Tottenham can challenge for the title, Arsenal’s search for goals goes on and Timo Werner hits his stride for ChelseaPerhaps we ought to ask the question differently. How are Tottenham going to mess this up? A tear in Harry Kane’s ankle? A dodgy lasagne? A global pandemic halting the league? Because in the heat of this moment, in which the world is upside down and anything can happen, the biggest reason why Spurs cannot win the title is that they are Spurs. Apart from the loss to Everton on the opening weekend, they have been better than everybody they have faced – and that has included both Manchester clubs, most recently City on Saturday. After an excellent transfer window, they...
Stalemate at Leeds illustrates how Mikel Arteta is struggling to get the best from his expensively-assembled squadFair play to Arsenal: if this is all a devious ploy to inflate Mesut Özil’s transfer value before the January window, then it’s working a treat so far. While Arsenal again struggled to create, their best creator was on Twitter having an argument with Piers Morgan. Their record signing was sent off for a sneaky off-the-ball headbutt in a venue with 38 live cameras and video replay technology. Against a promoted team, they spent most of the closing minutes pleading with the referee to blow the final whistle. Meanwhile, they remain 11th in the Premier League. Related: Arteta angry at Pépé over 'unacceptable' red...
Just because his methods can elevate players to unanticipated heights does not mean his squad is not subject to strainThe temptation after a team, particularly a promoted team, has lost back-to-back games 4-1 is to suggest they need to go back to basics, rein in their exuberance and keep things tight. But Marcelo Bielsa will not do that. Leeds have lost three of their past four games and slipped down the table – albeit they went into the weekend with a four-point lead over the bottom five – but he has never compromised before and he is not about to start at home to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.That is Bielsa’s greatest strength and his greatest weakness. His style is high-risk...
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...
A pulsating match between Leeds and Manchester City often defied analysis, evolving and mutating at great speedThere would be plenty of time for handshakes and benedictions. What Marcelo Bielsa wanted to do above all, as the full-time whistle blew at Elland Road, was think. He wanted to process what he had just seen, and how he felt about it. As he sank to a crouch and bowed his head, the raindrops studded his jacket like diamonds. Related: Leeds United 1-1 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened Continue reading...