Unai Emery has removed the sense of drift and reinvigorated the team although questions linger over Bernd LenoIt was only a draw, but at the moment for Arsenal the result is less important than the process. The game for them is not about positions and tallies. It is not, as it is for Liverpool, about trying to keep the neck of the disappearing Manchester City close enough to breathe down.They are not, any more, under the pressure that Pep Guardiola’s side have placed on those who truly aspire to the title. There is no sense for them that every dropped point could be vital – and that means the focus can be far more upon how they played, and the...
The 5ft 5in defensive enforcer from Fray Bentos has been the most notable addition by Unai Emery and never looked like he expected to lose the game against LiverpoolThrough the late Wenger years there was a familiar theme to the performances of Arsenal’s central midfield. Against stronger opponents the most notable quality was the ability to be both there and not there, to perform as a kind of absence, a midfield-shaped hole.Fast forward six months and the difference in tone and texture is tangible. Lucas Torreira had been a promising addition going into this visit of Liverpool to the Emirates, sniping with real skill and craft as Arsenal set off on that long winning run against the Premier League’s middleweights....
Liverpool to reveal how good Arsenal really are, Lukaku to be on the bench again and Hart has a point to prove at West HamAfter the Unai Emery era opened with defeats by Manchester City and Chelsea, it was hard not to wonder if Arsenal were going to endure another uncertain season. Yet a kind run of fixtures has allowed confidence to grow and Arsenal’s players are gaining a strong understanding of Emery’s demands. They are unbeaten in all competitions since losing to Chelsea on 18 August and find themselves four points off the top of the table, with optimism flowing thanks to the goals of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lucas Torreira’s snappy contributions in midfield. But just...
Woefully leaky Fulham are on course to concede 100 goals, and is it nearly time for Álvaro Morata and Chelsea to part ways?On the eve of the new season Slavisa Jokanovic said Fulham “don’t have to change much but we need to be intelligent. We need to grow up.” Two months down the line and either Jokanovic underestimated how much Fulham needed to adapt to be ready for the Premier League or his players are not being as smart as he had hoped. Whatever the answer, Fulham did not spend more than £100m in the summer to be languishing in the relegation zone with one win from nine games and a defensive record that is in danger of becoming an...
Barnes epitomised the tag of ‘flying winger’ in the late-80s and never more so than with the nimble footwork that rounded off a 4-0 win to replace QPR at the top of the tableThe spreadsheet is the new diary. Modern life is defined as much by numbers as feelings. Likes, retweets, calories, steps, pints. Yet there is no metric for euphoria, at least not yet, and so the richest human experiences are largely data-proof. Love, the arts, the humble orgasm – or its football equivalent. Few things in life compare to the moment when you – or more likely your team – score a goal of such brilliance or importance that you instantly know its memory will last forever. Related:...