The balance shifts from Arsenal to Manchester City, Chelsea could take a defining step away from the pack and Jack Wilshere’s chance to crack onGiven Chelsea’s rampaging form at the top of the table, the first Premier League meeting between Pep Guardiola and Arsène Wenger feels hugely significant, particularly for Manchester City who could find themselves 10 points off the title pace should they suffer defeat at the Etihad. A week ago Arsenal might have started this contest as favourites, but their 14-game unbeaten streak in the league came to an end in the midweek defeat at Goodison Park, while City rectified their recent slump with a confident 2-0 win over Watford. City’s performance was enhanced by Raheem Sterling’s return...
Jürgen Klopp was right to take Loris Karius out of the spotlight, Tottenham’s back three can set their full-backs free and Marcos Rojo has not learnedIn truth, Simon Mignolet did not have much to do during Liverpool’s 3-0 victory at Middlesbrough, but Loris Karius was taken out of the spotlight nevertheless. The saga involving Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper before the midweek fixtures overshadowed all else at the club, but Jürgen Klopp’s team responded with a convincing performance, one of their best this season. On Karius, the Liverpool manager said: “I’m not interested in public pressure, I’m interested in the boy and there’s no reason to push him through this situation.” Mignolet appears set for an extended run in the team while...
Arsenal have proved they have team spirit, Cesc Fàbregas is invaluable to Chelsea despite sub’s role and Gylfi Sigurdsson is the man to guide Swansea to safetyAre Arsenal made of sterner stuff these days? It is not the first time the question has been aired in recent years, and the answer usually goes down a predictably shaky path. Having said that, Arsène Wenger has observed a few clues in their victory against a strong Stoke City side that give him quiet optimism. Among the good habits his team are enjoying this season, the capacity to come back from a deficit encourages him. “It’s the sixth time that we are down in the game and come back or win since the...
Liverpool will be hoping Joël Matip gets fit quickly, while Sunderland begin to look more solid and Burnley have to find some goals from somewhereHands have been wrung and doom predicted about Philippe Coutinho’s injury, likely to keep him out of the Liverpool team until next month. And to an extent, rightly so: he has been their most impressive attacking threat this season, and the sight of that front four dovetailing has perhaps been the most pleasing in the division. However, the 4-3 defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday suggested that another injury absence might be more significant, namely Joël Matip. The Cameroonian centre-half has been a quiet, calm example of consistency, exactly the sort of thing that Liverpool missed against...
Arsenal rely on a fit Alexis Sánchez, Pep Guardiola is keeping Manchester City fresh and Jason Denayer may have aided Liverpool’s future opponentsOn the corresponding weekend of last season, Alexis Sánchez suffered the hamstring injury at Norwich City that would rule him out for two months. It was the afternoon when the Arsenal forward had also been pushed into the TV camera pit at Carrow Road by Ryan Bennett – an act that Arsène Wenger said “could have killed” the Chilean. Arsenal’s hopes have come to be closely linked to Sánchez’s fitness, on him staying out of the red zone, and there was plenty of nervousness at the club when he hurt his hamstring in training with Chile during the...