Arsenal go to Leicester in Saturday’s early kick-off aiming to close the gap on Liverpool who host Wolves on Sunday
Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue King Power Stadium
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Welington can beef up Saints, Ola Aina returns to SW6 and Raheem Sterling has the chance to roll back the years
It may have taken Brighton’s record signing a few months to settle in but the performance of Georginio Rutter in their thrilling FA Cup victory over Chelsea showed that the Frenchman was worth the £40m they paid Leeds in the summer. A brilliant header to equalise before setting up Kaoru Mitoma’s winner gave Fabian Hürzeler’s side the confidence boost they needed after their 7-0 mauling against Nottingham Forest, with Rutter justifying his manager’s decision to leave João Pedro on the bench. Rutter – who has seven goals in all competitions – did not start a Premier League game in January after struggling with a hamstring problem and Hürzeler has been mindful of protecting the 22-year-old, although he will be itching to face Enzo Maresca’s side for the second time in six days. “There were a lot of personal duels and he proved that he can win the majority of them, and that’s why I’m happy with him,” said Hürzeler. Ed Aarons
Southampton v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm
Continue reading...Ratcliffe is being cast as Scrooge but Glazers made Manchester United’s mess | Jamie Jackson
Time will tell if the Ineos chief’s severe cost-cutting pays off, but this is a club that has been mismanaged for years
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making drastic cuts to Manchester United’s operation for fear that the club are on a fast-track to bankruptcy. Whether such seismic concerns are legitimate or unfounded, it reflects a tale of off‑field financial woe that matches the club’s 12 years in the title‑contending wilderness.
The failure to reel in a 21st championship or make a genuine challenge for one is a direct corollary of slow decline and mismanagement under Malcolm Glazer, and then his six children after his death in 2014.
Continue reading...Everton’s Tarkowski thwarts Liverpool as final Goodison derby ends in brawl
Four goals, four red cards, one mass brawl plus enough controversy, fury and entertainment to elevate the fixture way above the Premier League norm; the Merseyside derby bid a fitting farewell to Goodison Park.
David “Mystic” Moyes had predicted the 120th and final Goodison derby would, by the nature of an emotionally charged occasion, be explosive. James Tarkowski triggered a detonator under the old place. The Everton captain volleyed in a stunning 98th-minute equaliser to ensure Liverpool went seven points clear in the title race rather than nine.
Continue reading...Delays, edits, and no Son Heung-min: how North Korea watches the Premier League
State TV has started broadcasting matches, albeit with heavy-handed intervention of Pyongyang regime’s censors
TV viewers in North Korea have to endure more than their fair share of war films – in which there can be only one victor, news reports delivered with revolutionary gusto and breathless Kim dynasty propaganda.
But even for a country as wary of outside influences as North Korea, it appears unable to resist the lure of Premier League football – the most-watched sport on the nation’s TV screens. Just don’t expect to see any live action, let alone Gary Lineker presenting in his underpants.
Continue reading...Chelsea fans accuse Boehly of ‘breach of trust’ over his ticket resale website
- Co-owner and chairman is a director of Vivid Seats
- Premier League lists as ‘unauthorised ticket website’
Chelsea supporters have accused Todd Boehly of a “breach of trust” and a potential conflict of interest over his co-ownership of a website selling tickets to the club’s games and other Premier League matches to foreign tourists.
Boehly is a director and investor in Vivid Seats, an American site that allows users outside the United Kingdom to buy and sell tickets to concerts and sporting events, often at huge mark-ups. British fans cannot use the site or others like it because it is illegal to resell football tickets in this way in the UK. The Premier League lists Vivid Seats as an “unauthorised ticket website”.
Continue reading...Transfer window verdict: how every Premier League club fared
Only one of the top six made a notable signing – and they spent £172m – in a frustrating window for several managers
Mikel Arteta’s hopes of strengthening his squad never materialised, no doubt to his frustration and that of every Arsenal supporter, despite the surprise bid for Ollie Watkins and interest in Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel. The feelgood factor generated by the famous thrashing of Manchester City will not last long if a lack of attacking options means they cannot sustain their challenge in the Premier League. Arteta, who would not allow Kieran Tierney or Jorginho to leave with their contracts expiring in the summer, will be hoping that some winter sunshine in Dubai next week can give his players extra spark when they return. Ed Aarons
Continue reading...Chelsea 2-1 West Ham: Premier League – as it happened
Chelsea boosted their push for a Champions League place after a fortunate win on Graham Potter’s return to SW6
More on the enigma that is Andy Irving.
Brendan Large gets in touch: “As a Chelsea fan I think dropping Sanchez was a no-brainer today. He hasn’t been as bad as his headlines (mostly) and has made some good saves. But all the noise around him would have made every touch a chance for West Ham fans to put him under pressure. Jorgensen doesn’t look spectacular but seems to be a safe pair of hands (mostly) from his Conference League/Cup appearances.
Continue reading...Arsenal’s rout of Manchester City shows how great empires end
Pep Guardiola was thought to have stabilised City’s form, but Sunday’s 5-1 demolition by Arsenal shows that the champions’ reign is now surely over
By the time Ethan Nwaneri whipped in Arsenal’s fifth, the mood at the Emirates was euphoric. The 17-year-old’s finish, arced into the bottom corner from that inside-right position through which so many of Arsenal’s attacks had come, felt like the perfect finale to a dominant 5-1 win over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. And it was, in more ways than one.
Its youthful chutzpah seemed an appropriate way to round off a win in which 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly had been the most eye-catching player, having scored the third goal with an impudent shimmy into the box. Yet there was a strange realisation on seeing the replay. Nwaneri’s finish hadn’t nestled in that close to the corner of the goal; it wasn’t quite as good as it had initially appeared. And that felt emblematic of the game as a whole.
Continue reading...Transfer deadline day: Rashford, Tel, Nkunku, Disasi, Félix news and latest moves – live
- Latest news and updates before 11pm GMT deadline
- The Rumour Mill: Tel to Arsenal? Félix to Milan?
- Men’s transfer interactive: deals from around Europe
- Get in touch: email Will with your thoughts
Manchester United would not be surprised if Chelsea make a cheeky late bid for Alejandro Garnacho though the early signs are the west London club may not. For United, after letting both Marcus Rashford and Antony go on loan (to Aston Villa and Real Betis) there would surely be serious uproar if Sir Jim Ratcliffe allowed another wide forward, who Ruben Amorim talked up last week, to depart.
Ruben Amorim left more than £100m of striker on the bench in yesterday’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. Surely he wants the Manchester United hierarchy to invest in someone that guarantees goals. He also sanctioned the departures of Antony and Marcus Rashford, leaving them short of options in attack, not that either has done anything of note this season.
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Arsenal relish City demolition as Sels shines while Liverpool carry on regardless at the top
Any successful title challenge needs a statement victory to install belief and reset previous concerns. Beating Manchester City must now be Arsenal’s foundation and not the zenith. Arsenal have played much of this season as if distracted by situations beyond their control – referees, their rivals’ dispositions and their relative luck with injuries. The second-half performance was a reminder of how Mikel Arteta previously took Arsenal to the verge of title wins, playing high-grade attacking football, pressing their opponents into mistakes. Has the high-quality football returned at the right time? Arteta’s team maintained discipline, not rising to provocations before taking advantage of City’s malfunctions to run in five goals. All without Bukayo Saka, whose loss was supposed to be the end of the affair. In Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, both on the scoresheet, the next generation made its contribution on a perfect Sunday for club and manager. One to celebrate and build on, not bask in. John Brewin
Match report: Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City
Match report: Brentford 0-2 Tottenham
Match report: Manchester United 0-2 Crystal Palace
Match report: Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa
Match report: Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool
Match report: Ipswich 1-2 Southampton
Match report: Everton 4-0 Leicester
Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Fulham
Match report: Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton
Continue reading...Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened
Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, and Ethan Nwaneri, 17, scored as Arsenal humiliated the champions in the last half hour at the Emirates
Here’s the Premier League table going into this afternoon’s game
Today’s Premier League results
Brentford 0-2 Tottenham
Man Utd 0-2 Crystal Palace
Continue reading...Manchester United punished by Mateta double in defeat by Crystal Palace
Ruben Amorim’s wish to “create some danger” flamed at the start of each half, then faded, as Manchester United were sucker-punched by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second goal on 89 minutes that sealed a first defeat in four games.
United and Crystal Palace were becalmed in front of goal except for when the Eagles twice took advantage of the home side’s slipshod backline.
Continue reading...Brentford 0-2 Tottenham: Premier League – as it happened
An own goal Vitaly Janelt and a late strike from Pape Matar Sarr gave Spurs their first league win since mid-December
And another transfer line:
Postecoglou advises that Van de Ven is OK, they’re just trying to manage his minutes, while explaining that 17-year-old Moore has earned his go.
Continue reading...Potter goes back to Chelsea with point to prove in calmer West Ham waters
A win against Fulham and draw at Villa are early signs of a better fit at West Ham on manager’s return to his old club
Graham Potter’s return to Chelsea coming on deadline day feels symbolic. West Ham’s head coach does not look back fondly at the extravaganza of player trading when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge in January 2023. It was a time of chaos and unreasonable pressure. The new owners were spending like there was no tomorrow and by the time the window closed it was left to Potter to make sense of a squad so bloated there was not enough space for everyone in the first-team dressing room.
Good luck with that. Chelsea had crowed after beating Arsenal to Mykhaylo Mudryk. Negotiations with Benfica led to a British transfer record for Enzo Fernández. Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana and Benoît Badiashile joined. A deal for Malo Gusto was confirmed for the summer. João Félix arrived on loan. Jorginho took his experience and nous to Arsenal. Hakim Ziyech’s loan to Paris Saint-Germain collapsed because of technical issues. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had to be cut from the squad for the Champions League knockout stages. Potter, who takes West Ham to Stamford Bridge on Monday night, watched it all unfold and knew that expectations were about to go through the roof.
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