Premier League
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal still believe in title chances
Mikel Arteta has said that “everything is still to play for” as he prepares his title-chasing Arsenal team to host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Gunners, seeking to win the title for the first time since 2004, are one point behind leaders Manchester City (82) with just three games to play.
Treble-chasing City, closing in on their fifth league crown in six years, also have a game in hand.
When on Friday whether the players still believe they can win the title, Arteta said: “That’s what we’re here for.
“It starts on Sunday again, there’s three games to go, this is the crucial one and right now we want to beat them and elevate our hopes and enthusiasm to keep going because everything is still to play for.”
Arsenal have won their past two matches – 2-0 over Newcastle United and 3-1 against Chelsea – after a damaging string of results that allowed City to leapfrog them.
Arteta also said that his men had recovered their confidence “by playing well, by being on top of the game and individually raising the level – that has been something critical and really important when you get to this stage of the season”.
He added: “Once you’ve done that, that has a huge impact on the team’s performance. The team has been playing well, scoring goals and winning matches, so it’s a good mixture.”
Arsenal will be without William Saliba on Sunday but the Frenchman and fellow defender Oleksandr Zinchenko are not ruled out for the remainder of the season.
“With William, that’s for sure that he’s not going to be fit for this game and we are doubting whether he will be for the next game (at Nottingham Forest) as well,” Arteta said.
“But we want to keep the hope going and make sure that we give ourselves the best chance to bring them back.”
Saliba has been out since March with a back injury while Zinchenko came off with a suspected calf issue during the second half of Arsenal’s 2-0 win at third-placed Newcastle last weekend
The Gunners beat Brighton 4-2 when they met on the South Coast at the end of December after losing 3-1 in the third round of the League Cup at the Emirates last November.
Roberto de Zerbi’s men still have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top four and the Italian has urged them to remain calm.
“We don’t feel the pressure because we fixed our target higher than normal,” he said.
“Before I started to work here, the target was 10th place and after two months I fixed the target to Champions League, Europa League and I am not afraid if we don’t achieve our target.
“You (only) lose when you don’t fight, when you don’t compete.”
He also confirmed that Solly March and Adam Webster are unavailable due to injury.
–AFP/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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