WE knew the schedule was going to be busy after the international break and so it is. After a pulsating round of midweek action, PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKLY is back in its regular Friday slot to look ahead to Saturday’s events.
Is Arsenal v Manchester United still relevant?
BETWEEN 1996 and 2004, the Premier League title either went to Old Trafford or to Highbury, 5 for United and 3 for Arsenal. Since then, United have picked up five more, but the blue wave of Chelsea, Manchester City and Leicester have collected eight. For the Gunners, it has been a big fat zero.
No one expects Arsenal to win the Premier League this year, so is their role simply to try and stop United from chasing down City? Just think of those epic battles between the best of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. Arguing in the tunnel, flying pizzas, tough tackles, players barging into each other, but with quality and skill added on for good measure – the best of British with some continental flair on top.
This time, it’s fourth against second and while the enmity between Wenger and Jose Mourinho will never go away, the cast list is not the same. Granit Xhaka against Nemanja Matic is not Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane, while Romelu Lukaku does not stir up an irrational hatred amongst Arsenal defenders in the way that Ruud van Nistelrooy once did.
Last season, Arsenal took four points off the Reds with a point at Old Trafford and a 2-0 win at the Emirates in May. That was a first league victory for Wenger over Mourinho in English football, but United rested players to concentrate on the Europa League final. Plus, with Arsenal missing out on the Champions League at the end of the season, little gloating could be done about that.
Surely then it’s about time these two great clubs got the gloves off and produced a classic match to remind viewers around the world that this remains one of the must-see fixtures on the Premier League calendar.
Player of the Day
MESUT OZIL must be the greatest enigma in Premier League football. For some, he is the gifted magician who can prise open any defence with his wand of a left-foot. For others, he is the magician who vanishes at the first sign of trouble. Fight or flight? A lot of people have already made up their mind about Ozil on that score.
The last couple of weeks have done little to dispel those Ozil myths, either. He was very good in the North London derby win over Tottenham, but then missed a cold, wet Sunday in Burnley through illness. Back to full health, he helped himself to one goal and two assists in the 5-0 caning of Huddersfield on Wednesday.
Now it’s the real test as Manchester United are the visitors to the Emirates. If the Gunners’ mini revival of three straight wins is not to come to a shuddering halt, this is the type of game in which Ozil – one of their supposed star players – must come to the fore. United manager Jose Mourinho is a known admirer from their days working together at Real Madrid and has been put forward as a potential suitor, should the German eventually leave Arsenal, if and when his contract runs out in the summer. But would the Portuguese really appreciate Ozil’s disappearing acts in the biggest games?
Ozil has been a central figure in a team that has won the World Cup and has a special eye for the pass. Maybe he has ended up in England when his natural habitat is elsewhere where the game is less fast and furious. But considering he has been in the Premier League since August 2013, it’s amazing to think how he still sums up both the best and worst of Arsenal.
Stat of the Day
162 – THE great pass masters of the current Premier League have a long way to catch the all-time leader in the assists’ chart. Although happily retired, Ryan Giggs stands head and shoulders above the rest with 162, which is 52 clear of the next best – Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas.
Could Hughes or Clement be the next one out of the door?
STOKE versus Swansea is not a fixture which jumps out of the calendar. From tomorrow’s schedule, it is a leading contender to be last on Match of the Day, but its significance comes from the position of their two managers – Mark Hughes of Stoke and Swansea’s Paul Clement. Given the fact that a quarter of clubs have already changed their man in charge, these two cannot be sitting comfortably.
The Potters currently sit 16th and three points above the drop zone, but they have not started the campaign well and have conceded 29 goals, with only hapless West Ham shipping more. Yet that is despite the arrival of two new central defenders in the summer. But on the two occasions they have kept a clean sheet, they have won.
Hughes’ problem stems from longevity. He has been in charge of Stoke for four seasons and after three top-half finishes, they ended last year in 13th. Having not started this season well, fans may feel that the graph is beginning to point downwards and the Welshman cannot turn it around. Four years is a very long time in today’s climate and especially if it feels like a club is treading water. Yet, in the likes of Joe Allen and Xherdan Shaqiri, Stoke still possess some very gifted players who should be capable of lifting them higher up the league.
As for Swansea, they are staring at a third straight relegation dogfight. In the last two years, they have dispensed with Garry Monk, Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley when results were not going well, so Clement will know that recent history, especially with them only above bottom side Crystal Palace on goal difference.
Their problems stem from losing Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente in the summer – their two stand-out players from last season who were instrumental in the Swans staying up. Without them, Swansea are toothless. Seven goals in 14 games is pathetic and that includes four from recent England debutant Tammy Abraham.
Clement has organised the team well and other than from Manchester United, there has been no real hammering. But that lack of goals is stark and 0-0s do not keep a side up. Wilfried Bony is a shadow of the player who left South Wales to go to Manchester City and the biggest contribution so far from the much-trumpeted Renato Sanches is passing the ball to an advertising logo. The easy option would be to see if someone other than Clement can do better, but the feeling should be that the manager is doing his best with a bad hand.
Adam’s Saturday Scores
Chelsea 4 Newcastle 1
Brighton 0 Liverpool 2
Everton 2 Huddersfield 0
Leicester 2 Burnley 2
Stoke 1 Swansea 0
Watford 1 Tottenham 2
West Brom 1 Crystal Palace 1
Arsenal 2 Manchester United 2
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