Romelu Lukaku returns for Chelsea, Raphaël Varane set for United bow and Burnley test Virgil van Dijk’s aerial mettleArsenal beat Chelsea twice last season, including a victory at StamfordBridge three months ago. Since then they have spent heavily on transfers including a £50m centre-back. Their fans must be super-confident as they prepare for Sunday’s Emirates clash, especially those who have blanked out last week’s fiasco at Brentford. But Thomas Tuchel is sure to bear that match in mind as he prepares his strategy for Sunday, and his pre-match pep talk is likely to begin with a good old-fashioned “get into ’em”. Ben White performed no worse than many teammates last week but the expectation on him is higher following his...
Defeats in Champions League final, Community Shield and at Spurs have exposed a familiar failing but are City prepared to spend £160m to solve it?The roles were reversed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. By the end, with Tottenham sticking to Nuno Espírito Santo’s plan after Son Heung-min’s clever breakaway goal, it was Manchester City who looked like they needed to become the Harry Kane team. Spurs had found a way to play without Kane, striking on the counterattack, and City had allowed the game to run away from them, their lack of conviction in attack a worry despite the presence of a £100m signing making his first start.Early days, of course, and it is fair to acknowledge that...
Nuno Espírito Santo’s players showed a willingness to fight and thrive for their new manager as they shocked the champions“Whatever happens, we’ll give it absolutely everything.” That was the message in a tweet posted from Tottenham’s official account before their game against Manchester City, and you didn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what it was getting at. The elephant in the room, the transfer saga of the summer – the England captain who may or may not have gone on strike.As it turned out the “whatever happens” was what most people expected – Harry Kane being left out of Spurs’ matchday squad. Nuno Espírito Santo, before his first game in charge, put it down to a lack...
A new system with clubs deducted points depending on their transfer expenditure would help level the playing fieldIt is safe to suggest without the slightest fear of contradiction that the first thing that went through Jack Grealish’s mind following his extravagant transfer this month was a dream of Len Shackleton. Hailed as an entertaining trickster in the old school style, Jack has just a little bit of Shack about him and, if he makes his Premier League debut for City at Tottenham on Sunday, he will be aiming to make the sort of first impression that the so-called “Clown Prince of Soccer” did back in 1946.After joining Newcastle for what was the second-highest fee paid by an English club –...
Community Shield may be an irrelevance, but the FA Cup holders at least made the best of their day out at WembleyAs a fundraiser it is a worthy event, even in a half-full stadium. But the Community Shield as a contest and spectacle is mostly worthless, especially when one of the teams – in this case Manchester City – deploys a skeletal side because many of their players are making their way back from tournaments that matter to them. Even its symbolic value as a curtain raiser feels forced, like new socks on Father’s Day, something no one particularly wants but most accept out of politeness. A rethink of the format is in order. Or the teams could just make...