after Arsenal’s narrow win. “But he...
Another handball horror show, Calvert-Lewin is benefiting from Ancelotti effect and sentiment alone will not save LampardOle Gunnar Solskjær said Manchester United had “three or four weeks to catch up to a few teams”, and how it showed. United could not get out to prevent crosses or track Brighton’s runners. Their lack of match sharpness is a consequence of their lack of a pre-season. It was interesting to hear Gareth Southgate say the players in his England squad in early September who had played in European competition until mid‑August were the fittest because they had, effectively, played all the way through. Solskjær has a different view and feels comfortable in advancing it as mitigation, essentially because it is not his...
Old Trafford could do with a new face or two, but the need is no more pressing because of their opening defeat by Crystal PalaceLast weekend, a small but significant part of Manchester United’s online fanbase got themselves extremely excited by a new Instagram Story posted by their on-off transfer target, the Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.Over recent years, the increasingly feverish fetishisation of transfer gossip has been mirrored in the growth of an army of amateur online detectives who scour the social media posts of footballers – and often their partners and families – for even the vaguest hint that they may be on the move. Planes are tracked across the North Sea. Isn’t that row of elms the...
The arrival of Eberechi Eze from QPR has excited fans and, as usual, much depends on the status of Wilfried ZahaGuardian writers’ predicted position: 18th (NB: this is not necessarily Ed Aarons’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 14th Related: Premier League 2020-21 preview No 5: Chelsea Crystal Palace's history in 100 words Continue reading...