Manchester City fans would have been delighted when Pep Guardiola became the club’s new manager almost two years ago.
The Spaniard arrived at the Etihad Stadium with plenty of pedigree having won six league titles across spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Guardiola’s debut campaign as City boss was a transitional one, but his team came into their own this season as they blew away the opposition and sealed the Premier League title a month early.
As well as becoming English champions, the North-West outfit clinched the Carabao Cup and are continually breaking records.
With the summer transfer window just around the corner, rumours have been rumbling about potential incomings and outgoings.
A recent report in the Manchester Evening News claimed that Real Madrid are interested in four of City’s first-team players, including defender John Stones.
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However, following City’s 4-1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday, Guardiola rubbished the notion of Stones leaving.
Rather than focus on the comment about Stones, the fans looked deeper into the manager’s remark about his own future.
Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".Comment from discussion Pep: "I don’t know how long I will be here in Manchester, but as long as I’m here, John Stones will be with us.".
Déjà vu all over again. Liverpool have once again missed out on a major transfer target, with Memphis Depay snaking his way towards Manchester United – making the blow a even more bitter. Here’s a quick list of the players Liverpool have chased and missed out on recent seasons and where they are now:
Henrikh Mkhitaryan –Dortmund
Willian – Chelsea
Diego Costa – also at Chelsea
Mohamed Salah – Fiorentina (via Chelsea)
Yevhen Konoplyanka – Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal
It’s fair to say the Reds are making a habit out of failing to get deals over the line, which is a big worry on Merseyside. A lack of big European appeal, an inability to compete financially with other clubs and sheer incompetence have scuppered all of the above in some capacity, and there are genuine fears that Depay may not be the only major target the club miss out on this summer.
Here are FIVE more stars Liverpool simply have to ensure aren’t added to the above list…
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Raheem Sterling
We’ll kick off by discussing a player already at the club. Raheem Sterling, despite being just 20, is one of Liverpool’s key men. His performances in a variety of attacking roles have been very impressive, while his seven Premier League goals make him Brendan Rodgers’ most prolific scorer – read into that what you will.
However, his contract saga is rumbling on, with the England international not willing to even discuss an extension to the two years he has remaining on Merseyside until the final ball of the 2015/16 campaign has been kicked. With Champions League football, barring a miracle, off the menu for next season and Rodgers having endured another trophy-less season, Liverpool may have a job on their hands to convince Sterling to stay, with Manchester City extremely keen.
James Milner
Although not a ‘box office’ name, James Milner could be one of the signings of the summer. The 29-year-old is looking increasingly likely to leave Manchester City on a free when his contract expires, and Liverpool have been mooted as the side closest to his signature.
A versatile and committed player, Milner could fill the void Steven Gerrard is set to leave in the Reds’ engine room – he’s due to join LA Galaxy in a few months’ time – making him a vital addition. The lack of fee will free up funds for other signatures, with a player of the former Leeds man’s quality likely to command around £20m in the real market. Arsenal are also keen, which is a worry.
Alexandre Lacazette
Tentative links have been bubbling away between Liverpool and Alexandre Lacazette for some time. We should perhaps say this quietly, but the Frenchman may be even better than Memphis Depay, with his season having been at least on a par with the Dutchman’s. Over in Ligue 1, Lacazette has smashed 27 goals in 31 outings, dragging unfancied Lyon into the title race alongside uber-rich Parisians, PSG.
The 23-year-old is lightening fast, excellent on the ball and prolific, making him an ideal Daniel Sturridge stand-in for the 50% of games he’ll inevitably miss through injury. However, Chelsea are interested…
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Danny Ings
Another freebie on the Liverpool hit list is Danny Ings. The Burnley man may command a compensation fee of close to £5m due to his age – 23 – but he could be worth it. Brendan Rodgers’ side’s big struggle this season has been goals, and with Daniel Sturridge due to be out until September due to his latest injury, they will need a forward. Ings has netted 10 goals in his maiden voyage into the Premier League, which is all the more impressive given that he’s been playing the for relegated Clarets.
HMS Manchester United could, though, send a torpedo towards Liverpool again.
Martin Montoya
Reports in Spain have suggested that Martin Montoya is on the verge of joining Liverpool, which is welcome news for Reds fans. The Spaniard would be a direct replacement for departing right-back Glen Johnson, and it’s fair to say he’ll be an immediate upgrade given the Englishman’s worrying decline over the last 12 months.
However, the longer the deal drags on the more likely it is another club could come in for the Spaniard, which would leave Rodgers without an experienced full-back to fill the role.
New Leeds boss Brian McDermott has hailed the club’s fans for their support during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
Despite going behind in the first half, a Luke Varney brace saw the Whites seal a huge three points that may prove to be enough to see them secure their Championship status.
The game was McDermott’s first in charge and the former Reading boss says he was delighted with how the Yorkshire club’s passionate following supported his team during Saturday’s clash.
“I was really pleased. It was hard in the first half and we knew we shouldn’t have gone in a goal down but there was a good response after the interval, which was really important,” he said.
“I told them at half-time that the crowd really wanted to get behind them. I’ve been at places where that hasn’t been the case but when we got to 1-1 it made a real difference.”
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Manchester United booked their place in this season’s FA Cup final on Saturday by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Wembley, keeping their chances marking their campaign with silverware alive.
But the last time the Red Devils faced the Lilywhites, they suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat in which they could hardly match the north Londoners for energy and attacking verve.
So what was the difference this time and how did United end up coming out on top in their most important domestic fixture of the season so far? Football FanCast take a look at three things Jose Mourinho’s side crucially got right against Spurs on Saturday…
Transitioning between 4-3-3 and 4-2-2-2
Soccer Football – FA Cup Semi-Final – Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – April 21, 2018 Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez scores their first goal REUTERS/David Klein
United lined up in a 4-3-3 formation on the team sheet but in actuality, it ended up being more of a 4-2-2-2 with Paul Pogba pushing up alongside Jesse Lingard in attacking midfield and Alexis Sanchez moving free of the wing to create a front two alongside Romelu Lukaku.
And the shrewdness of that transitional system really told after 24 minutes when the January signing headed home an equaliser; it was Pogba who drifted out wide to whip a beautiful cross into the Chile international, having moved from the left wing to make a late run into the box and attack the ball in a central area.
Getting the best out of Sanchez and Pogba while playing in the same starting XI has been one of Mourinho’s biggest headaches at Old Trafford this season, but the clever use of a system that shifted between two formations has offered a promising solution.
Pogba dominated Mousa Dembele
The last time Tottenham hosted United at Wembley the Red Devils went home with their tails between their legs, suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of their Big Six rivals. The midfield battle was crucial in that game and Pogba found himself subbed off with half an hour left to spare after being completely dominated by Mousa Dembele.
But on Saturday, fortunes reversed for United and Tottenham’s midfield powerhouses, this time the Belgium international finding himself hooked early after being overshadowed by the Frenchman.
It’s another key feature of United’s performance that was epitomised by the first goal – Pogba winning the ball off Dembele, who naively attempted to turn inside, before distributing it so accurately to Sanchez.
For all the talk of tactics and systems, key individual battles can have as big an impact on games and results. Getting the better of Dembele was crucial for United on Saturday and amid another season of divisive performances, it was a crucial display from Pogba too.
Keeping Spurs narrow in second half
Soccer Football – FA Cup Semi-Final – Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – April 21, 2018 Tottenham’s Dele Alli looks dejected at the end of the match REUTERS/Hannah McKay
If Tottenham have one long-standing flaw, it’s how their attacking play can become incredibly narrow at times, reducing to the rather one-dimensional approach of trying to play through the opposition in central areas.
Perhaps it owes as much to Mauricio Pochettino’s failure to change the game as any tactical instruction from Mourinho, but United nonetheless deserve credit for firstly how they contained Tottenham’s incredibly talented front four as they looked to pass through them in the second half, and secondly how they stopped the Lilywhites from stretching the backline.
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Indeed, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son all ended up playing essentially within the width of the penalty area, which allowed Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and the two centre-halves to clog up space with their power and industriousness.
In fact, one of the few occasions when United didn’t manage to keep Spurs’ forward play inward was early on for the first goal, when the ball was chipped down the touchline and Eriksen crossed it in for Alli to slide home from close range.
Pochettino should have done more to arrest how central Tottenham’s attacks became, especially on a pitch as large as Wembley’s, but United’s ability to counter-act that was another aspect of Mourinho’s game-plan that worked incredibly well.
The Premier League has been as exciting and intoxicating as ever this season but unfortunately its now drawing to a close with just seven match-days remaining.
There’s still plenty to look forward to however, such as the run-in between title contenders Arsenal and Chelsea, the FA Cup final – likely between Arsenal and Liverpool – the Champions League final and the Premier League’s official award ceremony.
The ceremony will be held in London this year at the end of April – so there’s not much time left for Premier League stars to convince the voters.
Ever-ahead of the curb however, Football Fancast have taken the audacious move of predicting this year’s results – particularly in regards to the Premier League Team of the Year.
There’s plenty of candidates to choose from and a wide selection of opinions to take into consideration, but we at Football Fancast think we’ve cracked the eleven lads dead-certs for the 2014/15 TOYT.
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GOALKEEPER – DAVID DE GEA
Although Premier League goalkeeping has maintained it’s ever-exceptional level this season, further aided by the return of Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois from Atletico Madrid, Manchester United’s David De Gea will take the No.1 jersey in the TOTY likely by an almost unanimous verdict.
There’s certainly been some decent competitors from the less glamorous end of the table. QPR’s Robert Green, for example, has made the most saves of any goalkeeper at an incredible 100, whilst Sunderland’s Costel Pantilimon boasts 77 saves and eight clean sheets from 22 appearances, ranking him seventh in both categories despite missing the first nine games of the Black Cats’ campaign.
Swansea’s remarkably consistent Lukas Fabianski is another strong candidate, as is Southampton’s gigantic Fraser Forster, showing tremendous quality during his debut Premier League campaign.
But without the Spain international’s many match-winning performances, it’s possible United wouldn’t be in the top six right now, let alone the top four. And in comparison to some of the Premier League’s more monolithic goalies, his acrobatic shot-stopping style is enthralling to watch. No wonder Real Madrid want to sign him this summer.
RIGHT BACK – BRANISLAV IVANOVIC
There’s only two genuine competitors for the right-back role in the TOTY – Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne.
The latter’s role in helping the Saints claim the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 22 in 31, has been so intrinsic that he’s now Roy Hodgson’s first choice at No.2 for the England team. Subsequently, the 24 year-old will likely be poached by one of the Premier League’s top clubs this summer – probably Manchester United.
But purely due to how much Ivanovic has added to his game going forward this term, epitomised by his stunning volley against Aston Villa shown in the video above, whilst maintaining his ever-famed solidity at the back, we’ve given the Serbian international the nod over the Saints star.
Few right-backs in world football contribute four goals and four assists to their team’s cause as Ivanovic has done this season, let alone one who measures in at above 6 foot and is now on the wrong side of 30.
CENTRE-BACK – JOSE FONTE
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Southampton needed representation somewhere in the TOTY backline so we’ve gone for almost ever-present skipper Jose Fonte.
Summer loan signing Toby Alderweireld has produced some fantastic performances alongside the Portuguese, whilst Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann, West Ham’s James Tomkins and Manchester United’s Phil Jones all deserve an honourable mention.
But Fonte’s missed just one game this season and has been the binding, orchestrate glue of the best back four in the Premier League – once again, boasting that record of 22 conceded in 31.
It’s the 31 year-old’s consistency that’s stood out the most, averaging an impressive 2.1 tackles, 3.1 interceptions, 5.4 clearances and 1.6 successful aerial duels per match.
Centre-Back – JOHN TERRY
Proving that age is just a number and knees are just the bits that connect your legs to your thighs, John Terry’s ability to laugh in the face of retirement and his crumbling leg joints made him one of the most obvious picks for the TOTY.
Despite reaching 34 years of age, he’s still easily one of the Premier League’s, if not Europe’s, best centre-halves, dominating that near-post zone with impeccable imperiousness, and has been streets ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal counter-parts Vincent Kompany and Laurent Koscielny this term.
Miraculously, the former England international has featured in every second of Chelsea’s Premier League campaign thus far.
Left Back – Cesar Azpilicueta
In-form left-backs have been rather thin on the ground this year. Leighton Baines has popped up with eight assists but the England international is plagued by his synonymy with Everton’s attrotious defensive record, Manchester City duo Gael Clichy and Aleksander Kolorov haven’t been up to much and Luke Shaw’s Manchester United career is still waiting to take off, whilst Arsenal duo Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs have chopped and changed throughout the campaign.
One could point to Ryan Bertrand, another Southampton representative, or West Ham summer signing Ryan Cresswell, whose attacking ambition has added a whole new dynamic to the Hammers starting XI.
But we’re going with Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta for one simple reason – have you ever actually seen a winger come anywhere close to dominating the Spain international this season?
It’s made all the more impressive considering he spends his time sitting behind Eden Hazard, a somewhat laissez-faire winger when it comes to defending, whilst keeping summer signing Filipe Luis, easily the best full-back in Europe during 2013/14, out of the Chelsea starting XI for the entire season.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD – CESC FABREGAS
Another unanimous verdict; although Cesc Fabregas’ influence in the Chelsea starting Xi has petered out somewhat over the last few months, it’s impossible to ignore his incredible haul of 16 assists – the second-most of any player in Europe’s five leading top flights after Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne.
His three chances created per match is also the strongest average in the Premier League this season and overall, the Spain international has provided vital technical quality, fluidity and vision to an otherwise functional Chelsea side.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD – NEMANJA MATIC
In comparison to Cesc Fabregas, the second central midfield slot in the PFA TOYT is a little more open to interpretation.
Jordan Henderson, for example, has stood out in a Liverpool side lacking world-class quality, boasting six goals and seven assists in 29 Premier League starts. Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin has only further enhanced the reputation he’s built during the last two seasons and this year has averaged the second-most tackles per match of any Premier League player. And Manchester United’s improved form from November onward coincided with the return to fitness of Michael Carrick.
But we’ve gone with yet another Chelsea star, Nemanja Matic, for one predominant reason – the Blues have lost just one Premier League fixture with him in their starting Xi this year, compared to their one defeat in their two league games without him.
And he’s very much the glue keeping the rest of the team together; without the monolithic Serbian anchoring the midfield, averaging 3.5 tackles per match this term, it’s unlikely Jose Mourinho would have given Chelsea the licence going forward that saw them rip up teams for fun earlier in the season.
RIGHT MIDFIELD – SANTI CAZORLA
It’s not the role he’s played in this season but we at Football Fancast felt obliged to sneak Santi Cazorla somewhere into the TOTY.
Despite rumours his Arsenal carer could be coming to an inevitable end, the Spain international’s found a new lease of life in the Gunners’ engine room, starting with that incredible Man of the Match performance against Manchester City at the Etihad in January – which, looking back, had a monumental impact on this term’s title race.
Overall, the 30 year-old has claimed seven goals and eight assists in 26 Premier League starts this year, whilst averaging an impressive 2.3 shots, 2.2 created chances and 2.4 successful dribbles per-match.
But there are some honourable mentions FFC feels obliged to discuss. Despite City’s woes this term David Silva enjoyed arguably his most productive season, claiming eleven goals in 25 appearances; Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen has proved his quality with a spate of last-minute winners; and Victor Moses, although lacking in output, has proved a tremendous success at Stoke City.
LEFT MIDFIELD – EDEN HAZARD
An unquestionable TOTY selection and the only genuine candidate for this term’s Player of the Year award, Eden Hazard’s role in Chelsea’s (nearly secured) title-winning campaign has affirmed his reputation as the top talent in the Premier League.
His return of twelve goals and seven assists might not seem so almighty, but the Belgium international has become the undisputed focal point of Chelsea’s forward play, with games starting to revolve almost exclusively around him. It’s also worth mentioning nobody in the Premier League has come anywhere close to matching his 4.8 successful dribbles per match this term, whilst he ranks third in chances created.
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And whilst other top Premier League stars have endured dips of fitness and form, the 23 year-old’s demonstrated a remarkable consistency, missing all but four minutes of Chelsea’s league campaign.
World-class stars are unfortunately becoming a rare breed in the Premier League, but Hazard firmly belongs in that category.
STRIKER – ALEXIS SANCHEZ
Alexis Sanchez has proved a fantastic addition to the Premier League since arriving from Barcelona last summer, going on to claim 14 goals and eight assists in his first 28 league outings for Arsenal – making him in some way responsible for 0.8 goals per match.
His form has petered out recently, with only two goals and two assists in his last eight. But ranked fifth for goals, fourth for assists, fourth for created chances per-match and third for successful dribbles per-match, the Chile international’s holistic contribution – especially when combined with his ferocious tenacity – cannot be overstated.
Dependent upon the views of the PFA however, Sanchez could find himself in the midfield rather than the attack, making room for a more recognised centre-forward and likely at the expense of team-mate Santi Cazorla.
STRIKER – HARRY KANE
Whoever claims the Premier League’s Golden Boot will be included in the PFA Team of the Year – but so will Harry Kane, regardless of what goal total he ends up with this term.
It’s been a mesmerising campaign for the young Tottenham striker, advancing from the peripheries of the squad to the cusp of greatness with 19 Premier League goals in just 21 starts – not to mention scoring eighty seconds into his England debut against Lithuania.
He’s been compared to German World Cup winner Thomas Muller and described as a cross between Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham by Les Ferdinand. In other words, everybody in England thinks the Lilywhites have a real player on their hands and he’s almost certain to walk away, rather comfortably, with the Young Player of the Year award.
Where does that leave Diego Costa and Sergio Augero? Well, the alternative scenario, as previously mentioned, is either one coming in for Santi Cazorla (or maybe Nemanja Matic), with Alexis Sanchez moving into midfield.
But Costa’s season has been ruptured by injury and considering he scored eleven goals in his first ten games for Chelsea, he’s slacked somewhat from November onwards, currently boasting a total of 19.
Likewise, Sergio Augero’s form has come in patches; he put four past Tottenham in October and scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but hasn’t got on the scoresheet when it matters most – recent City defeats to Crystal Palace and Burnley being the predominant examples.
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has heaped praise on the Premier League amidst rumours Arsenal will attempt to sign him in the summer.
Valdes has been a long serving stopper at Barcelona but after refusing to sign a new contract at the Nou Camp it appears the Spaniard will be leaving the La Liga leaders at the end of the season.
Arsenal are desperate to sign a new, experienced goalkeeper and Valdes is equally in a hurry to move to big European side as soon as possible.
Valdes would be seen as the high profile, proven ‘keeper that the Gunners have been crying out for since the days of David Seaman and Jens Lehman.
Barcelona are still going to require a hefty fee to part with their number one but the player seems certain that England is the place to be.
“I lived in an area of Tenerife where there were a lot of British people. I watched them go into football bars wearing their shirts in the middle of the day,” Valdes told The Sun.
“Each team had a different bar, one for Chelsea or a different one for United. I would see fans celebrating in the street in the middle of the day, dancing in the sun with beers.
“It was funny, I’d not seen this before.
“I like the Premier League, of course.
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“I like the respect of the crowd towards footballers in England. It’s a different way of living football.
“They clap a simple tackle in England, we’re not used to that. I like it.”
Real Madrid are willing to sell Dani Ceballos to Liverpool as long as the Premier League club agree to a buy-back clause, according to Don Balon.
What’s the story?
Liverpool may be in the market for a midfielder this summer due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of Emre Can.
The Germany international will come to the end of his current contract this summer, and fans are not convinced that he will pen a new deal.
Manager Jurgen Klopp is believed to be targeting 21-year-old Ceballos as Can’s replacement, but according to reports in Spain, the club will only be able to sign the midfielder on one condition.
According to Don Balon, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed that he will give the green light for a transfer as long as a buy-back clause is inserted in the agreement.
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This season, Ceballos, who moved to the Bernabeu from Real Betis last year, has started just two La Liga games.
Is Ceballos a good replacement for Can?
The midfielder has bags of talent in the middle of the park but he has been able to show it consistently due to a lack of minutes under Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
In total, Ceballos has made 10 league appearances this season, but has played just 237 minutes of top-flight football.
Despite the limited game time, the Spaniard has still contributed with two goals.
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Ceballos’s age and the fact that he has not been given a regular run-out in Zidane’s team indicates that it may be risky throwing him into the deep end in the Premier League.
However, Klopp is the type of manager that young players love to learn from and he has a track record of giving youth a chance at the top level.
If an agreement can be made with Madrid, the Reds will snap up a potential gem for the future.
Manager Louis van Gaal was sold to Manchester United supporters as the man to bring the club back to glory. And while the first half of the season was anything but convincing the Dutchman has lead the club to the highly coveted top four.
Fourth would have been enough for supporters at the start of the season but as the campaign starts to wrap up, United have a chance of finishing the year off even higher than expected.
Top of the table Chelsea have all but had their name inscribed on this year’s trophy but with only two points separating second and fourth the Red Devils still have everything to play for.
Second place or even just holding onto fourth will not be easy though as United must still play difficult games against Chelsea and Arsenal not to mention what may be a very decisive Manchester derby.
Against both Tottenham, who they beat 3-0, and Liverpool, who they beat 2-1, United have shown that they can overcome some of England’s best and it is this mentality that they will need to pick up crucial points in the next few weeks.
United have tried several different set-ups under Van Gaal in a bid to find a winning formula. Five at the back proved unsuccessful, so four defenders has been implemented recently where the Dutchman has employed a 4-1-4-1 system finally playing Wayne Rooney up front with Juan Mata supporting him as playmaker.
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Where he was once used as a super-sub, Mata is now an integral part of the team and the same goes for Marouane Fellaini. The inclusion of both players has transformed United’s season with the squad better in both midfield and attack. Leaving out £59.7 million man Angel Di Maria may not sit well with some supporters but with his form seriously off for awhile now and Van Gaal shouldn’t risk United’s qualification just to appease the ex-Real Madrid winger.
Earlier in the season, United picked up only four points from playing English giants Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City so they will need to improve as they play them a second time or ensure that they win all of their other remaining fixtures.
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United have won 17 of their 30 games this season with only five defeats so if they can continue this form from now until the end of the campaign then their fate should be in their own hands. If not then it can easily turn into a dog fight between themselves, Liverpool and Southampton who are hot on their tails and desperate to be playing in Europe.
Both Manchester City and Arsenal will fight every step of the way to secure their place in the Champions League but with such tight margins there is no reason why if United maintain their confidence, as well as their tried and tested formation, then a second place finish is certainly possible.
There has been plenty of anticipation built into the return of the Premier League this weekend for Arsenal, not least because it will offer a good account as to how far the team have come from the positive steps forward from wins at Bayern and Swansea.
Arsene Wenger has seemingly gone against the grain in an attempt to salvage whatever was left from this season, adding great emphasis to defensive preparation and giving the boot to those who were more than under-performing. But that won’t be enough to silence the doubters. Whatever the outcome of this season may be, we simply must see a return to the Wenger of old during this summer’s transfer window.
Whatever may be said about the club’s apparent restrictions on how freely Wenger can move in the market, there’s no taking away from the fact that whatever money has been spent has left the club with very little return. It’s not always how much in the way of transfer fees you have available to you, but rather what you do with your resources.
In the summer of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri’s departure, there was more than enough of a case to be made that signings were poor, and for significant amounts of money. Surely the club should have known that Andre Santos would have broken down in such a way that he had. And the fact that both Park Chu Young and Gervinho arrived from the French league – apparently Wenger’s area of expertise – is even more worrying.
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Despite how well Mikel Arteta has adapted to his role at Arsenal, and for all the positives that can be said for Per Mertesacker, were either of those two players bought in with specific roles earmarked for them? Were they going to be valuable and necessary additions to the squad, rather than simply individuals in a team lacking any real purpose?
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was always intended to be one for the future, yet even he forced the club to part with big money.
But what has been disappointing is not just the deals Wenger makes, but the ones he ignores.
It’s a worry that so many good players slip the net – especially when they’re to be considered ideal targets for a club of Arsenal’s stance. Limited resources or not, the club need to be snapping up the deals which fall into their bracket and who are good enough to make a difference.
Yet it’s not just about bringing in important signings to appease the fans, it’s about the symbolism of a successful transfer window. For Wenger, he is hardly seen as a master tactician at Arsenal, yet he is more than capable of doing what’s right for the greater good.
Instead, the Frenchman’s biggest draw is what he does in the market, parting with very little and bringing in enormous rewards. It’s the shrewdness in picking up another team’s disposable names and turning them into treasures at Arsenal. We haven’t seen that in recent years, and more than anything the fans want to know that the fire hasn’t died out inside the man in the dugout.
That’s where a lot of the anger came from during that brief episode involving talks of a new contract. Fans are questioning whether Wenger is the man to take Arsenal forward, not solely due to the performances on the field but where they stem from in the market. Yes, it is important for the club as a whole to receive a lift and a spark from a new arrival – Andrey Arshavin’s impact in 2009 should never be undermined. But plenty of success can be had simply by playing the transfer game far more astutely than others.
Santi Cazorla was a massive statement last summer, and unfortunately many in England still fail to grasp how much of an important signing he is to the club. The problem is that even good signings need strong leadership and a sense of clear direction.
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But it needs to be more of the same. Signings like Cazorla is exactly what the club should be completing. Well within price range, more than good enough to make a lasting impression in the team and that added dash of ingenuity that isn’t always available for something around £12million.
Going into this summer, and even if Wenger doesn’t stay on past his current contract, it would be an overwhelming positive to see the manager rise up in the market and get the job done like he used to. Modest fees were never an issue, as even in a time when Thierry Henry signed from Juventus, there was still big money being spent on Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon and Luis Figo.
What we’ve seen from Wenger in recent weeks is the calm exterior that we assumed was lost for good. The witty comments and wry smiles that greeted journalists, rather than the fiery backlash we’ve come to know this season. Yes, circumstances have been difficult, but there are surely many hoping that this is the beginning of a swansong that is befitting of Wenger and his accomplishments.
Chelsea will be doing some soul searching this week after losing their first top flight fixture to Tottenham at Stamford Bridge since 1990. Not only does the defeat represent how their London rivalry has balanced out in recent years, but it also essentially ends their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
The west Londoners actually started the match on the front foot, looking potent on the counter-attack and finding the net through Alvaro Morata. But Christian Eriksen’s superb effort from long range was a real turning point and it was Tottenham who moved into the ascendancy, eventually claiming a 3-1 win as Dele Alli scored twice in the second 45 minutes.
Earlier this week, we asked Chelsea fans to issue player ratings for each of the individuals involved in the defeat. Here’s a rundown of the three starters who disappointed them most vs Tottenham, picking up the lowest average ratings…
Victor Moses – 3.9: He provided the assist for Morata’s goal with a cross that perplexed Hugo Lloris but the Nigerian international overall failed to take advantage of the space he was allowed down the right flank, particularly in the first half when Tottenham’s build-up play became increasingly narrow. Gave the ball away for Eriksen’s goal and was eventually hauled off for Olivier Giroud in a late formation change from Antonio Conte.
Eden Hazard – 3.6: Still finished the match with six created chances to his name, but Eden Hazard’s impact was nonetheless minimal compared to his usual standards, failing to once test Lloris despite the Frenchman’s early error. The Belgian’s influence waned as the game went on and he struggled to provide that moment of magic Chelsea desperately needed in such an important game.
Cesc Fabregas – 2.9: It was an incredibly difficult outing for the former Arsenal captain who struggled to find room in a congested midfield and failed to provide adequate protection for the three central defenders behind him. Finished up with more tackles than created chances, which pretty much sums up how Fabregas never really found a way of utilising his greatest assets – his passing and vision – against the Lilywhites.
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