أعرب الدولي الكونغولي آرثر ماسوكو مدافع فريق وست هام، عن خيبة أمله بعد الخسارة التي تلقاها فريقه أمام ليفربول، ضمن الجولة السابعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.
ماسوكو تسبب في ركلة جزاء لـ محمد صلاح مهاجم ليفربول، والتي سجل منها نجمنا المصري، هدف الريدز الأول في المباراة بعدما كان الهامرز متقدم في النتيجة.
طالع أيضًا.. مدافع وست هام: ركلة جزاء محمد صلاح غير مستحقة.. ولكن!
وكتب ماسوكو على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر”: “نتيجة مخيبة للآمال بعد بداية جيدة في الدوري الإنجليزي حتى الآن”.
وأضاف: “ما زلت غاضبًا بعض الشيء من نفسي لما حدث، ولكن على أي حال، يحيا وست هام”.
وست هام بعد الخسارة أمام ليفربول، توقف رصيد الفريق عند 8 نقاط في المركز الثالث عشر.
Arsenal are lining up a summer bid for Argentina international Walter Kannemann, per the Daily Mail.
The 28-year-old has won three caps for his country since making his debut in September 2018.
What’s the word?
Gunners boss Unai Emery is reportedly keen to bolster his defence this summer.
And the Mail report that the Gremio star, who plays as a left-sided centre-back, has a £10.2million release clause in his contract.
A number of South American sides, including Boca Juniors and Independiente, are also said to be interested but they will struggle to trigger his release clause.
The Gunners, however, should have no such trouble.
Emery is aware that Laurent Koscielny will turn 34 in September, while Shkodran Mustafi has endured a torrid season in terms of his performances.
Kannemann can also play as a left-back but has never played in Europe, starting his career with Argentine club San Lorenzo, before a move to Mexican side Atlas and then, most recently, to Brazilian outfit Gremio.
An untested talent
This is a risk for Arsenal.
Kannemann would clearly come in to replace Koscielny, who, while still a quality defender, is beginning to show signs of ageing.
However, it is rare that players signed from South America instantly adapt to life in Europe and there may well be a bedding-in period.
That is not what the Gunners need; they would be well advised to instead hunt for an assured, experienced centre-back with European pedigree.
While his scouts will surely be doing their homework, Emery could very easily end up with another Mustafi on his books if he is not careful.
A sweet Wednesday night in Munich was slightly soured for Liverpool, who saw captain Jordan Henderson having to be taken off after suffering an ankle injury.
While his departure didn’t really impact the result as the Reds rode on Sadio Mane’s brilliance to progress into the Champions League quarter-finals, an injury at this point could be worrying. Indeed, according to the club’s official site, he suffered a twisted ankle, though the extent isn’t yet.
However, thanks to their varied options, Liverpool have players to fall back upon. Indeed, a player who could be blessed by this unfortunate incident is Naby Keita, seemingly exiled from the starting XI in recent weeks.
The summer signing hasn’t proven to be as effective as Jurgen Klopp thought he would but is getting the slow grind towards immersing into the system. Keita now has the opportunity to prove his ability and be the hard-working midfielder who can take the pressure of their front-three.
Like Fred at Manchester United, he’s also had enough time to adapt to the Premier League’s conditions and is now primed to make his mark. He scored six goals and assisted five in the Bundesliga last season and will want to replicate similar numbers in the final stretch of the season.
A creative midfielder who adds more fuel to the attack, Keita now needs to take control and dictate Liverpool’s midfield in the next couple of weeks. The midfielder’s dominating potential is well known, but the next few months will determine whether he’ll thrive at Liverpool in the long term or be discarded as Jurgen Klopp’s failed experiment.
If he’s ever going to prove he’s worth the money, now’s the time.
Liverpool fans, do you feel Keita can finally come good as Henderson’s replacement? Join the discussion by commenting below.
The prospect of playing Premier League football next season is currently a distinct possibility for Leeds United. The Whites are currently in the thick of the Championship title race, along with Norwich City and Sheffield United.
If the Yorkshire club do achieve promotion this time around – and end their 15 year wait for a return to the top flight – then it will be a great achievement for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, for which the Argentine coach would deserve plenty of credit.
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However, former England defender and Sky Sports pundit Joleon Lescott is concerned that the Leeds squad aren’t yet ready to make the step up.
What he said
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate (06/03), as quoted by The Boot Room, Lescott gave his verdict on whether or not Leeds are ready for the Premier League: “manager wise I would say…But personnel wise, they won’t have many Premier League players that have played in the Premier League. So they’re going to need to recruit a lot of experience.”
The time is right
Lescott is right that Leeds don’t boast a great deal of Premier League experience. However, 33-year-old veteran Pablo Hernandez has proved his quality in England’s top flight before. What’s more, goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has previously excelled in La Liga, even representing Real Madrid.
On top of that, whilst they may not have Premier League experience, the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Pontus Jansson, Mateusz Klich and Ezgjan Alioski certainly have what it takes to shine in the top flight. A lack of experience shouldn’t hold the Whites back too much, as in Bielsa they have a coach capable of keeping them grounded, confident and focused.
Leeds have never looked more ready for promotion than they do now.
RB Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick has warned Timo Werner about the challenges of moving to the Premier League, Bulinews have reported via quotes from Sky Germany’s ‘Wontorra – the football talk’ show.
What’s the word?
German international striker Werner was one of the forwards linked with a move to Anfield throughout the January window, as outlets such as Bild and The Independent claimed the Reds would be chasing the £58.5million-rated ace.
The interest had solid foundations as the 23-cap international is out of contract in the summer of 2020 and is yet to commit his future to the Bundesliga club. Of course, no deal came through and the Stuttgart product remains in Germany, but interest could well be revived in the summer.
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RB Leipzig manager Rangnick, however, has been quoted talking on Sky Germany’s ‘Wontorra – the football talk’ show by Bulinews, stating that it might not be the right move for the 22-year-old.
“[Naby] Keita was an outstanding player here, but he’s still struggling in Liverpool. So far, he’s not the player there that he was here,” Rangnick told Sky. “The surroundings must be right for Timo.
“We have gone to our financial limit with our offer. We know that he can earn more elsewhere, but he can also provide for himself for the rest of his life here.
“He’s a top player, and he has become one of the most exciting Bundesliga strikers.”
Should Liverpool revive rumoured interest?
If Werner does not accept the contract that Rangnick is claiming to be at RB Leipzig’s financial limit, Liverpool have to enter the race for his signature in the summer.
The 22-year-old is one of the Bundesliga’s top goalscorers with 11 goals in 19 games, and has supreme quality in possession.
Jurgen Klopp may have to convince the German international that a move to the Premier League would not hamper his chances of featuring at Euro 2020, however, and assure the 5 foot 9 forward that he would be an instant match for his tactics as well as having a place in the side. Currently, it’s difficult to see quite where he fits into the starting XI ahead of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah.
Jordan Henderson was forced off with a hamstring injury against Atletico Madrid to compound what was a miserable night for Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Reds were defeated 1-0 by Los Rojiblancos in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, which leaves them in a precarious position going in to the return match.
Whilst they may be playing that clash in front of their own fans, a goal from Atletico will leave Liverpool needing to score three times, which is easier said than done against Diego Simeone’s men.
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Losing Henderson, though, is perhaps an even bigger blow. The 29-year-old is the club captain and has been in terrific form so far this term – there have even been suggestions that he could win Player of the Year.
Neil Jones claims that, while he isn’t sure how bad the issue is, recovering from such a problem can take anywhere between three weeks and three months. Even in the best case scenario, he is likely to miss the clash against Atletico.
That means that someone will need to step into the void and replace both his contribution on the pitch from an ability appoint of view and, perhaps more importantly, his vocal leadership. On paper, that man should be James Milner.
The 34-year-old – who earns £140k-per-week according to Spotrac – is one of the elder statesmen in the Liverpool squad, and has a trophy cabinet brimming with medals – he won the Premier League title twice with Manchester City, for example. As a central midfielder, he is best placed to take Henderson’s spot.
Given his age, he is a player who is more likely to take on a reserved role rather than a box-to-box approach, but he has plenty of defensive qualities – he has regularly averaged over two tackles and one interception per match in recent years, which is similar to Henderson this term.
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With two goals and two assists in six Premier League starts this season, he can still provide going forward, meaning that Liverpool may not miss the former Sunderland man’s three and five respectively in the top tier.
Milner is now in the twilight of his career – he surely doesn’t have too long left at the top. This Henderson injury, though, may just give him the chance to prove there is life in him yet.
Meanwhile, this youngster compared to Mesut Ozil is one for the future for Liverpool.
In recent memory, it’s difficult to identify a manager that had such a profound effect on the footballing environment of a country; this is precisely what Arsene Wenger achieved during his 22-year tenure at Arsenal. Considering the extent of his influence at the club and given his immense success with the Gunners – he won ten major trophies with the North London side – the first season without the Frenchman at the helm was likely to be challenging for his successor.
Currently, Arsenal are situated in sixth place in the Premier League having won 14 out of a possible 25 games. To date, Unai Emery has overseen 36 games for Arsenal across all competitions, flaunting a respectable total of 22 victories, six draws and eight defeats. Six of those eight defeats have come in England’s top-flight, and despite embarking upon a 22-match unbeaten run, the Gunners lie three points and two places adrift of a top four finish.
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A simple comparison between the current Premier League table and the final standings from last season would indicate that the Gunners have failed to progress significantly under Emery’s tutelage – Arsenal finished sixth in the previous league campaign, and they currently occupy that same position in the table. Yet, such an assessment would be harsh on Emery during his first season in the Premier League, and it would wrongly ignore the time required for a new manager to successfully acclimatise to a new environment and implement their ideas accordingly.
Nonetheless, the issues that Arsenal face domestically have not arisen directly from the Spaniard’s appointment. Instead, they can be traced to the latter stages of Wenger’s period as their manager. Southampton and West Ham aside, Arsenal’s remaining four league defeats have come against direct top six rivals, three of which were away from home.
Manchester City have completed the double over Arsenal, registering a comprehensive 3-1 victory last weekend. Similarly, Emery’s men endured a 5-1 demolition at Anfield against Liverpool, and they lost away to Chelsea 3-2 at the start of the season.
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They also failed to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford at the start of December, a period in which the Red Devils were devoid of confidence and belief, while the Gunners maintained their unbeaten run to 20 games in all competitions. Therein is the best demonstration of Arsenal’s issues – their propensity to be utterly ineffectual away at top six teams.
When you couple this unfavourable streak with the fact that Arsenal have conceded 36 goals in 25 league games – Palace, Wolves and Brighton are among many teams that flaunt superior defensive records – then the Gunners’ hopes of triumph, at least domestically, seems rather bleak. Also, at the start of March, the Gunners travel to Tottenham in the North London Derby, a game that could have a significant bearing on the race for a top four finish.
To their credit, Arsenal have been far more defiant and competitive against the league’s best sides at the Emirates Stadium. A convincing 2-0 defeat of Chelsea and a characterful 4-2 triumph against Tottenham is evidence of their ability to compete with the best. They also contained one of the league’s most prolific attacks, Liverpool, to a solitary goal in November. However, if Arsenal are to achieve their ambitions, or replicate the days of former glory, they must improve upon their away record against the division’s best teams.
Emery commands one of the division’s most prolific and talented attacks, and it’s difficult to dismiss the quality that’s present within his squad. Yet, without generalising all of the Arsenal sides in recent memory, or without ignoring the intricacies that are involved with match preparation, Arsenal’s trend of failing to perform at the best sides’ grounds suggest that the issue is deep-rooted, and more affiliated with the team’s psychology rather than its personnel or management.
In the previous five Premier League seasons, Arsenal have faced their top six rivals (Chelsea, Spurs, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool) on 23 occasions away from home, failing to win a single game, while losing 16. During that period, they’ve conceded a staggering total of 50 goals, attaining seven points from a possible 69.
Any prospective league success is immediately curtailed by this abysmal record, and it impacts severely on their ability to achieve Champions League qualification, especially when considering that 2015/16 was the last time that the Gunners have finished in the top four. The North London side’s previous away victory at a top six team was against Manchester City in January 2015, over four years ago, a damming assessment of their fractured mentality and a definite impediment to any potential success.
Everton earned an excellent point away to Chelsea in the English Premier League on Sunday, holding them to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Frustrating big performers like Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata, the Toffees’ defence really played out of their skin across the 90 minutes, with no-one earning more plaudits than summer signing Lucas Digne.
Signed in August for a reported fee of £18m, the left-back has emerged as one of the most consistent left-backs in the league, with many Everton supporters believing they couldn’t have signed a better player for the position.
With Leighton Baines entering the late stages of his career, it was important the club hit a home run with regards to his replacement and it seems that Digne is that man.
He was superb at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and if he can produce more performances like that he’ll become one of the most popular players at Goodison Park.
These fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his display…
According to a recent report from L’Equipe (via The Daily Record), Moussa Dembele has been linked with a move away from Celtic this month. The 22-year-old joined the Scottish giants back in 2016 after impressing at English outfit Fulham in the few years previous, and he has since gone from strength to strength north of the border to become one of Brendan Rodgers’ most valuable assets.
And reports suggest that Ligue 1 giants Marseille will make a £13.5 million bid for the striker this month, and after a testing summer already at Parkhead, the Bhoys simply have to retain the £6.3 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) to prevent a truly disastrous window.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, Rodgers’ side failed to reach the Champions League group stages for the first time under his stewardship this week in going down 3-2 on aggregate to AEK Athens in the third qualifying round, a defeat which has since prompted much discussion about the summer spending by the Scottish heavyweights.
And no wonder, given the Bhoys have added just three players in the form of Scott Bain, Odsonne Edouard, and Emilio Izaguirre to their squad during the summer months, and other than spending £9 million on Edouard, the other two joined on frees – it can hardly be called huge investment.
And with the likes of Erik Sviatchenko and Stuart Armstrong leaving the club during the window, Rodgers has also lost some genuine first teamers and players he would likely have called upon in the recent Champions League defeat – thus, it has not been a great window for the Bhoys.
And were they to lose star striker Dembele in the final few weeks of the European window, it would complete a truly disastrous summer.
The 22-year-old has been a shining light at Celtic ever since his move from Fulham two years ago, with the France Under-21 international netting 50 goals in just 91 appearances for the club, 32 of which coming in his first season at Parkhead back in 2016/17.
And while last season wasn’t as prolific for the 22-year-old, he still managed 16 goals in all competitions to help Rodgers’ men to the domestic treble, with Scott Sinclair (18) and James Forrest (17) the only men to net on more occasions that Dembele last term.
And with two goals in three Champions League qualifying matches this time round, the Frenchman has continued to prove his worth to Celtic to underline just how important he is to Rodgers’ side going forward – selling him would leave a huge void in the attacking third of the pitch.
Thus, especially given the tough summer they have had so far, it’s imperative that the Bhoys retain Dembele beyond the August 31 deadline in a bid to prevent a truly disastrous transfer window.