THERE’S ONLY ONE TEAM IN LONDON -WENGER
Arsene tells unsettled Sanchez: Forget Chelsea, Arsenal are still the top guns
ARSENE WENGER has taunted Chelsea and told Alexis Sanchez that if he wants to stay in London there is only one club to play for – and it is Arsenal.
In a blunt rebuttal of suggestions Sanchez could be on his way to Stamford Bridge this summer, the Arsenal manager insisted his club are no longer in a position that forces them to sell to their rivals.
The Chile striker is refusing to sign a new deal at the Emirates and has only 12 months left on his contract. Talks have been put on hold until the end of the season but Sanchez wants close to double his £130,000-a-week wages.
Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Inter Milan are also interested in Sanchez, who has scored 22 goals this season but has looked increasingly disenchanted as Arsenal’s campaign has crumbled. He said on Wednesday he wants to stay in the capital – but with a team that fights for titles.
But Wenger, whose side face Manchester City at the Emirates tomorrow, said: “How do I interpret his comments? In a very positive way. There’s only one team in London – so he’s happy. It’s true we have not extended his contract yet. He wants to win the championship – that’s what everyone wants. I can understand that.”
In previous years Arsenal have been forced to sell players such as Samir Nasri, to City in 2011, and Robin van Persie, to United in 2012, as they could not compete financially with their rivals. Now though, the bank balance is healthy. “It is true that before we sold players when we were in positions where we had to. That’s not the case any more,” said Wenger. Talks with Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil have also stalled, leading to speculation both players will depart in the summer, but Wenger said: “I believe both of them want to stay and I hope the club will find an agreement.” On his own future, Wenger, left, was less clear. He said that his contract situation is “not sorted completely” but that he is “very clear” in his mind about what he will do. UNFASHIONABLE, seen as uncultured and often ugly, centre-backs have rarely held a place among English football’s posters boys.
But a tactical evolution in the Premier League this season means the position epitomised by Tony Adams, Terry Butcher and Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock has become the most influential on the pitch.
It passed with a little less fanfare than the usual blockbuster transfer of a top marksman or playmaker, but Manchester City made John Stones the most expensive English footballer in history in the summer.
It was the culmination of a long chase for the former Evertonian and incoming City manager Pep Guardiola would not have spent £47.5million on the 22-year-old – £3.5 m more than it cost to prise forward Raheem Sterling from Liverpool – had he not identified that his unique skill set as a ballplaying defender could play a crucial part in the new campaign.
Fast-forward to this weekend’s return of the Premier League and the top two teams in the table have reached that position by making defenders the centre of attention. Leaders Chelsea host Crystal Palace
Conte has provided shape of things to come in search for honours as big men learn to beat the press gang
tomorrow 10 points clear and on course to become the first team to win the league fielding a back three, anchored by Brazil’s David Luiz.
Their closest challengers are Tottenham, where Mauricio Pochettino has settled on a back three as his favoured system and Toby Alderweireld has come into his own as one of their most valuable assets.
Tottenham travel to Burnley, whose man in the middle, Michael Keane, is being talked about as one of the hottest transfer targets of the summer after winning his first England cap playing in a back three against Germany.
The system has been used in isolated moments over the past 24 years since the top flight rebranded but it has always been treated with suspicion, and at no time has it been favoured by the league’s elite. So what has changed? Antonio Conte’s switch to a back three at Chelsea midway though a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal at the end of September increasingly looks the defining moment in the title race.
It was a natural fit for Conte, reverting to a system he used to good effect at Juventus – winning three Scudetti – and with the Italian national team. But after a slump in Chelsea’s form, he was not retreating into familiarity. He will have recognised that the change in emphasis to high-tempo and highpositional pressing in the league – most notably employed by Pochettino at Spurs, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Guardiola at City – has shifted the emphasis on to centre-back as a ball-playing position to a greater degree than at any time in the Premier League era. And in bringing Luiz back from Paris Saint-Germain – a move that was derided – Conte had the ideal man to make his system work.
Organised pressing high up the pitch in numbers puts pressure on centre-backs to play their way out of trouble or turn over possession with a poor clearance. Three centre-backs, however, are harder to press into mistakes than two.
The influence of the position becomes greater once the press is released successfully, as the pressing team are left vulnerable at the back and can be exploited by a good ball.
An example is Alderweireld. His accurate passing has been effective in setting up Dele Alli.
Forget Harry Kane, the loss of Alderweireld for two months in October could be the difference between Spurs and Chelsea. During his absence, Tottenham dropped 11 points in seven matches, including a defeat by the Blues. Those points would have seen Spurs top today. Stones is in the same mould as Alderweireld and Luiz but the jury is still out as third-placed City face Arsenal on Sunday. Stones has made mistakes but Guardiola stays patient, trusting in his ability to develop players and knowing his system is a work in progress. The man in the dugout opposite, Arsene Wenger, has not embraced the trend, sticking to a back four. Conte made his switch during the Gunners’ only victory against the top five. As Wenger watched Conte take his steps toward history, he may also have seen the move that consigns his own efforts to the past.
Forget Kane, Toby’s loss was pivotal