Vesper

Wijnaldum’s contract is a test case for Liverpool which many will watch keenly https://theathletic.com/2278735/2020/12/23/liverpool-wijnaldum-contract-ozil/ When Jurgen Klopp gave Liverpool’s fans an early Christmas present 12 months ago, extending his contract until June 2024, he said something about how the nature of his job would begin to change. “We will see what we can achieve together in that time, but there will probably be a moment where we have to change things,” he said. “We are ready to win whatever we can, but (also) to make sure — because there is always a time after me, after another manager — that the club is in the best possible position to carry on in the best possible way.” Better that, he said, than “another manager coming and having to do this kind of not-really-thankful job and, like, rebuild or whatever”. It might look like the most enviable of jobs right now, in charge of a group of players he has described as “mentality monsters”. But rebuilding that squad over the coming years, deciding when and how to replace players who have been so integral to Liverpool’s resurgence, is indeed a tall order — particularly when you consider how hard Klopp and his players found it to say goodbye to Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana, who were peripheral, albeit highly popular, squad members over their final two seasons at Anfield. The difficulty of the rebuilding question has crystallised with the case of Georginio Wijnaldum. The midfielder is about to enter the final six months of his contract, which means that, unless a new deal is agreed before January 1, he is only nine days from being able to sign a pre-contract agreement to join Barcelona, Inter Milan or another overseas club on a free transfer at the end of the season. Wijnaldum, not unreasonably, is looking for a salary in keeping with his status as one of the Premier League’s most influential midfielders, a considerable improvement on the deal he signed upon joining Liverpool from relegated Newcastle United in the summer of 2016. He wants a contract that brings long-term security — again, not unreasonably, given that this will probably be the last deal he signs before his earning power starts to recede. Klopp and Liverpool want to keep him, but there is unease — again, understandable — at the idea of offering a long-term contract, on increased terms, to a player who has just turned 30 and is unlikely to be quite such an integral part of their team in three or four years’ time. And for the first time in a long, long time, a Liverpool manager can tell his star players that, if they want to compete for the game’s biggest prizes, they are better off staying on Merseyside than moving to Barcelona or Milan (and if they really want to know whether the grass is greener elsewhere, they could ask Philippe Coutinho or Emre Can). So many decisions like this lie ahead for Liverpool. It is far from an old team, but one consequence of getting their recruitment so right, investing in a core of players who have improved together under Klopp, coming to a collective peak together without the need for significant reinforcement over the past two seasons, is that this same core of key players are now in their late twenties or moving just beyond. While James Milner (34) is very much the old man of the squad, Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson are 30, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri are 29, and Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are 28. Handing out big, long-term contracts left, right and centre isn’t going to be an option, particularly given the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the club’s revenues. Neither, generally, is it advisable. And so Wijnaldum is, in some ways, a test case for Liverpool, one that will be watched with interest by several of his team-mates and their agents. So many times we see big clubs misjudge these situations. In February 2018, Arsenal, amid great fanfare, handed a 29-year-old Mesut Ozil a £350,000-a-week, three-and-a-half-year deal to stop him leaving on a free transfer a few months later. They have been counting the cost almost ever since. Ozil rarely played better for Arsenal than in the winter of 2017-18, scoring four goals and registering eight assists in 13 Premier League appearances before signing his contract. In just under three years since then, he has made just 48 Premier League appearances, scoring six goals and registering five assists. They tried and failed to offload him in each of the past four transfer windows. This season Mikel Arteta did not even register him in Arsenal’s Premier League or Europa League squad. In September, again from a position of weakness, Arsenal re-signed a 31-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a three-year contract worth an initial £250,000 a week. Again what seemed like a huge statement of intent from the club has been followed by a loss of form from a player who is no longer negotiating the most significant contract of his career. Arsenal signed Willian, 32, this summer after offering him the kind of three-year deal that Chelsea had sensibly ruled out. That one isn’t going well either. (Remember when Arsenal, in the late 2000s, used to be criticised for offering only one-year extensions to players once they reached a certain age? In the post-Wenger era, they have gone to the other extreme.) There are always other factors, of course — in Aubameyang’s case, Arsenal just aren’t creating chances like they were towards the end of last season — but the post-contract comfort zone is a well-known phenomenon in football. With older players, it is a risk that needs to be weighed up with extreme care, albeit not as dogmatically as Arsenal did in the late 2000s. There is a balance to be found, each case on its own merits and all that. Ozil is an extreme case, though, and Wijnaldum seems to be on the opposite end of the spectrum as a physically durable player who barely misses a game and often appears immune to the usual fluctuations of fitness, form and motivation. In that understated way of his, Wijnaldum is performing so well right now. You will not see it in the goals or assists columns — or even in the more nuanced category of goal-creating actions per 90 minutes, where so far this season he ranks alongside goalkeepers Emiliano Martinez and Karl Darlow — but the recent wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace featured superb performances from the midfielder. They showcased his consistency, his intelligence and his ability to receive and recycle the ball in the tight areas in which opponents try to force Liverpool to operate. In a team that has lost Van Dijk to injury, causing Fabinho to drop back into defence, Wijnaldum has played a hugely important part in helping them retain that all-important drive and intensity in midfield and helping the wonderfully talented Curtis Jones, 19, make such impressive progress alongside him. Jones’s emergence could be said to have strengthened the case against a new contract for his team-mate, but the teenager does not underestimate how much Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum have done to help him on and off the pitch. Wijnaldum has without question been one of Liverpool’s key players this season. Not because he’s “playing out for a new contract” but simply because that’s the way he plays, a top-class player at the peak of his powers in a top-class team. The challenge for Klopp and for Michael Edwards, the sporting director, is to try to work out how long that peak will last and to establish whether common ground can be found with the player’s (and his agent’s) expectations. That is a calculation they found themselves making in relation to Thiago Alcantara last summer. The Spain midfielder, 29, arrived from Bayern Munich in September on a four-year contract which made him one of Liverpool’s best-paid players. So far, with a positive COVID-19 test followed by a wild challenge from Richarlison in the Merseyside derby, he has played just 135 minutes for Klopp’s team. (The impression he made during those 135 minutes can be gleaned from the excitement with which Liverpool supporters have greeted his return to full training.) Bayern were faced with a dilemma over Thiago last summer when he entered the final year of his contract. They made the tough decision to sell him while they still could. By contrast, Liverpool, amid interest from Barcelona in Wijnaldum, avoided the temptation to cash in, a calculation based on his continuing importance to the team even if it involved the risk of losing him on a free transfer next summer. At this point in time, it seems pretty reasonable to suggest that keeping Wijnaldum was the right decision even if they end up losing him on a free transfer (in which case the mistake, arguably, was allowing that contract to run down so far in the first place). Whether they made the right decision to pay £27 million for Thiago, even with just £5 million up front, when he would have been available on a free transfer at the end of this season, can only be judged over the course of time. What is certain, though, is that Liverpool will face a series of dilemmas like this over the next couple of years. Van Dijk, Fabinho, Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Salah, Firmino and Mane are all under contract until June 2023. That is enough time to give the club some breathing space, but it will mean there are some tough decisions ahead. To have Salah, Firmino and Mane all roughly the same age, at the same stage of their contracts, is not ideal. Keeping hold of them all until they are in their early thirties, with fast-declining resale value, would seem unlikely given how proactively they have played the transfer market under Fenway Sports Group’s ownership. Manchester City have had this with several of their key players over the past decade. Yaya Toure, such a giant of their team under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, ended up staying longer than he would have wished before departing on a free transfer at the age of 35. Vincent Kompany left for Anderlecht a year later at the age of 33, David Silva another year later at 34 and Sergio Aguero might do so next summer at 33. It is hard to appreciate the added value that Kompany and Silva in particular have brought to the dressing room even as their game time reduced, but keeping key players into their thirties has not necessarily helped the transition from one great team to another, as conventional thinking suggests it should. Those situations remain a long way off for Liverpool, but in the meantime they certainly won’t want many players entering the final year of their contracts as Wijnaldum has. Whether that ultimately means losing him on a free transfer or offering a bigger, longer contract than they would otherwise have wished, it is the type of situation that clubs wish to avoid wherever possible. The one certainty with Wijnaldum, as Klopp has said, is that his application and his consistency will not waver even if his contract runs down to the final weeks. It is one of the qualities which has made him such an integral part of their success story under Klopp — and which might just suggest he is worth making an exception for.

Thomas Tuchel sacked by Paris Saint-Germain https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12172137/thomas-tuchel-sacked-by-paris-saint-germain merry Christmas, wow

Manchester United are ‘good’? (Excuse the question marks) https://theathletic.com/2275798/2020/12/24/manchester-united-league-cup-derby-city/ “Manchester United are not a good football team at the moment (although they can be capable of good moments) and it’s getting harder to predict at what point they will start being one. The view that the 2020-21 vintage of United are a “roll the dice and see what happens” side grows stronger, not weaker by the month.” One month and one day after we wrote that, Manchester United seem to have entered that area marked “good”. Wednesday’s 2-0 League Cup victory over Everton saw United win three games in a row under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for only the third occasion and they achieved it with a performance that was “good”. We kept those quote marks for a reason. Try to imagine The Athletic talking to you from a COVID-responsible, safe social distance. We would say the word with an upward inflexion at the end. Manchester United are… good? Solskjaer made nine changes from the team that beat Leeds United 6-2 at the weekend and came sprinting out of the blocks against an Everton side that had defeated Chelsea, Leicester and Arsenal in their last three matches? Only seven weeks ago, before their last trip to Goodison Park, before the international break, some commenters believed Solskjaer’s job was in danger if he suffered a defeat. But since then, the team has grown from strength to strength? This was United’s 14th consecutive away win in domestic competition? They had won five corners within the first 10 minutes against Everton and could have scored from any of them? In the 28th minute, broadcast commentary said Solskjaer’s side could have been three goals up already as Sky Sports threw up a graphic that showed they had 71 per cent possession and nine attempts on goal (three on target) after 28 minutes? But then between the half-hour mark and the end of the first half, they only managed one more attempt? But rather than that be a sign of United’s vulnerabilities of old coming in, they still controlled the game and shut Everton out? Forgive the question marks in the above paragraphs, but we want to stress the difference of United going from a bewildering, contradictory, but consistent mess, to a good team in the space of just a few weeks. How has Solskjaer managed to get his side to regroup after the gut-punch of Champions League elimination so quickly? Especially when he’s making so many changes to his starting XI? It’s The Athletic’s role to answer questions for the reader, rather than ask them, so we’ll drop the question marks and get into how Solskjaer has built a team that achieves victory through versatility. There are some basic fundamentals to this. United are good more times than they are not and improve game by game as players get used to each others’ habits. Against Everton, Solskjaer went for his favoured 4-2-3-1 shape with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba holding, Donny van de Beek on the left, Mason Greenwood on the right, Bruno Fernandes as the 10 and Edinson Cavani leading the line. It was United’s work in the pivot that left Everton dazed and confused in the game’s opening minutes. Pogba gave Gylfi Sigurdsson a headache by trying to stand in his blindspot to receive passes (the Icelander did not know whether to pressure Harry Maguire on the ball or to hold his position and cut out passes to the Frenchman). Elsewhere, Matic stationed himself just in front of the centre back pairing of Maguire and Eric Bailly to give added protection in case either defender, or indeed Alex Telles or Axel Tuanzebe in the full-back positions, tried driving into space. It was a good 25 minutes that turned into a “good” first half when United failed to score and there is a growing sense of control and options to this side recently. Bailly, who returned to the side for the first time since United’s 6-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, was “good”. The scars of that defeat, which had led to United being so shaky and uncertain of themselves, look to be fading. Embodied by their captain Maguire and their lynchpin Fernandes, United are beginning to look durable (those two are in the top 10 for minutes played across the world, according to the CIES Football Observatory) and always trying something. Even though United lost a bit of puff in most of the second half, they kept Everton from registering a shot on target in the last 45 minutes (although some of that has to do with Richarlison going off injured after suffering a head injury). Not only did this United team seem controlled in defence, but they possessed variety in attack. Solskjaer’s 67th-minute switch of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford for Van de Beek (who still needs time to gel with this team so they can pick out more of his off-the-ball runs) and Mason Greenwood (who plays better when part of the “MMA” trio) was United replacing quality with quality in a way only a handful of clubs in England can do. A latter change of Luke Shaw for Telles in the 84th minute may have raised some eyebrows, but showed the method behind the mythology and sometimes madness Solskjaer invokes. Telles is a good penalty taker, but with six minutes to go, why not bring on the left-back more important to how your teams build moves? United might have won a shootout against Everton, but the Norwegian knew he had the cumulative talent to get the game finished early. He was proved correct moments later as Martial picked up the ball in Sigurdsson’s blindspot to thread through Cavani (who was hanging about on the right-hand side, sensing gaps Everton were leaving). Cavani turned a good chance into a goal and a “good” United performance with 30 minutes of frustrating control into a good win that keeps the team’s tails up. Martial’s goal with the last kick of the game capped off proceedings. “We’re happy with the squad at the moment,” said Solskjaer in his press conference before being notified he had drawn Manchester City in the semi-final. He also mentioned on three occasions (to UK broadcasters, international broadcasters and written press) his annoyance that United play Leicester City in Saturday’s early kick-off. After Leicester, it’s Wolverhampton Wanders, before Aston Villa, and then the League Cup semi-final on either January 5 or 6 between now and United’s FA Cup game against Watford on January 9. This is one of the annoying things about United’s status of “good” — it’s going to get tested very quickly. There are still questions as to when and how United will make the jump and become a great football team, capable of turning the semi-finals into silverware and dominant performances such as the one over Everton, into more dominant scorelines, but those can wait. Because for a little bit we need to get used to United being… “good?”

against US!!!

xmas miracle?

Furious Atletico insist they will still consider banned Trippier for selection https://theathletic.com/news/Kieran-trippier-atletico-madrid-ban/1UsxwMTx8eD1 A furious Atletico Madrid have insisted they will continue to consider Kieran Trippier for selection because the England international’s 10-week worldwide football ban for breaching Football Association betting rules has not been communicated to them, reports Dermot Corrigan. On Wednesday Trippier was banned for 10 weeks and fined £70,000 for breaching betting rules. His worldwide ban from all football and football-related activity will run until February 28. Atletico insist that the club has not been informed of this punishment, however, and The Athletic understands the Spanish side feel they should still be able to select Trippier, who has played in every single one of their La Liga and Champions League matches this season. Why is Trippier banned? An FA panel found that Trippier, 30, broke betting rules in July 2019, which is when he joined Atletico from Tottenham Hotspur. Trippier denied the charges, first made in May, and had a personal hearing in October. However, the FA said that four of seven alleged breaches had been proven with three others dismissed. His worldwide ban from all football and football-related activity will run until February 28. What was Atletico’s response? Atletico maintain that the club were not informed of Trippier’s 10-week suspension before the FA published a statement revealing the punishment. The Athletic understands that Atletico therefore consider Trippier available for selection throughout the period in which he is suspended. It was also not lost on Atletico that Trippier will not miss any of England’s upcoming internationals, and that the Champions League match he is suspended for — the Round of 16 first leg clash with Chelsea on February 23 — is against an English team. What happens next? Trippier’s suspension was made effective worldwide from today (Wednesday 23 December) following an application to FIFA. That means Atletico will be at risk of sanctions should they select the defender. The Athletic has contacted FIFA for comment. Trippier can also decide to appeal, while Atletico could take the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Which matches is he banned for? The suspension means that Trippier is supposed to miss the first leg of Atletico Madrid’s Champions League clash with Chelsea, as well as a crunch La Liga clash with Sevilla on January 12. However, Trippier, will be available for selection for the delayed EURO 2020 tournament. He is a regular in Gareth Southgate’s starting XI and captained his country against Wales in October. Backstory Kieran Trippier exclusive: ‘When you look to the bench and see Simeone looking so passionate, it gives you a lift’ Oliver Kay Nov 30, 2019 The England right-back reflects on his career playing under Howe, Dyche, Pochettino, Southgate and now Simeone... Sensible Transfers: Alaba and Schar to Real and Barca? Spanish clubs get creative Dermot Corrigan Tue Spain's leading clubs are desperately short of money so free transfers and Premier League outcasts like Schar and Rudiger may be in demand ‘One of us bites and the other kicks’: Suarez, Costa and the new look Atletico Dermot Corrigan Oct 21 If there is only room for one centre-forward in most games, then Diego Simeone has been quite clear that Luis Suarez is his first choice

Frank Lampard details Chelsea's triple injury blow ahead of Arsenal showdown The Blues will be without three first-team stars as they travel to the Emirates Stadium to face the Gunners on Boxing Day, just two days before they host Aston Villa https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chelsea-team-news-injuries-ziyech-23213597

Chelsea Join Manchester City in Pursuit of Erling Håland https://www.90min.com/posts/chelsea-manchester-city-borussia-dortmund-erling-haaland-transfer probably bullshit

post Brexit rules how will he get a work permit?

2020-21 English Carabao Cup, Quarterfinals Everton Manchester United http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/league-cup-everton-vs-manchester-united-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/manchester-united-weekend/

lolol

this game is done, zero chance Stoke can score twice in ten minutes

lol, reverse jinx 1 1

they look pretty dire so far

2020-21 English Carabao Cup, Quarterfinals Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/league-cup-stoke-city-vs-tottenham-hotspur-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/tottenhams/

Chelsea to overtake Arsenal in all-time Premier League points? ‘Unbelievable’ https://theathletic.com/2278578/2020/12/23/chelsea-arsenal-premier-league/ The last thing Arsenal fans will probably want to hear right now is another damning statistic. Manager Mikel Arteta reeled off a list of numbers earlier in the week trying to explain and excuse their terrible Premier League form this season. It’s questionable whether the exercise helped his cause. As Arsenal now prepare for one of the biggest derbies they’ve played against Chelsea in their history, getting a win on Saturday to put distance between themselves and the bottom three is obviously the main priority. However, there is something else at stake, another negative landmark that the north Londoners will want to avoid. Should Chelsea get all three points at the Emirates Stadium, they will draw level with Arsenal in the all-time Premier League points table with 2,025 each. This was unthinkable when Arsene Wenger was in his pomp and Arsenal were winning doubles in 1998 and 2002, and securing the title with an unbeaten league record in 2004. Arsenal’s great left-back Nigel Winterburn, who won seven major trophies at the club between 1987-2000, certainly thinks so. “As a stat it would be very sad,” he tells The Athletic. “I’m more concerned with other things, like staying up, but it just shows how things have changed. “There has been a power shift toward Chelsea over the years. Arsenal have become less of a force in the Premier League. This will probably be the fifth season in a row where they have finished outside the top four. That tells you everything. “For Chelsea to draw level on total points, it means something. It shows the decline of Arsenal and also Chelsea’s improvement. They have been champions five times since Arsenal last finished top. It demonstrates you can’t rest on your laurels. The Premier League is ruthless.” The story of this reversal of fortune in the two clubs’ respective points tallies is quite dramatic. Chelsea have never finished a Premier League season above their rivals in terms of the total accrued since the competition began. At the end of the first campaign in 1992-93, they were level on 56, but Arsenal had a superior goal difference. From then on, Arsenal’s advantage grew steadily. In the last full season before Wenger arrived (1995-96), they had built a lead of 30 over the west London side (241 points to 211). Despite Chelsea beginning to invest in better players such as Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola, Wenger’s abilities as a coach and Arsenal’s superior squad meant they surged clear. The gulf in class was evident back then. Gustavo Poyet, who played for Chelsea between 1997-2001, can vouch for that. He was never on the winning side against Wenger’s men in a league game. “My record against them was terrible,” he admits. “It was pure frustration. It really hurt a lot. Something was not working. “They were a very good team, outstanding. They had everything. But they have never replaced Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. They never had that proper centre midfielder which made you think, ‘Oh my, someone is having to play against this’. “When you faced those two, you knew you were in for a special game. I played in the position where I had to face them one week and Roy Keane at Manchester United the next. I very much felt like, ‘Thank you — all the best!’ “There is a big difference between the Arsenal team now and the one I had to play against. I can’t remember seeing an Arsenal team in the last 10 years that made me think, ‘Wow, they’re back’. The cause of the decline is a combination of players, managers and board. You can’t just blame one person.” As The Athletic’s table illustrates, when Wenger won his first Premier League and FA Cup double in 1998, Arsenal had built a 54-point lead over Chelsea (387-333). It had increased to 97 (695-598) after he repeated the feat four years later and went as high as 119 (863-744) at the end of their remarkable 2003-o4 domination of England’s top division. That advantage took Arsenal 13 years of hard work and exemplary football to build. It has taken Chelsea 16-and-a-half years to catch up, but catch up they have. Poyet adds: “To see Chelsea go level on points? Unbelievable. Chelsea are an example of how things progress, not just over one year, but over many years. The impact is bigger when the financial side is significant. At the start of the Premier League, what Chelsea did in the market was so-so. It was difficult for them to win trophies. Then foreigners like myself came in the mid-to-late 1990s and Chelsea started winning cups. We were getting better, but something was missing. It took Roman Abramovich buying the club in 2003 and Jose Mourinho joining as manager a year later to go to the next level. “Obviously when the gap was at its biggest that was the stage when Mourinho arrived. Chelsea have been more consistent ever since and regularly getting more points, whereas Arsenal have had more downs than ups. “Has there been a change in the balance of power? Without any doubt. Chelsea have been the ones on top in most areas over the last 17 years. Abramovich has been key, but Arsenal also haven’t found the formula.” By the time Mourinho’s last full season of his first spell as Chelsea manager (2004-07) came to an end, the gap had already been reduced by 51 points to 68 (1,081-1,013). Significantly, Chelsea had also overtaken Liverpool for third spot in the standings (Arsenal moved to second in 2002. Manchester United have been top since winning the first-ever Premier League in 1992-93). The distance between them was down to 44 (1,311-1,267) following Carlo Ancelotti’s Premier League and FA Cup double as Chelsea manager in 2010. It has been a bit harder over the last decade to finish the job of erasing Arsenal’s lead, mainly because they gave 21 points back in 2015-16 for them to go 51 clear (1,747-1,696). This was the season where Mourinho was sacked for a second time and defending champions Chelsea finished a distant 10th — their lowest final placing in the Abramovich era. But that campaign has been very much the exception to the norm and Winterburn can only see the trend getting worse, even if Arsenal beat Chelsea this weekend. “I look at the quality of players we have now to my day, there is no comparison,” he says. “I look at the current generation and wonder who would get into my group? Maybe a few would get in the squad, I don’t think anyone would be in the first XI. “Our real strength as a club was we intimidated teams with the players we had. That is half of Arsenal’s problem now. Clubs aren’t intimidated when they play Arsenal anymore. That’s quite sad to say that. Teams relish playing Arsenal. “Regardless of whether Arsenal win against Chelsea to take their overall lead back to six points, I’d expect Chelsea to be ahead come the end of this season. They’ve lost a few games lately but they’re playing with more of a swagger. They have a lot of attacking options. Conversely, who else is going to score (for Arsenal) if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang isn’t doing it or is injured? I don’t think even the most diehard Arsenal fan will believe Chelsea won’t have more points. “Since Abramovich came in, Chelsea have spent more money. Arsenal still recruit, but it has to work better. Chelsea will keep doing what they’re doing and Arsenal have to find a way with the budget they have. “But it’s all very well identifying players. Do they want to join Arsenal at this moment in time? Thomas Partey and Gabriel have been good but… “Do I fear Arsenal will miss out on signings if Chelsea go for the same player now? I have to say yes. It looks as if Chelsea are going one way and Arsenal are going in the opposite direction, the wrong direction. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out someone will choose the club on an upward trajectory over one that is struggling.” Arsenal have shown in recent years that they can get the better of Chelsea. They caused an upset to beat them in the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals. But as Poyet insists: “Those are one-off games, where anything can happen. The trend, the league table, doesn’t lie.” And for Arsenal, it only seems a matter of when, not if, they fall behind Chelsea in total Premier League points for the very first time. There are no stats from Arteta which could ease the painful reality of that.

perfect dress to watch the game at the pub in got both ends covered Happy Sad Puff Sleeve Dress https://www.lazyoaf.com/products/happy-sad-puff-sleeve-dress

Chilwell having scan as Chelsea back-up full-backs struggle in attack https://theathletic.com/2277027/2020/12/22/chilwell-injury-scan-chelsea/ Unsurprisingly, Frank Lampard is sounding bullish and upbeat. The Chelsea head coach has just been asked if his team can attack the same way now they’re missing his first-choice full-backs. “Yes, I think they (Cesar Azpiliueta and Emerson) can,” he says. “Everything can be different with attributes. We want to attack with our full-backs. They know that. Reece (James) and (Ben) Chilwell have been doing it really well, we hope their injuries are not that bad and will be in and around the games over Christmas. It’s such a tight turnaround so we’ll see. But I was pleased with the two lads (against West Ham). They were very accomplished.” Lampard wouldn’t say anything differently publicly. With Azpilicueta and Emerson expected to face Arsenal on December 26, he has to speak about them positively and with confidence. But the absence of James, who was missing with a knee injury, plus Chilwell’s early substitution owing to an ankle problem, definitely contributed to Chelsea’s struggle to beat West Ham on Monday night. The home side ended up securing a 3-0 victory but the scoreline flattered them. It took two late goals from Tammy Abraham in the space of three minutes to secure the points. While it was not the only reason that Chelsea laboured in attack for much of the encounter — Jorginho’s struggles in midfield for 66 minutes were hard to watch — Azpilicueta and Emerson didn’t provide the team with their customary threat from the full-back positions. The map of average positions below shows how both men (No 33 Emerson, No 28 Azpilicueta) spent the majority of their time on the pitch inside their own half. No wonder they produced just five crosses between them (Azpilicueta three, Emerson two). One of the reasons for their lack of adventure was due to West Ham increasingly winning the midfield battle and applying pressure on Edouard Mendy’s goal after Thiago Silva had opened the scoring. But Azpilicueta and Emerson looked short of pace compared to James and Chilwell. It meant they couldn’t join in as much even if they had wanted to. It is obviously not the worst situation to be calling upon two internationals to replace two injured players for a tense London derby against Arsenal, but it is not ideal for Lampard either. Chilwell has already been earmarked as doubtful to face Mikel Arteta’s side. The left-back is today having a scan on his right ankle, which he twisted in the fourth minute of the West Ham game, but the extent of his discomfort was clear to see. Meanwhile, James is unlikely to return after struggling with a knee injury, even though a scan on Saturday revealed nothing serious and an operation would only be required as a last resort. The duo have had a major role in the way Chelsea have played this season. They generally like to push forward, provide width and put crosses into the penalty area. Here are some examples of average positions from the previous three Premier League games, which includes the defeats by Everton and Wolves. In the impressive 3-1 victory over Leeds on December 5, you can see below how high Chilwell (No 21) pushed up and he ended up with a team-high 71 touches that night. Despite sitting a lot deeper, James (No 24, was fourth-highest with 60 touches) was still effective and provided the assist for Olivier Giroud’s goal. The caveat is that, surprisingly, the duo only produced six crosses between them (James four, Chilwell two), yet their presence in the final third acted as a distraction for their opponents which allowed other players to benefit. Chelsea’s following losses against Everton and Wolves were a disappointment, but it wasn’t due to a lack of involvement from the right-back and left-back. At Goodison Park, James produced a team-high seven crosses, Chilwell was second with five. On this occasion, James, who was arguably Lampard’s best player, was the one operating further upfield. And finally for the trip to Wolves, which they lost to a goal in the last minute from Pedro Neto, both of them spent the majority of their time in the opposition half. It meant Chelsea had seven players in attacking positions for the most part — against West Ham it was only four. Chilwell produced 19 crosses and touched the ball the most (116). James, who was feeling the knee problem in this contest, still contributed five crosses and had 76 touches. They must have left wondering how they were on the losing side. Azpilicueta and Emerson played a lot more conservatively against West Ham than Lampard’s favoured personnel in that position. Some of it could be put down to rustiness. This was just Azpilicueta’s fourth Premier League start of the campaign, the last of which came at Manchester United two months ago. He has played in three Champions League group games since then, but the speed of those fixtures isn’t as intense. As for Emerson, he finally overtook the amount of minutes he’s played for Italy this season (364) during the London derby (418 for Chelsea now in all competitions). Defensively they had their moments, especially Azpilicueta. He made key tackles and blocks to deny Sebastian Haller, Pablo Fornals and Aaron Cresswell. The Spaniard led the way in terms of winning back possession (nine times) and Emerson was next with seven. Azpilicueta is still the club captain and will have fond memories of going to the Emirates Stadium, the setting for his first Chelsea goal in a Carabao Cup triumph seven years ago. And though his involvement on the pitch has been reduced, his presence remains an important one in the dressing room. As he said recently: “I try to set the example here every day with everybody because I see this as part of my family. I have been here since 2012 and my target is to always keep improving. “I’m a team player and when the results are not good I take the responsibility as the captain. Obviously, you always try to find the way to get the results back, individually and collectively. I feel the extra responsibility. Sometimes when I see team-mates not having a good moment, low on confidence, I’m always ready to help, to talk, because it’s hard.” Arsenal will see Azpilicueta’s and Emerson’s likely presence as a potential weakness to exploit. The other left-back option, Marcos Alonso, hasn’t played for three months after his reaction to being substituted at West Brom, so a sudden recall is very unlikely. Crucially, Lampard does have a bit of time to fine-tune things, even taking Christmas Day into account. “A slight difference in attributes can change things to a degree but I don’t expect too much because they (Azpilicueta and Emerson) are accomplished players,” he added. “When we train we work inclusively as a whole squad and know the movements we want to make. We’ll prepare for Arsenal and onwards with our attacking plan.” One suspects he will still be keen to have James and Chilwell back sooner rather than later.

its bizarre

1 3 Foden with a great goal

what a howler! smdh 1 2

if we lose to arse then add them to manure and the dippers with teams who have our number which is doom for Lampard down the road

I will go bonkers if we lose to them Seriously mental