Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has stated that his side want to win the Europa League and will field a strong side against Bordeaux on Thursday night.
The Magpies have a Premier League clash with Manchester United this weekend, but the Tyneside chief has confirmed his intention to take the European competition seriously.
“We have entered this competition to win it and this is a significant game to up the levels. The team has to be good enough to beat Bordeaux but I have Manchester United coming on Sunday and have to make sure the Premier League result is right too,” Pardew told reporters, published by The Daily Mail.
“It is difficult to produce a team to play at maximum in two games but we will not beat Bordeaux and Man United if we are not at the maximum.
“No one analyses players performance physically, mentally and tactically more than us and we need to put a team out to play Bordeaux and, with all due respect to the teams we have played so far in this competition, our team needs to be stronger.
“It is pretty obvious they are favourites for the group after the fine result in Bruges and to win would be a big step towards qualifying. They are a very good side, had a terrific result on Sunday so are in good form but it is at home and we are strong at home, regardless of the opposition.
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“This is the first real time in this competition where our fans will be taking it seriously too and that will be important for the atmosphere and to focus our minds.
“In European competition your concentration level goes up a little and you have to be prepared for this type of opposition,” he confessed.
Arsenal have been linked with moves with a number of central midfielders – including Sevilla’s Steven Nzonzi and Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure already this year, but Gunners fans have urged their club to sign Tanguy Ndombele instead following an impressive campaign on loan at Lyon.
The France U21 international joined the Ligue 1 club on loan from Amiens last summer for the 2017/18 campaign, and he impressed by making 50 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing a further eight assists.
Lyon are expected to get the athletic 21-year-old on a permanent basis, but his fine performances may mean that they still face a battle to keep hold of him this summer after he showed how effective he can be from both a defensive and attacking point of view in the middle of the park.
Arsenal supporters, the large majority of whom want Emery to reunite with a £63m midfielder this summer, have been quick to have their say on Ndombele, and while one described him as “better than both” when comparing him to Nzonzi and Doucoure, another said “Ndombele would be a dream signing”.
As reported by The Daily Record, Manchester United are considering making an offer for Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred.
What’s the story?
With the January transfer window hotting up, the biggest and best clubs around Europe are on the hunt for elite talents that can improve their squad in the second half of the season when major silverware is up for grabs.
Manchester United are no different and it seems that Jose Mourinho is planning to prioritise his central midfield areas.
The Daily Record report that the Portuguese is hoping to bring in Brazilian international Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The paper say Mourinho is planning the future direction of the Red Devils’ midfield with the futures of Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick in doubt at Old Trafford.
Rated at £17.1m by Transfermarkt, is he the right man to partner the likes of Paul Pogba?
Anchor man
Pogba has been effective this season but arguably doesn’t have the midfield freedom to truly focus on supporting the Manchester United attack first and foremost.
Bringing in a player like Fred would certainly go a long way to solving that problem, his style of play focusing on winning back the ball and protecting his side’s defensive line.
He has plenty of experience under his belt despite being just 24 years of age and was integral to the Ukrainian’s progress to the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League this season.
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He could be a perfect accompaniment to the French international and forge a successful career at Old Trafford, especially with ageing defensive minded midfielders potentially on their way out of the club.
Wilfried Zaha is the archetypal Alex Ferguson signing. Like Chris Smalling, like Phil Jones, like Rafael and Fabio, the then Crystal Palace winger was seen as a talent worth moulding for the future. A heavy outlay, yes, for someone who had never kicked a Premier League ball. But that was Ferguson’s game, and on occasion age didn’t matter.
But this isn’t Ferguson’s team anymore. He has entrusted managerial duties to a man who he believes walks the same path is he. David Moyes, at Everton, made the most of what he had. He dipped into the youth system and made promising players good or very good, capable, certainly, of attracting attention from the Premier League’s biggest clubs, such as Manchester United with Wayne Rooney and Manchester City with Jack Rodwell.
So here’s the question: why is Wilfried Zaha any different?
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Can we say with absolute certainty that Zaha is ready for the Premier League, or at least Manchester United? No, because there is no evidence to support one claim or the other. And yet, at 20, Zaha, who has seen regular playing time over the past season in the Championship as well as a call up to the England national team, is watching on as a midfielder two years his junior steals the headlines.
Zaha isn’t a bad player, he has the talent and the potential to become a good Premier League footballer. But the timing hasn’t been right for him at Manchester United. Ferguson could have played Zaha in 50 per cent of the matches so far this season, and win, lose or draw, very little would have been said about his inclusion. Not because Zaha maybe earned his place – though he may have – but rather because Ferguson has earned the right to do as he pleases with his squad.
Moyes doesn’t have that yet. You have to wonder whether he will ever have that at United. He had freedom to dip into the academy at Everton, though that was predominantly due to the fact that he had little option. On one front, his hands were financially tied, while on the other, how can any manager overlook the talents that have come through the Everton ranks?
But at this time, Zaha represents a gamble. Not only is he not Moyes’ signing, but he’s a young, inexperienced player who Moyes simply cannot cater for at present with the mounting pressure. There may be arguments to say Zaha deserves an opportunity because the other wide options have been so dire – and that is fair. But what if it all goes wrong? Moyes doesn’t have the power to bat away aggressive questioning over his squad selection; for the most part, he’s dealing with a lot of that now.
It’s hard to see anything personal in Moyes’ constant decision to overlook Zaha. The United manager has suggested at least twice now that a short-term loan move would be best to aid in the player’s development. But these are still the early days of Moyes’ tenure at United and he’s still very much adjusting to life much further up the mountain than he’s used to. Clearly Zaha is a gamble that Moyes is a reluctant to take.
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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he will treat the Europa League with respect and is eager to win the trophy.
The European second-tier competition has been looked down upon in the past, with some sides fielding weakened sides.
However, the Portuguese trainer has stated that the north London club will aim to prevail in the tournament, which he won with Porto back in 2011.
“I have always regarded the Europa League as a prestigious competition and I think it should be promoted that way,” he is quoted as saying in The Sun.
“It gives the winners access to the European Super Cup and we want to do something special in this tournament.
“If we can win this trophy it would represent a lot for Tottenham’s history and would be something really, really special.
“The best teams outside of the Champions League are all involved and then the sides who don’t qualify from the Champions League group stages also come back into the Europa League.
“And sometimes, as we saw last season, some of those teams we are speaking about are among the top teams in the world.
“It’s important European football is not all about the Champions League.
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“The Europa League is a very hard and strenuous competition. But we will give it our best efforts,” Villas-Boas confirmed.
Spurs take on Lazio in their Europa League opener on Thursday.
Arsenal attacker Alex Iwobi has come under heavy criticism from some of his own fans on Twitter this season for his performances, but the potential appointment of Mikel Arteta as Arsene Wenger’s successor could help to change that.
The Spaniard has been working as a coach with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and the Premier League-winning boss has previously said that the former Gunners midfielder has spent a lot of time working with wingers Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane on the training pitch.
The Emirates Stadium faithful would certainly like to see Iwobi make the positive progress those two have from next season, in order to ensure that he makes more of an impact for the north London outfit when he is on the pitch.
We asked Arsenal fans to vote on our poll as to whether they thought the Nigeria international, who will be representing his country at the World Cup next month, would improve under Arteta’s tutelage, and a majority 63% said that he would.
The 22-year-old scored three goals and provided a further seven assists in 39 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners this season, and he will know that he needs to do much better next term if he is to stay in and around the starting XI.
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Marcus Rashford is supposed to be the future of Man United, a modern day symbol of everything the club stands for and a sign that youth will always play a role in the former Premier League champions’ success.
When the youngster arrived on the scene he was the saviour, a breath of fresh air and a player who could do no wrong.
But that’s all changed now after a string of poor individual performances as Man United head in to their Boxing Day fixture with Burnley on the back of conceding injury time goals in consecutive games last week, both of which cost them a place in the Carabao Cup semi-final and precious ground in the title race.
Rashford has seemingly become a scapegoat in this current run of poor form and United fans are calling for the 20-year-old to be dropped, and even sold by some, for Boxing Day’s game v Burnley. It does seem a bit harsh on the youngster, who has scored 28 goals in 100 first team appearances for the Red Devils since his debut in November 2015.
However, Rashford, who is valued at £27m by transfermarkt.com, now has a job on his hands to rebuild his relationship with the Old Trafford faithful judging by the tweets below…
Two Premier League clubs with identical aims this season have started their 2013/2014 campaign in an incredibly identical fashion. Liverpool and Tottenham sit in 2nd place and 3rd place respectively, separated by alphabetical order alone, having claimed six points from two games each, with all four fixtures ending with 1-0 scorelines, decided by strikes from the Reds’ Daniel Sturridge and Spurs’ Roberto Soldado alone.
Both sides have shown great efficiency as they chase down Champions League qualification, a must in any successful campaign, but we are yet to see either produce the kind of style required to topple top four benchmarks Arsenal.
Tottenham’s sturdy yet unceremonious start to the season is undoubtedly the effect of the North Londoners’ recent signings. Paulinho, and Etienne Capoue along with Moussa Dembele have been heading up the midfield engine room, and for what they lack in creativity, they certainly make up for in physical robustness. The Brazilian put in an exceptionally tidy display against Crystal Palace, recording four tackles and a pass completion ratio of 92%, and the versatile Capoue finished up against Swansea with similar statistics.
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Spurs have looked like an incredibly athletic, incredibly intense and powerful machine with their new look in central midfield. But their mechanical style has come at the expense of aesthetic attacking play, and the Lilywhites are still missing Gareth Bale’s talismanic influence going forward. They showed greater invention against Swansea with 27 shots at goal, but that penetration in and around the box is still lacking.
New signing Roberto Soldado is already proving how vital he’ll be to Tottenham’s campaign, with three goals in three games including his Europa League outing, but the Spaniard will be hoping to receive more support in the coming fixtures and better service, being a rather isolated element at times.
It should be enough however to rival Arsenal’s might in the coming North London derby this weekend. Whether by accident or design, Spurs’ physical midfield makes the White Hart Lane outfit almost the complete anti-arsenal package, and if the Lilywhites’ musclemen are up for the fight, they should be able to grind out another result in a similar fashion to their opening fixtures by outmuscling the Gunners’ lightweight midfield.
And if Spurs can gain ground on their divisional and regional rivals with three points on Sunday, they’ll then be in a position where the focus can change from results to performance and style. Andre Villas-Boas is expected to bring in further signings before deadline day, that could remedy Soldado’s isolation as a lone striker.
The signing of Erik Lamela from Roma, at the cost of £30million was completed today, and the Argentine prodigy is the perfect candidate for the No.10 role behind the striker, with great invention, craft and technique, as well as an eye for goal. Some have anticipated he’ll be utilised on the left more often than not, but the North Londoners have also been linked with Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen, who is also more than capable of filling up the creative void, having recorded four assists in six Champions League performances last term.
At Liverpool, the situation is more a work in progress. Brendan Rodgers has maintained his emphasis on possession-based attacking football, with 11 shots on target against Stoke on the opening day of the season, and 17 in total against Aston Villa. The Reds’ packed midfield has produced good football, with new signing Iago Aspas fitting well into their 4-2-3-1 formation and already able to link up with Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge,.
But they’ve still heavily relied upon Daniel Sturridge to provide that vital cutting edge, and the England international has shown unbelievable talent in the opening two Premier League fixtures to conjure up two goals of great individual brilliance. There’s a lot of pressure on young shoulders to stand in for the suspended Luis Suarez, but Sturridge is already showing he has the capability and right mentality to do so.
Most importantly for the Reds however is their two clean sheets so far this season. Last term, it seemed Liverpool were cursed by the number of almost certain victories that slipped away from them, with their 13 draws the second highest in the Premier League’s top half. Individual errors and uninspiring defending continually threw results away, but veteran addition Kolo Toure appears to have already added to the level of quality at the back, whilst overtaking from the retired Jamie Carragher with his leadership qualities. Along with the calming influence of Simon Mignolet in comparison to the hap-hazard Pepe Reina, Liverpool have looked incredibly sturdy in defense.
Match ups against predicted mid-tablers Stoke and Aston Villa has allowed the Reds the opportunity to settle, but their coming clash against Manchester United at the weekend will be a huge test. The Reds tend to dominate games for early spells before taking their foot off the gas and relieving pressure. Against the Premier League champions, they’ll have to put in a top performance for a full ninety minutes, and they can’t rely upon Sturridge alone to the produce the goods going forward, especially against Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who excelled during Monday night’s clash with Chelsea.
Of course, the question mark for Liverpool is what happens when Luis Suarez comes back, barring a deadline day move to either Arsenal or Real Madrid, which is becoming less and less likely as time goes on. But judging from how the Anfield outfit have started their campaign, the Uruguayan can only add that extra creativity and cutting edge in front of goal they’ve lacked throughout periods during their previous Premier League clashes. If we’re already seeing shades of style from Liverpool, Suarez’ return will make them a formidable threat to the top four.
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But overall, both need to begin applying their craft with more dominant displays sooner rather than later. Granted, the Premier League is a results-based business and three points is three points, but there’s nothing better at getting the fans and the players in full flow than putting in stellar performances. Just as grinding out victories and draws when required to is vitally important, so is every team’s boom period of the season, and the only way to extend that spell of high form for as long as possible is to establish style.
With both Tottenham and Liverpool facing their first big tests of the season this weekend in the form of Arsenal and Manchester United respectively however, in the comingweeks we should see both teams open up more and put in more dominant displays. The Reds and the Lilywhites both have the potential to be excellent footballing sides, and there won’t be much separating the two as they gun for Champions League football. They’ve started their campaigns in almost identical fashion, and I expect they’ll finish up in a similar vein.
Can Spurs and Liverpool produce their style in the next few weeks?
Anton Ferdinand should be fit for Queens Park Rangers intense derby with Chelsea on Saturday.
After the court case this summer and with an impending FA charge against John Terry accusing Terry of racially abusing Ferdinand. It appears Ferdinand will be fit for a tense derby where everyone hopes the focus will remain on the football.
The 27 year old suffered a shoulder injury in QPR’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City but is back in training and should be fit for Chelsea’s arrival on Saturday.
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Terry’s fitness is also uncertain, with Chelsea’s captain attempting to over-come an ankle injury which kept him out of England’s draw with Ukraine. Both players involvement will be met with much scrutiny as this is the first fixture since the incident between the two clubs’s where pre-match handshakes are mandatory. Other meetings between two clubs saw handshakes abandoned in advance due to fears any altercation could affect the impending court case.
Arsenal fans haven’t had a lot to get excited about this year.
In Arsene Wenger’s last season at the club Arsenal got hammered 3-0 in the League Cup final, were knocked out of the semi-finals of the Europa League, and until yesterday’s 1-0 win at Huddersfield the North London club hadn’t even picked up a single Premier League point away from home in the whole of 2018.
However the one saving grace of the Gunner’s miserable season has been the form of January signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabon international was signed from Borrusia Dortmund for a club record fee – reportedly £60 million – on the deadline day of the January window.
The 28-year-old came to Arsenal with an excellent scoring record and a big reputation.
At Dortmund, he scored 98 league goals in 144 appearances and won last season’s Bundesliga golden boot award with 31 goals.
Despite Arsenal’s inconsistent form, Aubameyang has been a reliable performer for the North London outfit and Gunner’s fans can take solace from a disappointing campaign in the marksman’s scintillating form since moving to England.
Even though Aubameyang made his first Premier League appearance in February, the former Dortmund man was only 1 league goal behind Alvaro Morata and boasted the same amount of league assists as Eden Hazard.
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Arsenal supporters are understandably excited to see what the £58.5 million rated player can do when he has the entire season. Here’s a selection of what’s been said on social media…