Mikel Arteta has learned a lot about his side since Arsenal faced Chelsea last month and Frank Lampard has backed the Gunners boss to be a success.
Fourth-placed Chelsea – who suffered a last-gasp defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday – face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The Gunners have drawn their last two Premier League matches, having conceded late on against Sheffield United in their most recent outing.
Arsenal also gave up a lead in their December meeting with the Blues, losing 2-1 following late goals from Jorginho and Tammy Abraham, and Arteta conceded his team are a work in progress.
A lot of things have happened and it feels longer than a month to be fair, the amount of games, the [amount] we ve trained, the amount of things …
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker:
Looking to cash in on their stellar purple patch, league leaders Manchester City will make the trip to an empty Goodison Park on Wednesday night.
Everton
Starting with the hosts, while Everton might have thought they had turned a real corner earlier in the month, the Toffees certainly came crashing back down to earth over the weekend. Failing to build off of that stunning 5-4 victory against Tottenham on FA Cup duties last week, Carlo Ancelotti s side suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at home against relegation scrappers Fulham on Sunday night. Although the former Napoli boss might have seen his side pick up that dramatic late point thanks to a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford on February 6th, the Blues are in the midst of a Premier League sluggish…
Former Chelsea player Michael Ballack has endorsed Jose Mourinho s return as manager to the London-based English Premier League club.
Ballack, who was signed by Mourinho in 2006, praised the Portuguese s character , while adding that Chelsea s fans will be thrilled to have the 50-year-old manager back after his stint in charge of Real Madrid.
With Chelsea having won the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in the past two seasons, Ballack believes the London-based club will be a great package for Mourinho.
He s a great character and he s a great coach, even in his younger years he was unbelievably successful, Ballack said.
And to go back to a club like this, it s never a bad decision because Chelsea is a fantastic club.
They won the C…
The match commander on the day of the Hillsborough tragedy has admitted to lying about Liverpool supporters forcing open an exit gate at the stadium.
David Duckenfield was in charge of the policing operation when 96 fans received fatal injuries in crushing at the stadium which was hosting an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.
And, while giving evidence at the new inquests on Wednesday, Duckenfield admitted that his previous version of events in which he failed to tell Football Association official Graham Kelly that he had ordered the gate to be opened was untrue.
I was probably deeply ashamed, embarrassed, greatly distressed and I probably didn t want to admit to myself or anyone else, what the situation is, he s…
Giuseppe Marotta said there has been nothing concrete from Chelsea and AC Milan regarding Gonzalo Higuain, though the Juventus chief executive admitted the striker could be sold following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Higuain has been linked with a reunion with former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri at Premier League side Chelsea, while the Argentina international s name has emerged as a possible makeweight in a deal for AC Milan defender Leonardo Bonucci.
Marotta revealed the Serie A champions are weighing up their options after Ronaldo s high-profile arrival from Real Madrid left Juve inundated with forwards.
I won t deny that with the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo we ve got a quality attacking department that s a bit crowded, Marotta Sky Italia.
We ll…
Romelu Lukaku might have been playing for Juventus rather than Inter had the Bianconeri sold Paulo Dybala to Manchester United, according to the Belgium international s agent.
Lukaku left United for Inter in a €65million deal in August and went on to score 17 Serie A goals before the season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the former Chelsea and Everton striker could have instead been turning out for title rivals Juve this term.
Lukaku s agent Federico Pastorello claims Dybala s departure would have made room for the 26-year-old in Turin.
Dybala was linked with both United and Tottenham but instead stayed at Juve, netting seven times in the league so far in 2019-20 including strikes in a pair of precious victories over Inter.
Pas…
Real Madrid have become the first sports team in the world to generate annual revenue in excess of 400 million euros (362 million pounds, 543 million dollars), according to figures compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte.
The latest edition of the Deloitte Football Money League published on Tuesday also shows Spanish giants Real as the world s largest revenue generating football club, for the fifth consecutive year.
Real s broadcast income of 161 million euros was greater than the total revenue of all but the top ten clubs in the Deloitte table.
Their arch domestic rivals Barcelona moved up into second place, primarily as a result of winning last year s Champions League final while Barca s beaten opponents Manchester United dropped down into third position, partly…
The Europa League is UEFA s second European competition that s for sure. The Champions League has always been the money spinning European competition with the old UEFA Cup as the poor relation.
Change
The change from UEFA Cup to Europa League has made European footballs second competition slightly more lucrative for the teams taking part.
With the change of format came more games which means more television revenue and more money through gate receipts.
Top clubs
Some really big clubs are currently in the competition competing for the trophy. The likes of Benfica, Villarreal, Hamburg, Everton, Valencia and Ajax are looking to progress into the knockout stages. Its hard to predict who will win the competition because the competition will completely…
Arsenal s key man this term / Image via news.com.au
Twelve rounds into the new Premier League season and Arsenal are leading the pack together with Manchester City, level on points (26) with the Etihad outfit.
Their impressive league run has been publicly applauded much to the pleasing of Arsene Wenger who is picking the fruits of years’ labour this term.
Brought in 2013 and bought for the club’s record-breaking fee of £42.5 million, Germany international Mesut Ozil has finally lived up to the highest expectations and has been the key player for the North London club this season.
Often described as sluggish and unfit, the German has finally silenced his critics, having stepped up under the spotlight to lift his team to another level.
Europe�…
Riechedly Bazoer is likely to leave Eredivisie giants Ajax in the January transfer window, says head coach Peter Bosz.
The 20-year-old Netherlands international is one of the most sought-after youngsters in European football, with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona all having been linked with a move for his services.
Bazoer is not part of Ajax s squad to face Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday and Bosz concedes that he does not expect the midfielder to be part of his squad at the Amsterdam Arena for much longer.
After talks with Riechedly I assume there is a big chance that he is not with this team anymore after the winter break, Bosz told Ajax s official website.
Against Standard I want to play young players so …