Premier League
Three talking points as the Premier League halts for the World Cup
A Premier League season like no other has been put on hold for six weeks to make way for the World Cup, with Arsenal enjoying a five-point lead at the top of the table.
The Gunners, who have not won the title since “The Invincibles” unbeaten season of 2003-04, have failed to even finish in the top four for the past six seasons.
Mikel Arteta’s men are well on course for a return to the Champions League, but Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have ground to make up if they are to climb back into the top four.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the Premier League season so far:
Arteta’s Arsenal project bears fruit
The three-year anniversary of Arteta’s appointment as Arsenal boss will take place during the World Cup hiatus.
Arsenal have been through a series of highs and lows since, from winning the FA Cup in 2020 to finishing eighth in back-to-back seasons
But the patience shown towards the Spaniard is bearing fruit in spectacular fashion as Arteta has moulded a young side into title contenders.
City may come to regret the decision to sell Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners as they have added title experience to a collection of promising stars.
No side has ever failed to win the league after taking 37 points from their opening 14 games.
The true test still awaits, particularly with two fascinating clashes against City to come, but Arsenal’s early-season pace has set up another intriguing title battle
Newcastle rise ahead of schedule
The traditional top six were well aware of the threat Newcastle will pose in the coming years, backed by the seemingly endless wealth of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
But the Magpies are well ahead of schedule in fighting for a place in the top four.
Eddie Howe’s men have taken 22 points from a possible 24 to go into the break in third.
With Champions League riches a realistic goal, Newcastle are expected to splash their newfound wealth once more in January.
But Howe’s best work so far has been in reviving the careers of players that arrived at St James’ Park long before the influx of Saudi cash.
Miguel Almiron won October’s Player of the Month award, while Callum Wilson’s form earned him a call-up to the England World Cup squad.
Even if their form eases off in the new year, Newcastle are English football’s new force who are not going to go away.
Haaland takes England by storm
Arsenal’s achievement in keeping City off the top of the table is all the more impressive in the context of Erling Haaland’s explosive start to his career in England.
Pep Guardiola’s men have won back-to-back titles largely without a recognised striker, but got the man they wanted to be the long-term successor to Sergio Aguero in the towering Norwegian.
Haaland, who scored 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund before moving to Manchester, has dismissed any notion he could struggle to adjust to City’s style.
The 22-year-old at one point scored a hat-trick in three consecutive home league games amid a run of 18 goals in his first 13 Premier League games.
A foot ligament injury has slowed that rate in recent weeks, but Haaland will be rested and refreshed after the World Cup break with Norway having failed to qualify for Qatar.
– AFP
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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