WENGER: I’M NOT READY TO QUIT JUST YET
ARSENE WENGER has denied he is ready to quit Arsenal insisting that Ian Wright had misinterpreted a chat over dinner.
Agents have been sounding out possible replacements, such as Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, but after Arsenal beat Hull 2-0, Wenger said: ‘I appreciate that you want me to rest, but I’m not ready for
HARRY REDKNAPP is among those who believe Tottenham’s first XI is as good as anyone in the Premier League.
A couple of injuries, however, and Mauricio Pochettino’s squad looks thin for title contenders.
Indeed, it was a shambolic first 20 minutes at Anfield.
Without Jan Vertonghen (ankle) and Danny Rose (knee), Spurs looked incapable of turning back the Red tide which led to Sadio Mane’s early brace.
Replacements Ben Davies and Eric Dier are hardly amateurs but in the absence of their regular back-four, the Spurs defence suffered a breakdown in order and communication that will end their Champions League hopes if repeated regularly.
Dier is preferred by England as a holding midfielder to a centre-back these days and you could see why when he went walkies for the opener on 16 minutes.
Davies tried to cover from the left as Georginio Wijnaldum slipped in a pass from halfway but Mane had no trouble accelerating to get goalside of the Welshman before beating Hugo Lloris.
Two minutes later, Dier dwelt on the ball, was robbed by Mane and the Senegal international finished from close range after Lloris parried from Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino.
It was hard to fathom how Spurs had started the day with the best defensive record in the league, their 16 goals conceded even fewer than leaders Chelsea. But that was with a settled side.
Liverpool had eight shots on target in the opening 45 minutes with Lloris busier than he had been all season. Toby Alderweireld also got in a brilliant block to deny Philippe Coutinho.
Davies is a decent left back but he will never want to see Mane running at him again and he was desperately lucky to escape without a booking in the second half as referee Anthony Taylor waved his yellow card at nearly everyone else. That included Dier for a hack at Emre Can and four other Spurs players as they lost their discipline. Dier could have seen red after a clash with Firmino.
Rose should be back soon, though the prognosis for Vertonghen is not as bright. And goodness forbid if Dele Alli or Harry Kane are crocked with Vincent Janssen next man up.
The irony is that it was Liverpool who went into the game with defensive question-marks. Jurgen Klopp kept faith with under-fire goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. Ahead of him, 30-year-old Lucas Leiva — who started the season as Liverpool’s fifth-choice centre-half — showed great anticipation alongside Joel Matip and prevented an Alli goal by scrambling across his area to head over the bar.
And on this occasion, his understudies were up to the job far better than Pochettino’s counterparts.