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AGENDA SET FOR MIKEL ARTERA AT ARSENAL
Arsenal are the latest Premier League club to turn to a former player as their manager, with Mikel Arteta named the new head coach on Friday.
The Spaniard takes over with Arsenal languishing 10th in the Premier League and their last title-winning campaign under Arsene Wenger 15 years ago a distant memory.
AFP Sport looks at what Arteta must do to make Arsenal a force once again.
1. FORGE AN IDENTITY
Wenger transformed the culture at the club from the defensive-orientated days of “1-0 to the Arsenal” under George Graham, overseeing some of the slickest attacking play English football has ever seen.
The final seasons of the Frenchman’s 22-year reign saw a decline in results and an inability to challenge for the biggest prizes but Arsenal were still renowned for an attacking brand of football.
Some of that was lost in Unai Emery’s 18 months in charge as the Spaniard unsuccessfully tried to patch up a leaky defence before he was sacked last month.
“I want the football to be expressive, entertaining,” Arteta told the Arsenal magazine during his time as a player, speaking about how he wants his teams to play.
“I cannot have a concept of football where everything is based on the opposition. We have to dictate the game, we have to be the ones taking the initiative, and we have to entertain the people coming to watch us.”
Arteta does not have much managerial experience but serving an apprenticeship as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City over the past 3.5 years is seen as a big plus point.
Guardiola has managed to find the perfect blend of entertaining football while piling up trophies at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.
Now Arteta’s task is to take the magic formula and apply it to Arsenal.
2. FIND CENTRE-BACKS
A constant in the decline of Wenger, Emery’s struggles and a run of one win in five matches under caretaker manager Freddie Ljungberg has been Arsenal’s lack of a dominant centre-back.
Instead of addressing an obvious area of need in the summer, the Gunners’ hierarchy splurged a club-record fee on forward Nicolas Pepe, while patching up the defence with the budget signing of David Luiz.
The Brazilian has been dropped in recent weeks, but none of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Callum Chambers, Rob Holding or Shkodran Mustafi inspire much confidence.
Arsenal may not have much money to spend in next month’s transfer window but what they do have they must use on their defence.
3. BALANCE THE MIDFIELD
A former midfielder by trade, Arteta must find a way to prevent Arsenal’s midfield being completely bypassed to leave their shaky backline exposed.
Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira have potential but have gone backwards in their second seasons at the Emirates.
Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil have experience but have done little to earn their places in the side this season and could be among the first to be cast aside under Arteta.
4. CAN AUBAMEYANG AND LACAZETTE CO-EXIST?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are two of Arsenal’s few world-class talents but both want to play in the same position as the central striker.
Emery frequently changed his system to try and accommodate both but often at the expense of the team as Arsenal were overrun in midfield or lacked width.
Experiments with Aubameyang playing wide have limited the goal threat of a striker who shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot last season and Lacazette was even dropped by Ljungberg for 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli in the past two Premier League games.
5. GET THE BEST OUT OF PEPE
Arsenal splashed a club-record £72 million (S$127.2 million) on Pepe from Lille, believing the Ivorian’s pace and eye for goal could make the difference in securing Champions League football.
However, Pepe has scored just once from open play in the Premier League and his struggles to make an impact have seen him dropped by both Emery and Ljungberg.
-AFP
Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan HD had targeted their Group F opener as their best chance to get a win on the board at the Club World Cup, with Brazil’s Fluminense and German side Borussia Dortmund expected to advance from Group F.
South Africa’s Sundowns took all three points with a 1-0 win over the South Koreans and went top of the group after Fluminense drew 0-0 with Dortmund.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
African and Asian teams are not expected to make much of an impact at the new-look 32-team Club World Cup so points are like gold dust for the likes of the Sundowns and Ulsan.
KEY QUOTES
Miguel Cardoso, Mamelodi Sundowns coach: “We prepared tactically and strategically very well, and then we found a commitment between everybody. I think it was clear we made a very wonderful first half. It was important that we could keep the pace and not stray from the game plan in the second half, so that we could score a second goal that for little details or little centimetres, we could not do.”
Kim Pan-gon, Ulsan HD head coach: “We had targeted this game to win because we understand the other two teams in the group, Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund, are favourites. Our players gave their best efforts in this game and we’re very proud of their efforts. Now we need to recover quickly for the next game.”
-Reuters
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With a year until Mexico makes history as the first three-time World Cup host, the dream of a spectacular showcase is colliding with the practical challenges of modernising the iconic Azteca Stadium for global soccer’s premier event.
Beneath the imposing silhouette of Mexico’s football cathedral – where Pele dazzled with Brazil in 1970 and Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ propelled Argentina to glory in 1986 – construction crews tackle the formidable task of bringing one of the sport’s most storied venues into the 21st century.
The stakes are magnified as the ‘Santa Ursula colossus’ will host the tournament’s opening match, a global spectacle that will focus the world’s attention on Mexico from day one.
Renovations will expand the stadium’s capacity from 87,000 to 90,000, with upgrades centred on meeting FIFA standards through new changing rooms, enhanced hospitality zones, revamped VIP areas and additional seating in spaces previously occupied by boxes and lounges.
While government officials and football administrators envisioned the project as a symbol of national pride, the renovation process has eroded trust between developers, local residents and other stakeholders.
Stadium administrators announced in February that they had secured a 2.1 billion peso ($110.19 million) credit line from local financial group Banorte – along with a controversial new name: Estadio Banorte.
FIFA regulations mean the stadium will be referred to as “Estadio Ciudad de Mexico” during the World Cup, yet the rebranding has sparked a fierce backlash from some fans, who view it as sacrificing football heritage for commercial interests.
HARSH REALITY
The backlash over the stadium’s new name represents only one facet of the mounting tensions. Box and suite holders – some with relationships spanning decades – have threatened legal action after FIFA announced it would commandeer their seats during the tournament, overriding established contracts.
One member of the Mexican Association of Box Holders has already filed a legal challenge to defend access rights.
Beyond the stadium walls, frustration runs equally deep. Residents of Santa Ursula and surrounding neighbourhoods fear that promised infrastructure improvements like pedestrian bridges and transit lines will fail to address fundamental issues including inadequate lighting, water shortages and persistent traffic congestion.
“We’re not the stadium’s backyard,” one local resident told Expansion Politica. “But we’re always treated that way.”
By contrast, Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico’s other two host cities, face fewer obstacles.
Guadalajara’s 48,000-seat stadium, opened in 2010, has already hosted major events including the 2011 Pan American Games, while Monterrey’s 53,500-capacity venue, inaugurated in 2015, needs only minor upgrades – primarily new turf and a pitch ventilation system.
“We’ll install a system to ventilate and oxygenate the pitch before replacing the grass,” said Alejandro Hutt, Monterrey’s Host City Manager. “That will be an important legacy from the World Cup and beyond.”
As construction continues, Javier Aguirre’s Mexico squad are building towards a crucial summer, with a Gold Cup title defence ahead and friendly matches against Turkey this week, followed by Japan and South Korea in September.
After failing to advance beyond the group stage at Qatar 2022 – their worst World Cup performance since 1978 – Mexican fans crave more than just a well organised tournament. They want to see Mexico break the ‘fifth-game‘ curse and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1986, the last time they were World Cup hosts.
-Reuters
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All contenders are now known for this year’s President Federation Cup grand finale, following Saturday’s elimination of Edo Queens and Ibom Angels in the women’s semi-finals.
Multiple-winners Rivers Angels saw off the stiff challenge of Ibom Angels of Uyo 1-0 in Aba, while Nasarawa Amazons bumped Edo Queens 2-0 in Ayingba.
Cup holders Rivers Angels, who have won the competition nine times, will have their hands full against 2005 and 2019 champions Nasarawa Amazons of Lafia.
In the men’s competition, Abakaliki FC of Ebonyi are getting set to tackle Kwara United FC in the final.
Results of Semi Finals (Women)
- Rivers Angels (Rivers) 1-0 Ibom Angels (Akwa Ibom)
- Edo Queens (Edo) 0-2 Nasarawa Amazons (Nasarawa)
Results of Semi-Finals (Men)
- Abakaliki FC (Ebonyi) 0-0 Ikorodu City (Lagos) – Abakaliki FC win 5-4 on penalties
- Kwara United (Kwara) 1-0 Rangers Int’l (Enugu)
WOMEN’S FINAL
- Rivers Angels vs Nasarawa Amazons
MEN’S FINAL
- Abakaliki FC VS Kwara United
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