Premier League
Arsenal Form Worries Guardiola
Pep Guardiola expects Arsenal to be even more dangerous against Manchester City due to their wretched run of form in the Premier League, according reports monitored on soccer way.com
Arsene Wenger’s side have dropped to sixth after losing four of their last five top-flight matches, including a 3-1 defeat to West Brom before the international break.
A defeat to City at Emirates Stadium on Sunday would leave Arsenal facing an uphill battle in the race for the Champions League places and would likely prompt further calls from some fans for Wenger to walk away as manager.
Guardiola, however, believes a wounded Arsenal will pose a sterner test for his players than they would if they were enjoying a winning run.
“They are professional, Arsene is so professional and the players as well,” Guardiola told a news conference. “They want to win every game.
“When you lose a lot of games, it’s a more dangerous moment to face them. I would prefer Arsenal with a lot of wins.
“Everybody knows them. There’s quality in the side, with Alexis [Sanchez] going in perfect runs inside with (Theo) Walcott, (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain. Good quality. Arsenal are a top team.
“I travelled there with Barcelona and Bayern Munich and it was always so difficult. We won once or twice, sometimes we lose, sometimes we draw.
“It’s always difficult at the Emirates against a tough team [who are] always fighting to be in the top four.
“Every game is a new one, so every game is a new situation. I think against the big teams – except, I said many times, White Hart Lane (where City lost 2-0 to Tottenham) – we played good all the games and deserved more than we achieved.”
Wenger is yet to announce whether he will extend his contract beyond this season, with his position under increasing scrutiny due to the Gunners’ recent results and protests from supporters who want him to leave.
Guardiola, however, says those fans calling for his head will change their tune when Arsenal’s form improves.
“We are strong when we win and we are weak when we are not winning,” he said. “When (Wenger) goes back to winning, the fans will be happy again. I promise you, 100%.
“I’m pretty sure the fans respect what Arsene Wenger has done and what he’s doing. When the bosses decide or Arsene decides, he believes it will be the best decision for Arsene and for Arsenal.
“For the fans, and the journalists, it depends on the results – nothing else.”
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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