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A week is a long time in football, and while things aren’t all rosy just yet, Manchester United are in a much better spot than they were this time last week.

Erik ten Hag’s side blew Southampton away 3-0 on Saturday and then utterly dominated Barnsley 7-0 in the League Cup last night in what could have easily been a banana skin fixture for the Premier League outfit.

Now, as the Tykes ply their trade in the third tier of English football, United fans can’t and won’t be getting too carried away with the result, but given how poorly the start of the season has gone, it’s still worth celebrating.

There were a number of good performers on the night who have otherwise been underwhelming so far this season, but with a far more challenging test against Crystal Palace to come on the weekend, Ten Hag must immediately drop one of his goalscorers back to the bench.

Antony's game in numbers

Yes, Brazilian winger Antony should be dropped from the starting lineup ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash, despite looking alright against Barnsley.

The former Ajax ace was brought into the team last night in place of the exciting Amad Diallo, and to his credit, he did make an impact.

In addition to winning and scoring his penalty, the 24-year-old took 90 touches, maintained a passing accuracy of 90%, played two key passes, took four shots on target, completed one dribble, and made one interception and tackle to boot.

However, there were still signs of the same frustrating player in his performance to go along with everything he did well, as he lost the ball 13 times, and despite taking so many shots on target, he couldn’t convert any of them in open play, which could help to explain his 6/10 match rating from the Manchester Evening News Samuel Luckhurst.

Moreover, playing well against a team from League One and a team that just gave Manchester City a run for their money in the top flight are two very different things, and the São Paulo-born wideman hasn’t shown enough quality since joining to warrant starting against the Bees.

Appearances

84

Minutes

5119′

Goals

12

Assists

5

Goal Involvements per Match

0.20

Minutes per Goal Involvement

301.11′

For example, in his 84 games for the club following his £81m move two years ago, the 16-capped international has scored just 12 times and provided five assists. This means he’s averaged a goal involvement once every 4.94 games, which isn’t good enough, and as such, he should be dropped.

Who should replace Antony

So, for what is already a must-win game against Crystal Palace on the weekend, if United want to keep pace with their top four rivals, Ten Hag should look to bring Marcus Rashford back onto the left wing, move Alejandro Garnacho to the right and start Joshua Zirkzee as the recognised number nine.

Now, starting with the two wingers, and after they both scored last night, they’ve more than earned their place in the lineup and looked far and away United’s most dangerous players on the pitch.

Moreover, while the Argentine wonderkid has looked good from the first game of the season, the Englishman struggled at first, but with three goals in two games, he seems to have found some form. So, the manager should under no circumstances look to take him out of the team and risk derailing what could be the start of a comeback for Rashford.

Zirkzee, on the other hand, has endured a slightly mixed start to life in England.

He scored the winner against Fulham on the opening day but has since failed to add another in his subsequent four appearances.

However, he has had opportunities in each of those games, and the fact that he keeps getting himself into goalscoring positions is encouraging, and with more experience in the first team, the goals should hopefully start to come.

Ultimately, Antony did reasonably well against Barnsley, but he’s shown in the past that he struggles against tougher opposition, so Ten Hag should start Zirkzee up top, Rashford on the left and Garnacho on the right for the game against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Alongside Rashford: 109-touch "monster" may have revived his Man Utd career

The experienced veteran was superb for 90 minutes.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 18, 2024

Manchester United have endured a torrid start to their Premier League campaign this year, and while they picked up all three points yesterday, six from 12 simply isn’t good enough if they have genuine ambitions of finishing in the Champions League places.

Erik ten Hag’s side have looked defensively suspect against each team they’ve played so far, and while they have created chances, the goals just haven’t come.

This poor start to the season in front of goal now means that, despite having played four games, the whole squad is being outscored by a superstar centre-forward the club were once instructed to sign by a former manager.

United's poor start to the season

Now, while United were able to stop the bleeding somewhat with a professional 3-0 win at St Mary’s Stadium yesterday, it would be hard to deny that their start to the season has been dreadful.

The three-time European champions won against Fulham on the opening day but followed that up with a loss away to Brighton & Hove Albion and a 3-0 home hammering to fierce rivals Liverpool.

In all, the Red Devils have only found the back of the net on five occasions this season, with new boy Joshua Zirkzee opening his account against the Cottagers, promising winger Amad Diallo staking his claim for a starting spot against the Seagulls, and Marcus Rashford, Matthijs de Ligt, and Alejandro Garnacho all getting on the scoresheet on Saturday.

While the positive spin on this is that goals are coming from everywhere in the team, the negative perspective is that not enough are coming, which is made all the more clear when their noisy neighbours can rely on a certain goalscoring phenom who United were once told to sign by Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Erling Haaland's goalscoring form

Yes, the striker United missed out on signing in the past is none other than Erling Haaland.

On an episode of The Overlap earlier this year, former manager and goalscoring icon himself, Solskjær, revealed that in the summer before he was appointed as the club’s manager, he told the Red Devils that they simply had to sign the young Norwegian, but they disagreed. Who did they sign that summer instead? Well, Lee Grant, Diogo Dalot and Fred were the names.

Now, it’s bad enough to miss out on a generational marksman just once, but the 51-year-old then revealed that he asked the club to go back in for him a few months later when he was made caretaker manager, even though he had just joined RB Salzburg, as he wasn’t playing and had a £20m release clause in his contract.

However, the United legend was once again ignored, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Appearances

50

27

89

103

Goals

20

29

86

99

Assists

6

7

23

14

Goal Involvements per Match

0.52

1.33

1.22

1.09

Since then, the Leeds-born dynamo has dominated in every country he’s played, racking up 36 goals and assists for RB Salzburg, 109 for Borussia Dortmund and, as things stand, 113 for City.

In just his first season for the Citizens, the “unreal” poacher, as dubbed by content creator Steven Mcinerney, broke the Premier League record for most goals in a season and ended with 52 in 53 games across all competitions. It really is no wonder he’s now valued at a mighty £152m by Transfermarkt, a far cry from the £4m he was valued at when United rejected him.

While he took a slight step back with 38 in 45 last year, he’s already found the back of the net nine times in four league games this season.

Ultimately, every top club misses out on young superstars here and there, but United must be particularly annoyed at letting Haaland slip through their fingers as he’s outscoring their entire squad, and had they just listened to Solskjær, he’d be donning red at the moment.

Their own Haaland: Man Utd are set to sign exciting gem who's "Osimhen 2.0"

The incredible youngster should be on his way to Old Trafford.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 13, 2024

“A person knows when they are welcome, and you know when you are unwelcome”

Firdose Moonda02-Aug-2021A lack of will to engage with South Africa’s segregated past has resulted in continued devaluing of the experiences of players of colour, according to Ashwell Prince. Speaking at Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation-Building Hearings, Prince said he felt unwelcome throughout his nine years in the national team, was labelled a “quota player” by his team-mates on several occasions, and experienced racism in the dressing room. He is not convinced the issues have been resolved to this day.Prince last played for South Africa in 2011 and detailed how the national team had an opportunity in that year to discuss their diverse backgrounds but rejected it, something that he feels has repercussions on the team dynamic today. “In 2011, we had a culture camp and they wanted some topics for us to discuss. They wanted us to be open and honest because we were going to be a team, so we needed to be open and honest with each other,” Prince said.Related

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“One player suggested: ‘can we talk about the history of our country? Things like Apartheid, the Group Areas Act (a piece of legislation which stipulated where people from different race groups could live), and forced removals? Can we try and dig into how these things affected our lives and try and establish what impact it had on our parents and on ourselves? This was what one of the non-white players wanted to talk about and it was shut down immediately. The answer was, ‘No, we can’t talk about that. We don’t think that should be discussed in this environment.’ So we didn’t have a discussion. Now, today people don’t want to take a knee. Maybe had we discussed this in 2011, and people had realised the suffering non-white people had in this country, it would be much easier to take the knee. But no, we don’t want to talk about that.”While that incident came towards the end of Prince’s career – he went on to be dropped via email after the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka – he narrated a series of stories from his debut in 2002, which made him feel othered. Prince said he was labelled a “quota player” by the media when he was picked to play against Australia, after scoring 92 for the South Africa A team to push his claim for a place. Once in the squad, he felt immediately isolated.”There was no welcome from the coach. There was no (sense of) let’s make this guy comfortable,” Prince said. “It was a lonely place. A person knows when they are welcome, and you know when you are unwelcome. You can get a sense of whether people want you here or don’t want you here. It would have been nice for people to back you. You saw it happening to other guys your age, your peers. You saw it happening to a new player if he was white but it wasn’t happening if the player wasn’t white.”Despite that, Prince “was on a mission” to prove that “from my background, people were good enough.” Having not been to an elite school and with his formative years in the non-racial South African Council on Sport (SACOS) structures, Prince said he “regarded my career as a war. I would lose small battles in the war but I was going to be there for the duration.”

“Maybe had we discussed this in 2011, and people had realised the suffering non-white people had in this country, it would be much easier to take the knee. But no, we don’t want to talk about that.”Ashwell Prince

However, Prince quickly saw he was in for an almighty fight, not just against perception, but against the people in his own change room. “In the 2006-07 season, we were playing a day-night match in Durban and a fight broke out on the grass banks. Most of the people were Indians,” he said. “Some of the comments in the dressing room astounded me. There were remarks made like, “Typical f****** charous (a derogatory word for South Africans of Indian heritage), can’t behave themselves, drinking cheap liquor and can’t behave.” My wife is Indian. We had one of the greatest managers, who we all respected, in Goolam Rajah, who was Indian. For people to use that terminology in the dressing room and think it was okay astounded me.”A few days later, in a team meeting, Prince took on his team-mates. “I was by no means an established player but I said I had something to say and I said: ‘This is the national team, surely we can’t use this language?’ Everyone was taken aback,” he said.His ODI career did not last much beyond that. He was axed after the 2007 World Cup, where South Africa lost in the semi-finals to Australia, and returned home to infighting that Prince said took on racial tones. “When we returned home, CSA decided to have an inquiry as to what happened,” he said. “We were in a hotel: the players, team management and senior officials from CSA and some younger players. Some questions were asked (about what went wrong) and there was silence in the room. After that one of the players broke out and said: “The problem we have is the quota system.” And one or two others gained confidence and latched on to that so it became that that was the problem in our cricket: the non-white players are the problem. People were talking and five or six players said the same thing.”I had reached a point where I didn’t care if I didn’t play another game, I was going to have my say. I said that we were blown away by a superior team in the semi-finals. If people just said that, we could have left that room and no dramas. Instead, people fell out badly. I said: ‘Guys if I wasn’t supposed to play, then tell me. Look me in the face and say I was not supposed to play. Don’t say the quota system is the problem.’ Nobody was brave enough to say who shouldn’t be there. When things went wrong it was the quota players’ fault. When things went right, the others were the heroes. As long as I played for the national team, that was not a team. We were never one.”Prince and the other players of colour in the squad were so offended by the suggestion that they were responsible for South Africa’s underperformance, “we said if you think the team lost because of quotas, maybe we should scrap the quota system,” he said. “We were firm believers that we deserved to be in the team.”Prince described his county stint with Lancashire as more enjoyable than his time with the national team•PA PhotosTheir assertion was leaked in the national newspaper, which led to Prince resigning as the South African Cricketers’ Association president. “I feel betrayed,” he said. “You were supposed to be living your dream but it was anything but a dream, It was an absolute nightmare. I played cricket by giving every inch for my teammates and I didn’t feel that was happening the other way around.”Though Prince did not play ODI cricket after, he remained part of the Test team until he broke his thumb in Australia and was replaced by JP Duminy. Despite the policy that a recovered incumbent would get their place back, Duminy’s stand-out performances in the 2008-09 series and the team balance at the time meant Prince did not find a way back until he opened the batting in the return series against Australia at home in March 2009, and not everyone was happy to have him back.”There was a franchise match before the third Test match and I was opening the batting. We had four or five Titans come in and try to intimidate me and having lots of words at the end of every over. It soon broke out to three players in particular who had words to say and they called me a quota player,” Prince said. “I told one of them I am really glad we are having this fight today. As players of colour this is what we always assumed you guys think of us. This is what we always assumed you would talk about. Now that we are on opposite teams and it’s kicking off in the middle, I am happy I know who sits next to me in the national team. Now we know where we stand.”Prince went on to score 150, opening the batting, in his comeback Test. “I raised my bat to my parents, then to my wife on the other side of the stadium and then lastly and reluctantly, I raised my bat to my team-mates,” he said. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have raised my bat to them. We weren’t a team.”He went on to enjoy a successful county career with Lancashire, which he described as more enjoyable than playing for the national team, and to coach the Cobras. Prince still believes there are problems with the way CSA approaches transformation, specifically by having different targets for black African players and other players of colour, and appealed to the administrators to “think of better ways to select cricket teams.”The SJN hearings have been extended to August 6, and could go on beyond that, before the ombudsman, Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, compiles a report for CSA.

Manchester City and Newcastle United have held concrete talks with Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov but Real Madrid are now set to challenge them.

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Man City and Newcastle lead race for KhusanovUzbekistan centre-back likely to leave LensReal Madrid enter race for 20-year-oldFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Lens' Khusanov has caught the eye of a number of clubs this season as the defender has been in top form and impressed scouts that have travelled to watch Will Still's side in action as Les Sang et Or boast the second-best defence in Ligue 1. Manchester City and Newcastle United have maintained the lead in the race to sign Khusanov this winter but are now set to face competition.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Journalist Santi Aouna has now reported that Real Madrid have entered the race to sign Khusanov this January as Carlo Ancelotti struggles with injuries in his defence. As per the report, the 15-time European champions have already initiated contact with Lens over a potential move.

DID YOU KNOW?

Khusanov's entourage claims that while the possibility of the Uzbek centre-back leaving are good, the decision is set to be left on the 20-year-old's shoulder to make the final decision as he will hope to continue developing his game.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR KHUSANOV?

The 20-year-old is yet to make a decision on his future at Lens and will likely remain a starter for Still's side as long as he is at the club. Lens are in action next when they take on Le Havre on January 12.

Leeds United reporter Joe Donnohue has described an update on midfielder Ao Tanaka as “far from ideal” following Ilia Gruev’s injury.

Gruev out for months not weeks as Leeds consider free-agent market

The Whites’ injury list has grown over the last week, with club captain Ethan Ampadu suffering a serious knee injury against Coventry City in the Championship at the end of September. It has been confirmed that Ampadu will be out until 2025, and his midfield partner Gruev will also be joining him in the Thorp Arch treatment room.

The Bulgaria international had to be replaced in Leeds’ 1-1 draw with Norwich City in the week, and scans have since confirmed Gruev has sustained a serious meniscus injury that will keep him out for months rather than weeks.

As a result, Daniel Farke now has just Tanaka and loanee Joe Rothwell as his senior midfield options, with teenager Charlie Crew likely to feature in regular matchday squads between now and the New Year. There is also the opportunity to bring in a midfielder without a club, and Farke has claimed the free agent market will be checked by those at Elland Road.

“If I’m really honest, I’m not a big friend of signing players who are out of contract in the beginning of October, because it means, more or less, they are out of team training since May. That means they are out of team training since whatever, five months.

“And even if you bring them in, it lasts also a while until they are really ready to go and fully fit and really could play first team football and then, quite often the player who is right now injured for the next few weeks, he’s even back in perhaps and ready to go earlier than the players who are out for since five months.

“I think quite often it’s a bit like a panic buy or like to pretend to do something anyhow. I think it’s professional to check it, and sometimes, out of coincidence or out of a special situation, there could be someone out who really suits the needs in this moment.”

Free agent: Ex-Leeds ace linked with return after Ampadu and Gruev injuries

He’s made 244 appearances in the Championship.

5 ByCharlie Smith Oct 4, 2024

In the meantime, Leeds will need to wrap Tanaka and Rothwell up in cotton wool, however, the former is set to rack up the air miles in the upcoming international break.

Ao Tanaka international break update “far from ideal”

The summer signing has been called up to the Japan squad for games against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Thursday, October 10 before a meeting with Australia five days later.

As YEP reporter Donnohue alludes to, Tanaka will be travelling around 18,000 miles and may not be back at Thorp Arch until Leeds’ final training session prior to their crunch clash with Sheffield United on Friday, October 18.

Leeds officials will be having everything crossed that Tanaka returns to Yorkshire later this month injury-free, as his partnership with Rothwell over the coming months could be crucial for the club’s promotion push.

The 26-year-old’s limited appearances so far have seen him record an impressive pass completion percentage of 91.9%, as per WhoScored.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite bemoans team’s lack of ‘consistency’ as series ends 1-1

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2021Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam has said that he was always confident of taking “bold decisions” as he trusted his bowlers to take all 10 West Indies wickets in the second innings.Pakistan set the hosts 329 in the second Test at Sabina Park, giving themselves a possible 130 overs to bowl West Indies out. Azam said that with Pakistan already trailing in the series, they had few options but to go for an early declaration after taking a lead of 152 in the first innings.”The plan was always to ask them to bat for 20-25 overs on the fourth day, and it eventually worked out well for us,” he said. “Take the lead up to 330-340, and then to make them play in whatever time remains on the fourth day. We had to level the series and so had to take some bold decisions for that – which we did take – and things worked out well for us.”Related

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Azam also credited his bowlers for setting up the win, and singled out left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi, who picked up a career-best match haul of 10 for 94, including his best figures of 6 for 51 in the first innings.”He is really young, and the way he is grooming himself and performing for Pakistan shows he is such a good talent,” Azam said. “He is only improving day-by-day, and learning as well. He is leading the bowling too, and it was fun watching him bowl. He believes in himself, and each time he is given the ball, he bowls with the same pace and aggression. And so this is really helpful for me as captain.”Pakistan also picked left-arm spinner Nauman Ali in the XI, who was the only frontline spinner from either side unlike in the first Test, when Jomel Warrican was in the West Indies XI. Although Ali bowled only one over in the first innings, he was eventually used for 22 overs in the second, on the way getting the big wickets of Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder.”Our bowlers were outstanding today, and I should only give them all the credit,” Azam said. “Even Nauman Ali bowled well. It was a fifth-day pitch, and the way he bowled and got some turn, as well as those three of his wickets, proved really crucial for us in the end.”We thought bowlers might some help from the pitch on the final day. We had seen the wicket in the morning, and also observed it after lunch today. Hence, we thought it would turn, and help the spinners. There were patches there as well, so we planned to bowl Nauman, which turned out to be helpful for us.”Azam also highlighted senior batter Fawad Alam for his contributions, with Alam getting to his fifth Test century – and his fourth since his comeback last year – rescuing Pakistan from 2 for 3 in the first innings, and ending unbeaten on 124 in a total of 302.”Like I have always said, he is an experienced player. He has so many runs in first-class [cricket] and has such a brilliant record there,” Azam said. “And so the way he handled the pressure, built his innings and contributed for the team as per the conditions was outstanding. All our batsmen must also learn from him.”Azam’s counterpart Brathwaite, however, was left asking for more from his batters, with West Indies folding for 150 and 219 in the match.”We were behind the eight-ball from the start,” Brathwaite said. “Consistently is obviously what we need. Test cricket is never easy. All the guys technically can bat, it’s just the mindset. The quicker we get to that strong mentality [the better]. First 30 balls is always the toughest period and finding out ways through those periods is key for us.”Brathwaite did draw out some positives from the series, most notable of which was the performance of fast bowler Jayden Seales, who picked up a five-for in the first Test, thus becoming the youngest from his country to that feat in Test cricket.”He is a star in the making, you see him getting over 250 wickets,” Brathwaite said of the 19-year-old. “I know he has a big future ahead. With the experience in our bowling group guiding – Kemar, [and] Jason – he for sure is a future star.”Brathwaite also credited the Pakistan bowlers and Alam for their show, and felt that falling behind by a big margin in the first innings ultimately made the difference.”As a bowling unit they were very consistent,” he said. “Batting wise, their guys who got in in the first innings went big. Obviously, Fawad getting a hundred is something for me and the batters to take – when we do get that start, we make it count.”I still think it’s a positive since we didn’t lose the series. I thought the team did a superb job in the first Test. We let ourselves down in the first innings of this match. Kudos to the bowlers again for leading the way. We made some strides in the series, but in this Test, the first innings really let us down.”

The England international came up trumps with a stoppage-time strike to save Enzo Maresca's side from another damaging defeat

Substitute Reece James' stoppage-time equaliser secured Chelsea a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in a gripping Premier League clash on Tuesday.

The Blues came flying out of the blocks and took a deserved lead when Nicolas Jackson neatly set up Cole Palmer, who sat down Mark Travers and slotted home with ease in the 12th minute.

Substitute Justin Kluivert fired a warning shot to the hosts when his effort struck the post after Robert Sanchez gave the ball away with a poor pass, before Jackson hit the frame of the goal seconds later at the other end.

The west London outfit dominated the first half, but were made to pay for their profligacy as Kluivert scored from the spot in the 50th minute after Moises Caicedo brought down Antoine Semenyo in the box.

The visitors then took a shock lead when Semenyo got half a yard on Josh Acheampong before blasting a strike past Sanchez to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute. Chelsea, who felt David Brooks should have been sent off for appearing to pull Marc Cucurella by the hair, looked down and out, but James delivered in the 95th minute to secure them a point.

Despite that, Enzo Maresca's team have not won any of their last five Premier League matches.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Stamford Bridge…

AFPGoalkeeper & Defence

Robert Sanchez (5/10):

Put his side in all sorts of bother when his terrible pass was intercepted and Bournemouth nearly scored from it. Arguably his positioning could have been better for Bournemouth's second.

Moises Caicedo (6/10):

The midfielder put in an impressive first-half display at right-back, but then got the wrong side of Semenyo to concede a penalty.

Josh Acheampong (6/10):

The 18-year-old started for the second Premier League game in a row, and while he was competent enough, sometimes his passing was a bit sloppy and Semenyo was too good for him for his goal.

Levi Colwill (7/10):

Looked the most solid and dependable of Chelsea's defenders, but his side deteriorated as the match wore on.

Marc Cucurella (6/10):

The most noteworthy thing he did all game was fall to the ground when Brooks cynically brought him down in what could have been a red card offence.

AdvertisementAFPMidfield

Enzo Fernandez (6/10):

Has a lot more about him than he did at the start of the season, but Bournemouth's midfield put him under pressure in the second half.

Romeo Lavia (7/10):

The young Belgian is a real quality operator when fit and allows the likes of Fernandez and Caicedo to get forward more. A positive but fairly short outing.

Cole Palmer (7/10):

Took his goal in sumptuous fashion with a wonderful body feint and finish. Was a joy to watch in the first half, but as the visitors grew into the game, his influence waned.

Getty Images SportAttack

Noni Madueke (7/10):

Ran circles around Bournemouth's defence at times and on another day would have got a couple of assists. His effectiveness dropped off in the second half, mind.

Nicolas Jackson (6/10):

Played a beautifully waited pass to assist Palmer, but missed a string of good chances as his goal-scoring drought continued. He was a handful, but he needs to be more clinical.

Jadon Sancho (7/10):

The winger looked impressive on the eye at times, with nutmegs and driving runs, but there needs to be a bit more substance from the ex-Borussia Dortmund man.

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AFPSubs & Manager

Reece James (7/10):

Came on before the hour mark but didn't have much of an impact… until he bent in a great free-kick at the death.

Tosin Adarabioyo (7/10):

Perhaps should have started instead of Acheampong as he was a rock at the back.

Joao Felix (6/10):

The ball just wouldn't drop for him.

Pedro Neto (5/10):

Didn't do much when introduced late on.

Enzo Maresca (6/10):

His team had a swagger about them in the first half, but they didn't take their chances when they should have been out of sight. Seemed to lose the tactical battle in the second half.

An Arsenal exit for one big-name member of the Gunners squad is said to be a real possibility, with manager Mikel Arteta personally eyeing a possible replacement.

Arsenal maintain unbeaten start with victory over Southampton

The Premier League title hopefuls maintained their unbeaten start to the season in all competitions with a 3-1 win over Southampton on Saturday, despite a brief scare courtesy of Cameron Archer’s surprise opener for the visitors.

£240k-per-week Arsenal ace out for "best part of four weeks" through injury

It could even be longer.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Oct 8, 2024

The Saints forward handed Russell Martin’s men a brief lead just after the second-half restart, but goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka soon after ensured that Arsenal would come away from the Emirates with all three points.

Speaking after the game, Arteta praised his players for their belief, character and discipline to fight back from a goal down and ultimately turn the game around in convincing fashion – despite a sloppy start to the first 45.

Bournemouth (away)

October 19

Liverpool (home)

October 27

Newcastle United (away)

November 2

Chelsea (away)

November 10

Nottingham Forest (home)

November 23

“First half I thought it was exceptional,” said Arteta after Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Southampton.

“The amount of dominance that we had in the areas that we played, the amount of situations and chances we created in open play and set pieces, our counter-press worked really well there. It’s unbelievable that we didn’t score a goal.

“Then we started the second half, we were a bit sloppy, especially in the first 5-10 minutes with the ball and then the game became a little more open. Then the chance they had, they scored the goal, and then again, we’ve thrown everything away that we did in the first half. It was a completely brand-new game in a really difficult context and the team reacted incredibly well with a lot of composure; big belief, very good clarity in what we had to do. The crowd were exceptional, the subs were exceptional and we managed to win again.”

While Bukayo Saka put in another excellent display against Southampton, striker Gabriel Jesus was a cause for concern. The Brazilian, who played just 19 minutes of football across all competitions before being handed the nod on Saturday, was substituted on the hour mark despite the scores being level – with Jesus dropping a “5/10” performance overall.

Jesus could leave Arsenal with Arteta a real fan of Marmoush

There are doubts over the £265,000-per-week star’s suitability to lead the line, with Havertz the preferred option. According to reports out of Spain, Jesus could leave Arsenal with Palmeiras interested in signing him. They add that Arteta is also a real fan of a potential replacement – Eintracht Frankfurt star Omar Marmoush.

The Egyptian has been linked with a move to north London very recently, with some reports claiming that Marmoush “dreams” of a switch to Arsenal or Liverpool. The 25-year-old, as per Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, is also stalling on signing a new contract amid his sensational start to the season.

He already boasts nine goals and six assists over just nine games in all competitions, and if Marmoush continues in this form, it is surely only a matter of time before elite English sides like Arsenal come knocking.

The 'Swiss Model' has been lauded by some for generating more excitement, but it completely misses the point

Jamie Carragher is among those sold on the new Champions League format. "It's been brilliant," the former Liverpool defender wrote on social media on Thursday. "Instead of the bore fest we’ve had for years on the last match day, next week will be sensational."

UEFA will be absolutely delighted with themselves. It appears they've already managed to convince a significant number of pundits and supporters that the 'Swiss Model' has been a success; a positive development for the competition and, by consequence, the game itself.

Nothing could be further from the truth, though. The format's flaws have been brutally exposed and the only real beneficiaries of its introduction have been UEFA and Europe's elite – which was the objective all along.

Getty'Not great'

As soon as the longstanding Super League threat finally materialised in April 2021, UEFA knew it needed to act. Europe's richest clubs wanted more games, because more games means more money, so that's exactly what UEFA gave them in May 2022.

The initial idea was to expand the pre-knockout round to 10 games. but even after a bitter backlash from coaches, players and domestic leagues with serious concerns over an already congested international schedule, they still managed to push through a new format featuring eight matchdays – and sneak in an additional play-off round. It was a Super League in everything but name. Everyone knew it too.

"It's very good that the new Super League is off the table," a visibly bewildered Jurgen Klopp told reporters in April 2021,” but the new Champions League is not great. UEFA showed me the idea and I said, 'I don't like it.' I've no idea where [they'll] put the extra games in… But the show must go on."

It was clear that sacrifices would have to be made, but only by the organisers of domestic tournaments, such as the once-prestigious FA Cup, and, more significantly, the players.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesNo concern for player welfare

UEFA justified its expansion by claiming that football fans wanted to see "more top European matches" – and at an earlier stage of the Champions League. However, what's the point in having more heavyweight showdowns if neither participant is in peak physical condition?

As an exasperated Pep Guardiola pointed out four years ago, "Every time we speak about [player welfare] to UEFA, they say 'We take note.' But, after, more games. It's like an actor or actress in a theatre going three times a day: they'd like to put on a good performance, but three times a day is too much."

Guardiola was right to be concerned. His Manchester City side won the treble win 2023, but are toiling this season after being decimated by injuries to key men, including Rodri, who was already threatening a players' union strike over the schedule before being sidelined with an ACL tear.

There has been little sympathy for City, but it merely reinforced the point that players are playing too many games. If one of the most expensively assembled squads in football history can reach breaking point, what hope is there for clubs who are not sponsored by a state?

GettyMoney over meritocracy

City's struggles have highlighted the most glaring problem with the new Champions League format: it's far too forgiving.

Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli pushed so hard for a Super League because he was disgusted by the fact that small, well-run provincial clubs such as Atalanta could earn a seat at Europe's top table at the expense of one of the traditional superpowers.The revenue accrued from regular participation in continental competition has been the biggest distortive force in the competitiveness of European football over the past decade, the reason why the gap between the haves and the have-nots is wider than ever before.

In an ideal, fair and just world, the Champions League would be the sole preserve of actual champions – just like the European Cup used to be. But that was never good enough for the likes of Silvio Berlusconi, who realised that the real money was to be made in regular games between the teams from the biggest TV markets in Europe.

So, Super League threats were made and UEFA replied by including the top four teams from the 'Big Five' leagues and adding group stages (there were two at one point).

However, those amendments still weren't enough to satisfy ESL backers Agnelli and Florentino Perez, who wanted a closed shop to protect their profits – and the 'Swiss Model' is a product of the prioritisation of money over meritocracy, which has been quite clearly implemented to protect the big boys.

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GettyExtra safety net

In any other year, a team that has performed as poorly as City, who have been beaten by Sporting CP, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, and held at home by Inter and Feyenoord, would already be out. But because of the nature of the supposedly "brilliant" revamp, City still only need to beat Club Brugge at home to progress to the play-off round, which is, in itself, an extra safety net introduced to spare the elite from the financial repercussions of an early European exit.

It's all so blatant that it's barely believable that the same people that criticised the Super League are now championing the expanded Champions League – particularly when the argument that it's been more exciting doesn't stand up to scrutiny at all.

The allrounder could have a vital role to play if Australia’s injury situation doesn’t improve

AAP27-Sep-2021The pink ball won’t prompt Ashleigh Gardner to go back into her shell this week, when Australia’s clean-striking allrounder plays her first Test on home soil.Gardner, 24, made her Test debut on the 2019 Ashes tour but the day-night clash with India, beginning at Metricon Stadium on Thursday, shapes as her first chance to don the baggy green in Australia.She has been regarded as one of the sport’s most damaging batters since 2017, when she belted a then-record WBBL ton in just 47 balls.Gardner, fresh from Sunday’s knock of 67 that was the highest score of her ODI career and featured 10 boundaries, won’t overcomplicate things as she quickly switch formats.Related

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“It’s about still sticking to my strengths. Not going into my shell is the biggest thing,” Gardner told AAP. “That’s what the coaches have said to me the whole time – no matter the format, my game doesn’t really change.”I have that freedom within this side that I can still play naturally and not shy away from my strengths. Putting the bad balls away and respecting the balls between. Build an innings and don’t have that over-restraint … it’s not a huge difference to one-day cricket.”It’ll be a special occasion for everybody. We don’t get to play many Test matches.”Ashleigh Gardner in action during her Test debut•Getty ImagesGardner, whose offspin will also be crucial in the contest that could settle the multi-format series decided via a points system, batted at No. 9 against England in her only Test.But, with 86 international matches to her name and several team-mates in doubt because of injuries, an elevation up the order could soon be on the cards.Australia will train at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday, when legspinner Georgia Wareham (quad) and star batters Rachael Haynes (hamstring) and Beth Mooney (hamstring) will seek to prove their fitness.Hannah Darlington, who last week became the third Indigenous woman to play for Australia, is one of several youngsters in the mix to make Test debuts as the hosts regroup from a defeat that snapped their 26-game ODI winning streak.Gardner, a proud Muruwari woman and Aboriginal role model whose aunt Doris Shillingsworth addressed the squad last year, presented 19-year-old Darlington with her cap prior to the series-opening ODI.”It was an absolute honour and privilege,” Gardner said. She’s shown throughout her short career that she is confident in her abilities. I know if she gets the chance to play Test cricket or in the T20s, she’ll do her best and put in 100 per cent.”