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Five justifications Mikel Arteta has responded to $82 million already. Question about Stan Kroenke’s January transfer

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1 year ago

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Five justifications Mikel Arteta has responded to $82 million already. Question about Stan Kroenke's January transfer

Arsenal transfer news: with one slot in particular needing attention, the Gunners are focusing on improving in January.

Five justifications Mikel Arteta has responded to $82 million already. Question about Stan Kroenke's January transfer

Mikel Arteta has shown why Arsenal are well prepared for the upcoming January transfer window (Image: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

With a message of defense and consistency so strong that a single attempt on goal is considered an offense, Manchester City has demonstrated that they are still capable of winning.

For the first time this season, Mikel Arteta made the decision to fully utilize his attacking capabilities. He performed it on opponents who weren’t expecting it. Lens, poor Lens.

The squad selected included three legitimate defenders, and that may be overstating things given that one of the three was Takehiro Tomiyasu, who finished the game with two assists as a right-back. Declan Rice can’t really be categorized as a defender because of how effective his passing and driving runs are, but Oleksandr Zinchenko is a defender in the broadest sense of the word.

What was really striking was that Arsenal chose five legitimate attackers even when they were using 3-2-5 formations. Gabriel Jesus was the striker and the two midfield No. 8s were both No. 10s. Together, the two wingers scored at least 14 goals in the league alone the previous season. Initially, it might not come as a surprise that the Gunners scored goal after goal.

Complete dominance, six different scorers—five in the first half—and a message to anyone who had doubts about Arteta and his team. Martin Odegaard proposed that the team benefited from the openness of European competition. That makes sense, and Lens was indeed awful, but this was one of the best offensive performances ever, with a merciless clinical edge.

Remember, goalscoring was supposed to be the problem here. After 13 games, five teams have scored more goals than the Gunners, including five against Sheffield United. The xG performs much worse, ranking sixth overall despite a significant improvement thus far.

READ MORE: How Arsenal will fare in the Man City FFP trial given the points deduction and Premier League title wait

READ MORE: Arsenal’s potential opponents in the Champions League last-16 include Barcelona, PSG, and Atletico Madrid

The fact that only five teams have so far outperformed the Gunners in terms of xG suggests that things simply cannot continue at this level, even with Havertz and Jesus, two habitual underachievers. But if Arteta can consistently get his team to play this aggressively, it will completely change the game plan for the next five weeks.

They were able to maintain their title push last year thanks to a collaborative effort that saw four players score ten goals or more—two of them scoring fifteen, and Saka scoring fourteen. Granit Xhaka contributed seven goals and a crucial seven assists even from midfield, compared to Eddie Nketiah, the backup striker, who only managed four.

Nketiah played less than 1,100 minutes and appeared in 30 games, so his small role is a testament to the team’s cohesiveness. It wasn’t a lack of goals that ultimately cost the team the title toward the end of the season when they tailed off; rather, it was a result of poor defensive play.

Arteta has chosen control over chaos in part because of this, but if Arsenal can capitalize on some of the explosive attacking play, January might just turn out differently. They are already on pace to have three players finish in the top four in the league this term, and if individual play improves, that number could rise to four.

Arsenal continues to share the goals, unlike Manchester City, who only had two players with ten or more, Erling Haaland being one of them with 36. Once more, it’s Haaland and a supporting group at City.

This presents an interesting conundrum for Stan, Josh, Arteta, and Edu Gaspar. Given Gabriel Martinelli’s lack of success at home and Jesus’ ongoing fitness issues, the Gunners have long been linked to a winter move for an all-out No. 9.

There’s a perception that the club will be sniffing around, if not going the Chelsea route and bidding, bidding, bidding—whether it’s Ivan Toney or Victor Osimhen.

Given the demands of the Champions League knockout stage and the physical and psychological toll that a title run-in can take, Arteta might be considering his options in the winter transfer window in order to add to his roster. This would allow him to have four players—plus Trossard and Martinelli, who were occasionally used there last year—play center forward, which is probably one too many.

Questions about this will persist based on Kai Havertz’s likely future and his continued role in the team. With Jesus always a flight risk and Nketiah far from proven against the top six, Arteta really only has two players plus possible January reinforcement if he isn’t a long- or even short-term option as a striker. It’s a balancing act.

While Arteta and his team have demonstrated their ability to collaborate in an ideal setting, this is the first time this term that things have quite clicked in that way. It isn’t a deal that the club will take lightly, given that Toney, the most likely arrival, would cost more than the entire January spend from the previous year. Reports suggest that £65 million ($82 million) will be enough, but Brentford continues to quote closer to £100 million ($124 million).

But if the five-man attacking dynamic isn’t sustainable or can’t be replicated at home, Arteta will have to look outside the team for a point-of-distinction player—someone who can win games when they shouldn’t be won or when their performance doesn’t justify it.

Over the past 12 months, Arsenal has increasingly demonstrated their ability to steal points from this kind of match; however, with Liverpool and Manchester City now vying for championship glory in May, the stakes are higher and the margins are closer. The season may well depend on whether Arsenal shapes this with a single player or chooses to go with the same but better and more seasoned player from the previous campaign. In any case, Arteta has demonstrated what happens when he increases the heat.

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What Thierry Henry did to Mo Salah instantly after penalty defeat will break every Liverpool fan’s heart

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1 week ago

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March 12, 2025

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Thierry Henry has passed over Mohammed Salah as his top choice for the Ballon d’Or, preferring a LaLiga star.

Salah is a top contender for the annual award after a remarkable season with Liverpool. The Egyptian forward is having the finest season of his career, with 32 goals and 22 assists in all competitions for the Reds. Salah’s outstanding performance has helped Liverpool take a 15-point lead over closest rivals Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. The 32-year-old is seven points ahead of Erling Haaland in the battle for the Premier League golden boot, having scored 27 goals, while he is three short of Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s joint assist record of 20.

The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward believes Raphinha is now ahead of Salah in the race. Raphinha, who joined Barcelona from Leeds in 2022, has 27 goals and 19 assists this season. The Brazilian attacker leads this season’s Champions League with 11 goals, while Salah has three. Henry cited Raphinha’s success in Europe, with Barcelona reaching to the quarter-finals, as well as Salah and Harry Kane’s goal totals, which have been enhanced by penalties. Salah has 11 penalty goals this season, compared to Raphinha’s one in all competitions.

Raphinha, when people talk about being a complete striker, they mean knowing how to put pressure on opponents, defend, and assist your full back. And he has everything.’ While Salah and Liverpool were eliminated from the last 16 on penalties by PSG on Tuesday night, Raphinha scored twice to help Barcelona defeat Benfica 4-1 on aggregate and advance to the last eight. Barcelona now awaits the victors of the last-16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Lille. Salah will attempt to help Liverpool recover from their Champions League exit when they meet Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.

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Liverpool’s ‘lucky’ night came down to a Italian referee and a Brazilian keeper

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2 weeks ago

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March 6, 2025

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Manager Arne Slot admitted hisThe “lucky” night for Liverpool was decided by a Brazilian goalie Alisson side were lucky to beat Paris Saint-Germain after the French side dominated the game

Supporters of Paris Saint-Germain were in disbelief. They were leaving the Parc des Princes defeated 1-0 after 27 shots, mothan 70% of the possession, and only one shot on goal given up.

After a strong PSG team failed to convert their dominance into Champions League last-16 goals, Harvey Elliott’s late goal gave Liverpool the most improbable lead to bring back to Anfield. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal in the first half was disallowed for offside, and the French champions felt Ibrahima Konate ought to have been sent off for shoving Bradley Barcola.

However, PSG was held at bay and prevented from scoring at home for the first time this season thanks to Alisson Becker’s “performance of my life.”

 

 

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BREAKING NEWS: Premier League release the final decision on Amad Diallo’s disallowed goal after a thorough review

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2 months ago

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January 28, 2025

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During their match against Fulham on Sunday, the Premier League issued a statement to explain why the video assistant referee (VAR) did not enable Manchester United to score a late goal.

Amad Diallo believed that he had scored the game-winning goal for Ruben Amorim’s team in the 94th minute, while they were leading 1-0 courtesy to Lisandro Martinez’s deflected attempt when the goal was scored.

After playing a wonderful one-two with Joshua Zirkzee, the Ivorian player then sent a low strike beneath Bernd Leno in the final minute of stoppage time.

Nevertheless, after observing an incident in the buildup to the goal at Stockley Park, the video assistant referee, Jarred Gillett, and the video assistant referee, Darren Cann, reviewed the goal.

After that, the goal was disallowed by the referee, Anthony Taylor, and United was able to maintain their grasp on the ball in order to clinch a crucial three points at Craven Cottage.

The Premier League has also stated that Amad’s goal against the 23-year-old was disallowed because of offside. Replays have shown that Amad’s shoulder was slightly ahead of Timothy Castagne, which led to the goal being disallowed.

The following message was sent on their official Match Centre account on X (which was then known as Twitter): “Amad’s goal was initially awarded on the pitch to him.” After conducting an investigation, the video assistant referee (VAR) determined that Amad was in an offside position during the buildup, and he suggested that the goal be disallowed.

During his post-match interview, Amorim did not discuss the goal that was disallowed; rather, he concentrated on commenting on the performance of his side in west London.

Following the cancellation of Amad’s late goal and the goal-line clearing made by Toby Collyer, Amorim expressed his satisfaction with his team’s tenacity in achieving just their third victory away from home this season.

Having this sensation when away from home is something that is quite significant. Very strong support from our fans who are away. According to the Portuguese player, “It was not a great game, and there were no great chances.”

We made an effort to play our game, but we have a lot of room for improvement. We are in possession of the final outcome, and we have already won the game; it is of the utmost importance to win at this point.

In addition, he stated that the clean sheet was “really important because it is obvious that you are getting closer to winning games, and it gives you confidence.” Today, we did not experience a great deal of suffering, which is a positive indicator. We put in a goal, and now we are moving on to the next game.

In the meanwhile, Amad was unable to score his tenth goal of the season, Rasmus Hojlund was unable to add to his two goals, and Joshua Zirkzee did not do much during his cameo appearance off the bench.

Amorim, who will turn 40 tomorrow, was not under any illusions about the areas in which his team has to improve. He continued by saying, “Even in the second half, we changed things, and we lack some pace and power in front, but it is what it is.”

If we want to have more opportunities, we need to have more ball. We have a lot of trouble with these particulars. We are able to make significant progress when we are successful.

Following that, on Thursday, United will travel to Romania to compete against FCSB in the Europa League. On February 1, they will then play host to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

 

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