Premier League
Arsenal rue loss of discipline as they squander two-goal lead against Liverpool
After surrendering a two-goal advantage against Liverpool and squandering a chance to build on their Premier League lead, Arsenal were lucky to escape Anfield with a 2-2 draw following an exhilarating encounter on Sunday.
Still, the mood in the dressing room after Sunday’s edge-of-seat drama was about two points lost than the one salvaged, manager Mikel Arteta said.
“When you concede at the end it’s always two points dropped,” Arteta said.
Arsenal sliced through Liverpool’s defence with ruthless efficiency through most of the first half and looked poised to finally exorcise their Anfield demons with their first victory at the Merseyside stadium since 2012.
Instead, the draw spoiled what would have been the Gunners’ eighth consecutive win and a chance to move eight points clear of second-place Manchester City.
“Super intense match,” Arteta said. “We started very well, scored the first and the second and that was the moment to kill the game. Before halftime we gave them hope and they generated belief.
“The second half was a very different story. We gave every ball away in dangerous areas and allowed dangerous results and big transition moments. Then you have to suffer.”
Arsenal surged into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, but the game shifted momentum after a scuffle between Granit Xhaka and Trent Alexander-Arnold that riled up the already raucous crowd.
Arsenal had lost their discipline and Mo Salah capitalised with a goal just before halftime.
With Liverpool pressing, Roberto Firmino headed in an 87th-minute equaliser bringing the delirious crowd to their feet.
Salah and Ibrahima Konate had brilliant chances in the dying minutes. Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale swatted away Salah’s blistering shot with a diving save and then scrambled to claw the ball off the line as Konate attempted to chest it in.
“We relied on big defensive moments where Aaron took a big part,” Arteta said. “We missed that ruthlessness to take the game. It’s probably a fair result. The big lesson is place the way we did in the first half.”
Arsenal’s lead was cut to six points, with City having a game in hand. The result set up what should be a thrilling match between the two at City’s Etihad home on April 26.
-Reuters
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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