There will be new faces aplenty while the title contenders face fascinating testsAs the eighth permanent manager of the calamitous Farhad Moshiri era takes his bow at Everton, accompanied by further protests against a board who may or may not be present at Goodison Park, the sight of Mikel Arteta patrolling the opposition technical area and leading a stylish Arsenal team with designs on the title will bring fresh torment for the home crowd. There really is an endless supply at present. The former Everton midfielder was hired by Arsenal when Moshiri opted for the Hollywood appointment of Carlo Ancelotti in December 2019. Some at Goodison felt the then Manchester City assistant coach would be a more suitable fit but,...
Arsenal reap the rewards of an old-school striker, Thiago Silva turns back the clock and Ten Hag’s tactics hit a snagFast-paced, tactically intricate and dramatic to the last, Arsenal v Manchester United was a heavyweight clash that lived up to its billing. It also showcased two models of centre-forward that were meant to be extinct: the old-fashioned target man and the old-fashioned poacher. Spearheading United’s attack, Wout Weghorst pressed with zeal and offered a focal point for United’s free-roaming wide men. It was his peeling run, drawing Gabriel to his left, that afforded Marcus Rashford the angle to blast home the opener. Nketiah pressed with similar intelligence but dropped deep when required to link with his midfield. Both his goals...
Expectation and reality seem to have aligned in north London, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a sense of unstoppable momentumSunday in London and all you can see is fumes: hot breath on cold air and vape smoke and dope smoke and steam rising from sweaty heads and a hype they can finally believe in. Of course Eddie Nketiah is delighted and of course Oleksandr Zinchenko is delighted, but have you ever in your life seen such happy unused substitutes? Sunday in London and it doesn’t matter whether you’re in the back row pressed against the stained glass, or so close you can grasp the hem of the preacher’s garment. Everyone in this congregation gets saved in the end.The post-Christmas Emirates is...
Mykhaylo Mudryk could make his Chelsea debut at Anfield, while Newcastle and Manchester United will miss their BraziliansShoots of recovery or a false dawn? Both Jürgen Klopp and Graham Potter will be desperately hoping their respective 1-0 wins last time out demonstrated the former. Liverpool versus Chelsea may lack its usual consequence with the teams occupying ninth and 10th place in the table and a 10 point chasm between themselves and fourth place, but their managers would beg to differ. Klopp admitted there would have been genuine doubt around Anfield on Saturday had Liverpool repeated their tame efforts at Brighton in the FA Cup replay at Wolves. An improved display from a much-changed team at Molineux, particularly in terms of...
La Liga president’s battle to rein in spending is on soft ground because England’s top flight is still on a firm financial footingThere is a telling moment in Apple TV+’s punchy new documentary, Super League: the War for Football, in which the head of La Liga, Javier Tebas, gives a withering assessment of those who seek to control the modern game. “You have to keep up the fight,” he growls. “Money is not everything. Far from it. The rich don’t have the same ethical standards. There’s lots of liars and fakes. Betrayals happen all the time. Loyalty is practically nonexistent. I’ve never trusted anyone.”Tebas has a lawyer’s mind and a pugilist’s love of a ruck. It is a healthy combination,...