Connect with us

Premier League

Arsenal seek eight-point lead in title race

blank

Published

on

Arsenal’s defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round in January could be a blessing in disguise, as on Sunday they have the chance to open an eight-point lead over Pep Guardiola’s men in the Premier League title race.

City have gone on to reach the quarter-finals in which they faced Championship leaders Burnley on Saturday, and will be keeping their fingers crossed that Crystal Palace can do them a favour and halt Arsenal’s charge 24 hours later.

The Gunners are on 66 points, five clear of City as they prepare for their home clash against Palace.

Arsenal will host a side yet to record a win in 2023, culminating in manager Patrick Vieira getting the sack on Friday.

Eight points ahead, albeit from one game more, would be a sizeable cushion for Mikel Arteta’s men to take into the international break as a first English title since 2004 glints on the horizon.

Advertisement

Should they do it, former Liverpool midfielder and now Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp believes it would rank not far below Leicester City’s fairy-tale title in 2016.

“From where Arsenal were, if they were to win the title it would go down as one of the great Premier League achievements,” he said of the Gunners, who are on a five-game winning run in the league.

“It’s so big how he’s turned it around and done it so quickly. This is a different Arsenal. This team right now mentally is so strong.”

Arsenal, who were knocked out of the Europa League last week, will know that nothing can be taken for granted.

In the last four league meetings with Palace at home, they have drawn three and lost the other.

Advertisement

This season feels different, however, with the league leaders showing no sign of faltering in their quest to de-throne City.

Palace are in a horrible rut and they head into the game on the back of a 1-0 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday, their third loss in a row and fourth successive match without scoring.

This season the Eagles have scored just 21 goals in 27 games.

The club said that the process to appoint a new manager was under way, with under-21s boss Paddy McCarthy taking charge on Sunday.

Chairman Steve Parish told Sky Sports that the mood in the camp was good despite the team’s miserable run.

Advertisement

“I think things just weren’t happening, but the mood was good, it was fine,” he said.

“But obviously we’re hoping that there’s a bit of fresh impetus, a few different ideas, maybe we surprise the opposition a little bit doing something different.”

Former Palace boss Roy Hodgson, who has retired, is reportedly linked with a return, even if it is only until the end of the season.

Reuters/ AFP

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Premier League

Former Arsenal soccer player Partey charged with five counts of rape

blank

Published

on

blank
 Premier League - Arsenal v Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - February 2, 2025 Arsenal's Thomas Partey during the warm-up before the match REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo

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.

Advertisement

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

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Premier League

Rashford, Garnacho among five players seeking Man Utd exit

blank

Published

on

blank
Premier League - Manchester United v Newcastle United - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 30, 2024 Manchester United's Marcus Rashford warms up as a substitute during the match REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

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.

Advertisement

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

Advertisement

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Continue Reading

Premier League

Fernandes rejects Al-Hilal offer to stay at Manchester United

blank

Published

on

blank

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.

Advertisement

“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.

Advertisement

-Reuters

   Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Continue Reading

Most Viewed