Arsene Wenger has claimed that Chelsea got extremely lucky to win the Champions League last season and that the Premier League is still the most important trophy, as reported by the Daily Mirror.
Wenger saw his Arsenal side beaten at home by Chelsea on Saturday, but Wenger claimed the season long test of the Premier League will test Chelsea this season.
Wenger told the Daily Mirror: “In the Champions League, you play one big game at a time. In the Premier League you play many big teams and you have to do well against all of them.
“I still think the Premier League is the massive test.
“One piece of luck Chelsea had last season was Didier Drogba in the first part of the season did not play a lot.
“He came into it in the second half of the season and he made the decision, he was fresh, focused, had a good rest and still hungry to make it happen and he had the quality to do it.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“If you tell me would you like to win the Champions League I will of course say yes, but it’s a cup competition – not at the start, but in the final part of it, it is a real cup competition.
“You need to go into March and April with your best players available, fit, and that’s not easy, especially when you play in the Premier League.”
Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Norwich at White Hart Lane was alarming, not necessarily for the nature of the result, but for the nature of the performance. As Andre Villas-Boas looks to implement a new system and a reformed style of play, the easing in process was never likely to go without teething problems.
The worry for some supporters is quite how painful those problems are going to be and the short-term damage they may cause. But like all trips to the dentist, we often carry apocalyptic expectations when the realities aren’t quite so sinister at all.
Firstly, it is important to try and dispel some of the urban myths that have currently been floating around Villas-Boas and the already maligned 4-2-3-1 formation that he’s adopted at the club. The fickle tides of change and seemingly unrelenting media agenda against Villas-Boas has seen the events against Chris Houghton’s Canaries on Saturday, represented as an overwhelming motif for the season so far.
That is as unfair as it is unrepresentative.
Tottenham ultimately put in a performance on Saturday that could be described as poor at best. No one is denying that. But those that are already pining for the ‘swashbuckling’ days of the 4-4-1-1 to return, can’t ignore what we’ve already seen. For 45 minutes against both Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, Spurs employed a generally impressive, composed style of football that dictated those respective halves for long periods.
Norwich was again, not a particularly fantastic barometer, but the cause for genuine concern would be if the team weren’t creating chances as opposed to looking somewhat disjointed. Tottenham have created chances too; maybe not in abundance, but they have been able to harvest opportunities. After hitting both the bar and post at St. James Park, losing to a soft penalty was hard to stomach for supporters. The team, in particular Gareth Bale, fashioned a whole array of early chances against the Baggies at home, but were incapable of finishing anything off – inviting the sort of pressure that seems to have led us to where we are today.
But as the transfer window has slammed shut, Villas-Boas finally has a completed squad to work with and seemingly a set of players that can fit the system. The argument over Daniel Levy’s brinkmanship will rumble on for many months in N17, but however you frame it, Villas-Boas was missing the players to make his new set-up stick for the first three games of the season. It’s not been easy for him and consequently he’s been forced to use several cogs that haven’t fit the machine.
One such example can be found in the holding ‘pair’ that sit in front of the defence but behind the front three. For the first three games this season, Villas-Boas has teamed Sandro with Jake Livermore to relatively mixed reviews. A concept that can be misunderstood with the holding two in this formation is their responsibilities within the team. They’re defensive by name but not necessarily by practice and the formation doesn’t require a couple of archetypal Claude Makelele figures in there to just break up play.
[ad_pod id=’photo’ align=’right’]
At least one half of the pair has to be cultivating play and proactive in the instigation of moves; like something of a deep-lying playmaker of sorts. Villas-Boas has had to start Livermore there more through a complete lack of fit/other viable options, but Spurs have suffered in the centre of the park as a result. Neither Livermore or Sandro have looked entirely sure as to who should sit and who should go when the team have the ball and their overwhelmingly defensive instincts have shown. It’s a clichéd observation to make, but Spurs really have missed a Modric figure to keep play ticking over and distribute the ball quickly and effectively.
This is why the acquisition of Mousa Dembele is so vitally important for Villas-Boas’ side. Some have naturally clamored for the Belgian to play closer to goal, but his abilities and influence on the ball can be the game changer if he’s played in the pair. He may have been a striker once upon a time, but his goals record isn’t a million miles away from that of Modric’s. During Fulham’s 5-0 massacre of Norwich the other week, he didn’t get one goal or assist- but that didn’t mean he wasn’t pulling the strings. The whole dynamic of this Tottenham team can change for the better with Dembele in this side.
And this isn’t where it stops for Tottenham. If the immersion of a creative playmaker into this team is important, than the deployment of Emmanuel Adebayor is vital. Jermain Defoe has worked his socks off for the side and his new contract suggests he has a part to play in this Spurs team. But the side need a striker who can lead the line on his own and that man simply isn’t the Englishman and it’s been clear to see, despite his goal against Newcastle, for the past three games. The Togolese striker has a real work on to get match fit for Spurs’ next fixture away to Reading but the international break offers him good time to do it.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
This isn’t to say that Villas-Boas can be bulletproof from all criticism himself. The insistence on playing a wearying William Gallas had logic as he looked to immerse Jan Vertonghen into English football, but he must now look to either Steven Caulker or Michael Dawson to complete the back four. Furthermore, bringing on both Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone in the West Brom and Norwich games respectively, invited pressure on the team. He must hold his nerve.
But now the acquisitions have been made to fit the system and Villas-Boas can now attempt to get the machine working with the adequate parts. And for Spurs fans, that can only be a good thing.
Do you feel that Villas-Boas’ set-up now has the players that it needs to progress? Or do you still harbour serious reservations about the way things are looking? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus.
The biggest transfer rumour doing the rounds at the moment is that Liverpool forward Luis Suarez is right at the top of incoming Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola’s summer shopping list and while at the moment that is merely conjecture, how the club deal with the issue could hold the key to its immediate future.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have by and large got plenty of big decisions wrong during their time in charge of the club so far, ranging from spending ludicrous amounts of money on relatively unproven players, to hiring a manager that had been out of the game for far too long to dithering hugely over the stadium issue. Even when they have tried to show leadership over certain matters, they have often chosen the wrong path and the business of football has been a completely alien environment to them with a steep learning curve to boot. The likes of John W. Henry and Tom Werner seem inherently cautious people when it comes to their dealings with the club, which is why the future of the Uruguayan striker is such a cause for concern.
There’s a very real worry that they will see the offer put on the table for Suarez, which would have to be in the region fo £40m for them to even consider selling, judge it a reasonable one and consent to his sale, which could have a potentially damaging impact on the team’s fortunes in the short-term and whether they will be capable of competing with the top four and slowing down the regression they have been guilty of in recent years.
As the old saying goes, ‘no one player is bigger than the club’, but it’s a cliche of little substance by ex-pros clearly clueless on how to deal in anything other than meaningless, empty platitudes. The 26-year-old has been absolutely key in the club even competing for a final league position inside the top eight this season, and without him it’s not even worth thinking about where they would be. His departure could hurt the club more than any single sale since the one that saw Xabi Alonso leave for Real Madrid.
Liverpool have a history when it comes to dreadful negotiation tactics; with Alonso, Rafa Benitez practically backed him into a corner with such a public pursuit of the clearly inferior Gareth Barry as his replacement, while Roy Hodgson couldn’t even get Javier Mascherano on the phone during the summer to address his future, leading to the player refusing to play just before a game away at Manchester City.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is often a leading light when it comes to tough negotiating to the extent that it looks like he’s willing to walk away from the table at any given moment is certain deals aren’t met. This saw Real Madrid have to fork out north of £30m for Luka Modric in the summer and sign a landmark ‘commercial partnership’ package which has the potential to be worth just as much over the next few years in terms of sponsorship deals.
[opinion-widget op]
Granted, the club could have sold Modric to Chelsea for £40m a window or two earlier, therefore strengthening a direct rival for a top four spot, but in biding their time and refusing to compromise below the £30m mark that Madrid deemed too high, they got a deal that allowed them the freedom in the transfer market to go out and sign Mousa Dembele, Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen.
Sometimes there is an argument to be made that the amount gleaned from such a big deal outweighs the value of a player as it allows you to rebuild the side and strengthen more than two or three positions at once, but Liverpool have had enough of shopping around the bargain bin in the past and the transfer bracket of between £8-12m, with very little success. For once they have a player of genuine quality and he is more important than any single figure at the club at this moment in time.
It might not sound fantastic to be so beholden to a player and it takes a certain amount of pride to admit as much, but Liverpool are not in a position of strength at this moment in time, rather a period of transition and whether it be £40m or £50m, they need Suarez more than he needs them. From the player’s point of view, you can hardly argue with a desire to test himself on the highest stage of the Champions League on a consistent basis playing under a manager like Guardiola, particularly when Liverpool are clearly incapable of offering him a similar package for the foreseeable future. Demanding loyalty in a game where none exists is simply unrealistic.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
It’s not only his goals this season that have stood out, Suarez’s leadership when things aren’t going the team’s way has seen him become alongside captain Steven Gerrard the one player that everyone else looks to, while his versatility and ability to create chances from open play mark him out as a much more complete player than they even had with the world-class Fernando Torres during his superb spell on Merseyside.
Just as Robin van Persie leaving Arsenal in the summer for Manchester United was widely seen as a statement of intent from Old Trafford as much as it was a signal that the Gunners lacked ambition, should FSG refuse to keep hold of Suarez due to the lure of money, even putting aside the substantive damage, the symbolic gesture alone could crush a fragile regime built on soft foundations.
Everton defender Phil Jagielka has praised fellow team mate Marouane Fellaini after his two goals helped Everton come away with a point against Fulham on Saturday.
Despite the Toffees conceding a last minute goal to prevent them from coming away with all three points at Craven Cottage, Jagielka has described the Belgian midfeilder’s performance as “special.”
The England international also claims that Fellaini’s ability to control the ball with his chest can make him a handful to play against.
He told Everton’s official website: “Felli scored with two fantastic finishes. First half I thought he was good, but second half he was special.
“Right from the first minute, he brought it down on his chest and you know that he is going to be a handful. He proved that because his first goal was good but his second was even better.
“He manages to kill a ball quite well. If you have ever tried to control a 40-yard pass from me on your chest it’s not the easiest thing in the world. But he manages to pick up the flight really well and cushion it down.”
Jagielka also went on to admit that he is disappointed Everton couldn’t kill the game off to ensure Fulham’s final minute equaliser wouldn’t affect the final result.
“I thought we played ok first half but in the second we played very well,” he added.
“We showed signs of how well we have been playing for most of the season. We took control of the game and got the two goals.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“We could have got a third goal, which would have killed the game off. It feels like two points lost.”
Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has confessed that he is unsure of his future at Craven Cottage.
The Australian international’s contract with the Londoners in set to expire at the end of the month, and he is yet to agree a new deal.
The longer the situation remains at a stalemate, the less likely it appears that the 40-year-old will be staying put, and he has confessed that his future is far from certain:
“There’s no new developments; there’s no new discussions; there’s no nothing,” he is quoted by ESPN.
“I’m confident my club situation will resolve itself one way or another.
“Something will be sorted out – I’ve got no worries about that. I’ve got no idea at this stage where I’m going to be. I’m open to anything.”
Schwarzer signed for Fulham in 2008, and has gone on to make in excess of 150 appearances, becoming a fans’ favourite in the process.
But his future with the club is in serious doubt, with manager Martin Jol said to be keen on bringing Roma stopper Maarten Stekelenberg to Craven Cottage.
Reports suggest that a deal between the two clubs has been all but agreed, which puts the veteran’s place in the squad in serious doubt.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Fulham have been active in the transfer market already, agreeing deals from Derek Boateng and Fernando Amorebieta.
It’s important to take note of the rise of Italian football since Juventus reclaimed the Serie A title last season in emphatic fashion. Sure, Italy’s league might not be as fashionable as it once was, with many outsiders looking to it as defend first, excite later. But you can’t hide from the rise in talent over recent years, with a great deal of players attracting attention from foreign clubs.
Both Arsenal and Tottenham will be in need of addressing a number of weaknesses in their squad, and the Italian league could prove to be a good hunting ground this summer. It’s the need to look to a market which can be exploited for one reason or another; Serie A may be experiencing a renaissance, but that doesn’t mean other clubs have to look on without taking action.
Juventus will prove to be the runaway club for the second consecutive year, and there is much to admire about the Champions League quarter-finalists. But they’re the tip of the iceberg, and there is plenty of talent to be found especially for teams like Arsenal and Tottenham.
Click on Marek Hamsik to see the full list of transfer targets
Sir Alex Ferguson has leapt to the defence of Manchester United winger, Nani, claiming he is not a diver. Click Manchester reports.
It comes after United’s appeals for a penalty where turned down in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at home to Tottenham, when Sandro appeared to have pulled the Portuguese’s shirt in the box.
Ferguson believes it was a decision which should have been given, but did not agree with the quotes made by Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero, that foreign players are not treated fairly in the Premier League and feels they are the main culprits in using deception to win penalties.
“Nani is not the type to dive.He has never been that type of player. It was a penalty kick on Saturday. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“As a subject (diving) it is not worth going down because we have known for quite a few years there are plenty of players diving and, you have to say, particularly foreign players,” he said.
When Liverpool confirmed the signing of Rickie Lambert from Southampton, running parallel with the positivity from the majority of Liverpool fans delighted at what they felt was a shrewd piece of business by Brendan Rodgers, was a fair share of belittling, largely from Manchester United fans.
And whilst a £4 million transfer for a 32-year-old Englishman – who worked in a beetroot packaging factory and a part-timer at Macclesfield, before working his way up the English football ladder – may not feel the most glamorous for a club aspiring to the Premier League title, the deal makes perfect sense.
Partly for his physique, and partly due to his football background, Lambert often isn’t given the credit he deserves. But any notion of him simply being a ‘big man’ is so far wide of the mark. Two seasons in the Premier League have notched up 28 goals and 15 assists, and his all-round play is finally beginning to receive the type of praise it is worthy of.
All season long, the thought of Liverpool being without both Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez was a nightmare scenario. With just Iago Aspas as back-up, the side would have lacked any killer instinct up top.
Even with Lambert there, the absence will damage the effectiveness of the side. But his presence lessens the impact of such possibility. If the impact of European football begins to take its toll on the squad, then Lambert may just quench Liverpool’s thirst as they plumb the depths of their well.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
When you observe the way Lambert plays, it is his ability to vary his game and adapt which is most impressive. And it is this variation which will have been a crucial factor in Rodgers’ decision to bring him back to his boyhood club.
Lambert’s stature and physical presence is something Liverpool weren’t blessed with in attacking positions prior to his arrival. But his ability to win aerial duels, and bring the ball down with his back to goal is a key feature of his game, and something which Liverpool were previously unable to bring to the table.
Having won 65 aerial duels last season, to that of Suarez and Sturridge’s 12 and 2, respectively, Lambert can provide something drastically different. Whilst you wouldn’t expect Rodgers to adapt his side’s style of play – one which saw them come agonisingly close to lifting their first Premier League trophy – with Lambert in the side, they now have the ability to make a more direct tactical switch if called upon.
What’s more is that Lambert’s ability on the ball, and the fact he is accustomed to playing a more expansive style of football, should allow him to fit seamlessly into Liverpool’s side. Under Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton have always tried to get the ball on the ground, dominate possession, and play attractive football.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
And under the Argentine, Lambert has excelled. His link-up play with the likes of Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez has been phenomenal at times – with a particularly notable performance against Tottenham. With the like of Suarez and Sturridge, as well as Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho, to work with, who’s to say that Lambert can’t reach even greater heights.
Liverpool weren’t crying out for star quality in their attack. They already possess it in abundance. But Lambert’s addition seems right. He can provide something different to their current squad, and he should have no worries about having to adapt to their style of football. He may not cost have cost the earth, and may not yet have international recognition, but Lambert could just prove the shrewdest signing of the summer.
A common feature of Brendan Rodgers’ short spell in charge of Liverpool FC so far has been a strong emphasis on the word ‘hunger’, whether it be applied to the young players snapping at the heels of their more established first-team counterparts or used as a negotiating tool, but when it comes to the January transfer window, it seems that the club may not be bullied in the pursuit of a fair deal for the first time in a long while.
The move to bring Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge to Merseyside has stalled according to reports not down to any footballing concerns that either party has, but due to the player’s representatives after the club appeared to come to some reasonable middle ground in terms of his £60,000 per-week wage.
The 39-year-old boss has been made keenly aware of the need to balance the wage budget the longer the club stay out of the promised land of the Champions League, which has seen Andy Carroll leave on loan, with West Ham paying all of his wages, Charlie Adam sold to Stoke and Craig Bellamy, Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt all allowed to leave in the summer.
A signal of this shift in direction from a club which seemed quite unfathomably incapable of striking a fair deal for itself to one which is more reluctant to part with its hard earned cash is a welcome one given the litany of transfer failings and deadwood that Anfield has been treated to in the past few years.
When Rodgers hauled Joe Cole off at half-time during the club’s loss against Swansea in the Capital One Cup at home earlier in the season, he chose to highlight the midfielder’s wages and compare them against his failed Liverpool experience: “The club have invested an astronomical amount of money on a talented player and Joe had the opportunity. He has been back fit a couple of weeks and his opportunities have been limited but you have to see. I thought it was difficult for him, it was too slow and it wasn’t what I would expect from a team I tried to set up to be dynamic.” This kick up the backside has prompted Cole to perform better in recent weeks whenever he’s been granted a starting berth to impress.
A recent report released showed that Liverpool spent the second most, behind moneybags and reigning champions Manchester City, on agents’ fees between October 2011-September 2012, to the embarrassing sum of £8.6m, which has seen Rodgers adopt a more hard-line approach in trying to head off the greedy demands of Sturridge’s agents this time around. That amount is £5m more than Manchester United, £2.1m more than Tottenham and £3.1 more than Arsenal. Given the quality of players, the lack of competition for their signatures and the fact that they all wanted to move to Liverpool, it’s literally unforgivable that the club paid so much under the Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli era in particular.
Now, the England forward’s entourage want to receive a percentage of any future transfer fee if he leaves the club in order to rubber stamp the move and precisely because Liverpool have paid more than £31m in fees to agents since October 2008, a change in approach is long overdue and they shouldn’t have to kowtow and bow down to players in such an obvious fashion.
[cat_link cat=”liverpool” type=”list”]
There is a time and place to be prudent, though and to curb an engrained reckless approach to expenditure and when principal owner John W. Henry wrote an open letter to the club’s fans back at the start of the season, he stated: “We will build and grow from within, buy prudently and cleverly and never again waste resources on inflated transfer fees and unrealistic wages. We have no fear of spending and competing with the very best, but we will not overpay for players. We will never place this club in the precarious position that we found it in when we took over at Anfield. This club should never again run up debts that threaten its existence.”
Quite how this translated into believing that paying anything above £3.5m for Clint Dempsey was excessive is yet another baffling move in a string of odd decisions by Fenway Sports Group since coming to power at the club. Picking your battles is fine, but getting it so wrong on such a consistent basis is troubling, even if their tough stance now looks to be the correct one.
Rodgers stated in the aftermath of Raheem Sterling agreeing a new £35,000-a-week deal after months of haggling with his representatives: “They will get a good contract coming here but if they want to argue over money, and other things that go around it, I don’t want them here. In my experience those players will eventually let you down anyway. So, for us, it is about getting players in who are hungry to succeed and to pull on the shirt.
“That’s the simple message for any player coming here – you can’t take the money and run. You have to earn the right to play for this club and to help us succeed. The club are really on board with me on that. It is part of what we need to be successful again. You trace back over many years at this football club and they have brought hungry players in. They were also good players, but they were all hungry.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“I’ve seen it at Chelsea, you pay a fortune for top players and it doesn’t always work when you spent £30 million or £20 million, it doesn’t guarantee you anything. You could bring a boy in here on a free transfer or bring him from the Championship, all of these big players weren’t dropped out of heaven, they have to come from somewhere and the most important thing when you get that type in is that they’re hungry to succeed.
“Football is a unique business. It’s one of very few sports and industries where you can get paid very good money on potential. People will tell you what they’re going to do. I would rather reward people for what they do and then there’s no drama.”
The reference to Chelsea is clearly aimed at Sturridge, and it seems for once that the club actually has a plan B should they have to pull the plug on the deal, despite the medical being seemingly done and dusted, with PSG’s Kevin Gameiro lined up for a short-term loan switch.
Liverpool have been a laughing stock in the sport for years now when it comes to their powers of negotiation, both in terms of inflated fees and needlessly high wages, but it seems as if the tide is finally turning in that respect now under Rodgers guidance, which with Financial Fair Play on the horizon, is the only logical approach to take.
Chelsea (4-5-1): Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa
Despite playing 90 minutes against Sporting Lisbon in midweek, injury-prone striker Diego Costa is set to lead the line when Chelsea face the Gunners at Stamford Bridge this weekend. Jose Mourinho and his men currently lead the Premier League with 16 points out of the possible 18 and look favourites for the league title at the moment. The Blues have no major injury concerns and are set to roll out their strongest team, with Cesar Azpilicueta returning to slot in at left back in place of Filipe Luis who played in the midweek fixture. Cesc Fabregas will be facing his old club for the first time since he departed to Barcelona back in the summer of 2011.
The Gunners have just come out of a 4-1 win over Galatasaray in midweek and will be full of confidence heading to Stamford Bridge to face the league leaders. Danny Welbeck scored a hat-trick against the Turkish outfit and will be expected to trouble the Blues back-line that has already shipped in seven goals despite their top-of-the-table position. Arsene Wenger will however be without several key players including captain Mikel Arteta, midfield goalscorer Aaron Ramsey, right-back Mathieu Debuchy, and long-term absence Olivier Giroud. Arsenal are in fourth, six points behind Chelsea and will need a victory to have any chance of catching up with Mourinho’s men.
What the fans are saying…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Remember this?
//www.youtube.com/embed/W4SQMTe68nM
There was a time when Cesc Fabregas was playing in the colours of Arsenal, even getting into a heated fight with none other than Chelsea legend Frank Lampard!