Arteta looks forward to a stronger squad
Talking to Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is like talking to a supercharged engine… you rev him up and he talks and breathes Arsenal football club. He is one of the best coaches to interview. Arteta commented on their recent losses, “It is the small details, the margins and what happens in the penalty box that has played a big part of that. We have to change that.” Looking at the statistics Arsenal have the second best defence in the league letting in only 20 goals this season with only Liverpool ahead of them. However, until the Crystal Palace victory last weekend they had scored only 37 goals whereas Man City had 48, Spurs 44 and Newcastle 41.
If Arsenal do any business during the final January transfer window Arteta wants a recognised striker.
He is also hoping Declan Rice will be fit to face Nottingham Forest next week following his muscle tightening problem. The coach is relying on Declan to link up with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz in order to feed passes into the penalty box.
On their return from a Dubai training camp every player commented on how refreshed they felt.
More good news for Gunner’s fans is Jurrien Timber’s return to training following his serious knee injury last August. Takehiro Tomiyasu is expected back from the Asian Cup next week which will further improve the squad. Arteta added, “Those two are going to be massive for us when they return. They give so much strength and flexibility in the defensive line.”
Salah likely out for a month
In a shock revelation this week Mo Salah’s agent said that the Liverpool star might not return to play for another month. The muscle injury sustained at the Africa Cup of Nations is now confirmed as a hamstring tear. Mo is being looked after by the Liverpool medical team. It was initially thought that he would miss only a couple of games. Coach Jurgen Klopp had already planned for life without Salah given Egypt’s likely progress into the latter stages of the competition. Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz have taken over and done very well. Having scored 18 goals already this season Salah is expected to miss Liverpool’s next five games including the FA Cup home game against Norwich and Premier League games against Chelsea and away at Arsenal. He will also probably miss the home game against Burnley on 10th February.
Benzema could solve Arsenal and Chelsea’s goal problems
Karim Benzema and his agent have been involved in tense talks with Saudi club Al-Ittihad as the ex-Real Madrid striker wants to exit the Middle East. The problem is Karim’s wages, which are reputed to be around £80million a year and no European club can afford that because of Financial Fair Play rules. Arsenal are in need of a dominant striker and Chelsea still need goals upfront. Blue’s owner Todd Boehly has stayed within the rules despite a huge turnover in players but Benzema would severely strain the wage budget limits. French club Lyon are also involved and have shown their interest in signing Karim. The player himself has not spoken of where he would prefer to play and has said he could stay at Al-Ittihad and called many of the media stories about his departure as “false” however at 36 yearsof-age he is known to want more chances of silverware which would give Arsenal an edge at the moment. Benzema has scored 12 goals in 20 matches this season and the Saudi League are desperate not to lose another high profile star.
Newcastle will have to sell to bring in new talent
Newcastle have admitted they might have to sell one of their big stars to comply with the FA’s financial rules. The owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have a sovereign wealth fund of £700billion but they are not allowed to spend without keeping within the rules, in other words they must not record a club loss of more than £105million in any season. Alexander Isak, Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes would bring in the most money but coach Eddie Howe has warned that the sale of any of those vital players would wreck his strategy plan and he will fight to keep them. Miguel Almiron is on a short list of players wanted at Saudi club Al-Shabab. However, Howe admits he needs new quality players to freshen and strengthen his squad but needs to spend within the rules. Liverpool sold Phillipe Coutinho and invested some of that money in Alisson and Van Dijk who are two of the best players in the Premier League. Jack Grealish was sold by Villa to Man City and they reinvested that money and now operate as a solid top four team! The same with Declan Rice being sold by West Ham so they could build on David Moyes’ overall plan. Selling a prize asset often brings greater rewards. **Bayern Munich have increased their offer for Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier after having a £13million offer rejected for the 33-year-old. Eddie Howe wants to keep Kieran but Bayern have made him a transfer window priority and the player himself is open to a move and would join former Tottenham teammates Harry Kane and Eric Dier.
Palace fans blame management not Hodgson
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has backed coach Roy Hodgson throughout the season but after a poor run of one win in their last 12 games the club is only five points above the relegation zone. Palace, I can reveal, have started looking at options to replace Hodgson. Sacked Nottingham Forest coach Steve Cooper and ex-Wolves coach Julen Lopetegui are on a short list which also includes impressive Ipswich Town coach Kieran McKenna. Fans still support Hodgson but have turned on Parish and the management sporting a huge banner at the Arsenal game which gave out a clear message ‘Wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards’.
Guardiola’s plan to link De Bruyne and Rodri
Pep Guardiola is working on a new plan. With the return of Kevin De Bruyne the coach is experimenting with playing him next to Rodri to provide what he considers would be the best midfield pairing in football. Despite De Bruyne’s impressive return to action, scoring a great goal in his first match back from injury, the City medical team are still cautiously working with him. Guardiola believes the Belgian can move back a few yards next to Rodri and still be as effective, making assists and scoring the occasional goal. Kevin is 32 years-old now and has to be managed more carefully and the days of his blistering runs might be numbered but he can still read a game and deliver incisive passes. He has said publicly that he intends to stay at the Etihad Stadium until the end of his current contract in 2025. Pairing with Rodri could be the answer and who better to make the plan work than Guardiola.
**Erling Haaland said he will be back as soon as possible when he was named as the 2023 Best Men’s Player at the Globe Soccer Awards. Haaland was runner up to Lionel Messi last month at the prestigious Ballon d’Or awards which has created a lot of negative comment around the world with many believing the Norwegian should have won.
The No.9 has missed nine matches so far and last week had to stop training after his foot injury became very painful.
**Guardiola is delighted that John Stones has returned to training following his ankle injury when falling awkwardly during the 3-1 win against Everton at the end of December. This season has been particularly frustrating for Stones who has only finished two complete games since August.