Having suggested that a three-man defence was an effective guard against counterattacks, the Arsenal manager has played a back four in the past three matchesThree weeks ago, before Arsenal lost against Manchester United, Arsène Wenger suggested playing a back three had helped his side combat the counterattack which, of all their many weaknesses over the past decade, has probably been their biggest.It was a claim that prodded interest at the time and has become more intriguing only in the days since. The truth of it will be severely tested on Friday as Arsenal face Liverpool, who at the moment are one of the most dangerous counterattacking sides in the world. Related: Arsène Wenger: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain not a sure starter at...
Rafael Benítez and Chris Hughton need to turn their ailing teams around but David Moyes can take credit for what he has done with Marko Arnautovic• Sign up now and get our weekly email, The Recap, every Friday Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos Related: Tottenham are the latest challengers floored by the Manchester City problem | Jonathan Wilson Continue reading...
Egyptian’s ‘world-class’ effort means he reached 20 goals for Liverpool in 26th game and left Eddie Howe saying ‘I do not want to play Liverpool again any time soon’Think less Fab Four and more Tormenting Trio. Liverpool are not perfect – particularly defensively – but they have no problems entertaining. The freewheeling three-pronged attack of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and the majestic Mohamed Salah – rightly heralded as the signing of the season – pierced holes across the entire Bournemouth back line for fun, deflating each defender one by one. After 25 minutes, by which point the second of three first-half goals had flown in, Jürgen Klopp was almost fiddling with his face in embarrassment, so devastating is this forward...
Will there be goals galore again at the Etihad, could West Ham finish off Hughes and is Jack Wilshere the man to bring some beauty back into Arsenal’s play?Since 2010-11, when the two games between these sides featured one goal between them, this has not been a fixture for goalkeepers. In 12 meetings there have been precisely 50 goals, scored at the rate of 4.2 per match. There is a recent history of mayhem, which coupled with the recent improvement in Tottenham’s form makes this probably the most likely moment for a while for the leaders’ successive-win juggernaut to come to a halt. Between this game and the visit to Arsenal at the end of February, City play Leicester twice,...
It is hardly going out on a limb to suggest for example that Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool may see a clearer path to the shiny stuff in the Champions League this season than at home where they are already miles off the paceWhen Antonio Conte said at the start of the week that English clubs had a great chance of Champions League success this season he was possibly trying to gloss over a less than favourable draw that left Chelsea with the unenviable task of advancing past Barcelona. The draw was generally kind to English clubs, though Tottenham may beg to differ, and in pitting Real Madrid against Paris Saint-Germain it guaranteed the removal of at least one of the...