Dembele’s on Wenger radar
MICHAEL CARRICK has told Romelu Lukaku to stay true to himself as he finds his feet at Manchester United.
Lukaku made his first appearance in a United shirt as a second-half substitute as Jose Mourinho’s men cruised to a 5-2 pre-season friendly win over LA Galaxy here.
The Belgium striker looked eager to please and snatched at a couple of chances to open his scoring account.
But Carrick, inset, is convinced the £75million man will come good provided he does not change and keeps doing what has got him to Old Trafford in the first place.
The United captain wants Lukaku to be his own man and not try to emulate the great strikers that have gone before him.
“It’s early days. He’s had one week’s training and 45 minutes, so you can’t come to any conclusions,” said Carrick.
“But we know what he’s all about, there’s no surprises. We all know exactly what he brings and that’s why he’s here.
“He’s not going to change his game because he’s come here. He does what he does best and obviously he’s been brought here to score goals. YOU WOULD think there might be some relief when your opponents’ star player is removed from the fray by injury, perhaps even a small smile. But the absence of Scotland’s Kim Little from this week’s Battle of Britain at the European Championship has inspired nothing but sympathy and sadness in Jordan Nobbs, England’s vice-captain and her Arsenal team-mate. Little ruptured her anterior cruciate knee ligament while training with her club. “I’m absolutely gutted for Kim, who is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world and deserves to be on the big stage,” said Nobbs ahead of Wednesday’s showdown here.
“Her movement and passing ability are incredible, and I’ve got a lot to thank her for. When I first got into the Arsenal team she looked out for me and helped make me the player I am today.
“It’s going to be better for us that she’s not on the pitch against us, of course it is, but I’d never wish that fate on Kim. She’ll come back stronger, I’m sure of that, but it’s a real shame that she won’t be showing her skills at the tournament.”
Spain and Portugal are the Group D teams that stand in the way of England and Scotland reaching the last eight of a competition that has been dominated by Germany, who have won the past six contests.
Nobbs said: “Germany will be the favourites, as usual, and France will be just as tough to beat. Belgium, who we played in our qualifying group, are a strong side who’ll be one of the dark horses and Holland should do well with home advantage.
“Spain are another team to watch out for. “We believe absolutely that we can go all the way, but right now the focus is on beating Scotland. The first game of any tournament is always crucial, but playing the Scots will give this one an extra edge – it’s going to be real special night.” ARSENE WENGER is ready to turn to Celtic hotshot Moussa Dembele if Alexis Sanchez quits Arsenal this summer.
The Gunners boss is also weighing up a £45 million bid for Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Despite insisting Chile star Sanchez could be forced to honour the last year of his contract, Wenger is well aware keeping an unhappy player and losing an asset worth at least £50m would be economic madness.
Wenger and the Arsenal board are still taking a hard line about not letting yet another key player join title rivals Manchester City, having previously seen Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna go to the Etihad.
But with Paris SaintGermain and Bayern Munich keen on Sanchez, 28, who scored 30 goals for Arsenal last season, a move abroad might yet be sanctioned. Dembele is the striker Wenger has identified as the one he wants to come in if Sanchez leaves.
The 21-year-old Frenchman scored 32 goals in 48 appearances in his first season at the Scottish champions.