EPL

Player ratings as Gunners gift friendly win to Bianconeri

Published

3 months ago

December 17, 2022

Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of a second-string Juventus side in a friendly at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta named a strong side, with the likes of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Granit Xhaka back from World Cup duty, and was almost rewarded after just 40 seconds when Reiss Nelson drove infield from the left and fired narrowly wide.

The Gunners quickly settled into the kind of rhythm that has defined their Premier League campaign so far, dominating possession in Juventus’ half and going close once again inside the first 10 minutes when Fabio Vieira’s volley forced Mattia Perin into a save.

Arteta would have been hoping to see his players build up their fitness ahead of their Boxing Day meeting with West Ham, but saw his injury problems compounded when Nelson was forced off with what looked like a hamstring injury.

It was one-way traffic in the first half, and Arsenal did eventually find the back of the net through Eddie Nketiah only to see the flag go up for offside.

Seconds later, a disastrous attempt by Juventus to play out from the resulting free-kick resulted in Nketiah being gifted an open goal, but the 23-year-old inexplicably hit the post.

The first half seemed destined to end goalless despite Arsenal’s dominance, but Juventus had other ideas and took the lead with essentially their only meaningful attack of the half as Xhaka headed a teasing cross into his own net.

Arsenal started the second half back in control and quickly had the ball in the net after some confusion at a corner, only for the goal to be disallowed once again – this time for a foul on a Juventus defender.

Arteta continued throwing on academy players as the half wore on, giving his youngsters a valuable opportunity to impress as the minutes ticked away. While they were unable to overturn the deficit, a few of these players did stand out – most notably midfielder Amario Cozier-Duberry, who found some joy attacking down Arsenal’s left flank.

Arsenal were comfortably the better side in this match – so it was a surreal moment when Juventus made it 2-0 in the dying seconds of injury time via another own goal, this one from the boot of Rob Holding.

Though the scoreline suggested otherwise, this was an assured and mature display from Arsenal. There could be some concerns over the side’s ability to score goals with Nketiah leading the line with Gabriel Jesus set to be out until February, but if they keep creating chances like they did here, they should be fine.

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GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 7/10 – Wasn’t called upon much but organised his defence well and couldn’t do much about Xhaka’s own goal.

RB: Ben White – 6/10 – Looked a tiny bit off the pace, which can be forgiven considering he’s only just returned from international duty.

CB: Rob Holding – 6/10 – A fairly assured display. Unlucky to score a late own goal.

CB: Gabriel – 7/10 – Solid at the back and unlucky to penalised for the second disallowed goal.

LB: Kieran Tierney – 7/10 – Really good on the ball, popping up all over the pitch to keep possession circulating.

CM: Thomas Partey – 7/10 – Looked composed in midfield and anchored Arsenal’s attacking players.

CM: Granit Xhaka – 6/10 – Kept Arsenal ticking in possession but will want that own goal back.

CM: Martin Odegaard – 6/10 – A low-key display from the Arsenal captain, punctuated by a couple of wayward long-range efforts.

RW: Fabio Vieira – 7/10 – Looked really threatening throughout and played some lovely passes.

LW: Reiss Nelson – N/A – Started with plenty of purpose, but had to substituted after just 20 minutes with an injury.

ST: Eddie Nketiah – 5/10 – Showed plenty of hustle and industry but didn’t make much of a case for himself as Gabriel Jesus’ replacement with a host of missed chances.

Substitutes

Marquinhos (23′ for Nelson) – 5/10

Amario Cozier-Duberry (62′ for Xhaka) – 7/10

Mohamed Elneny (62′ for Partey) – 7/10

Cedric Soares (62′ for White) – 6/10

Ethan Nwaneri (78′ for Marquinhos) – N/A

GK: Mattia Perin (7); CB: Alessandro Riccio (6), CB: Federico Gatti (7), CB: Daniele Rugani (6); RWB: Matias Soule (6), CM: Manuel Locatelli (6), CM: Nicolo Fagioli (6), CM: Enzo Barrenechea (6), LWB: Tommaso Barbieri (6); ST: Moise Kean (5), ST: Fabio Miretti (5).

Subs: Carlo Pinsoglio (6), Joseph Nonge Boende Ruiz (6), Samuel Iling-Junior (6), Marley Ake (N/A), Emanuele Zuelli (N/A).

Player of the Match: Kieran Tierney

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EPL

Fabio Paratici opens up on Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit & provides update on manager search

Published

19 hours ago

March 28, 2023

Sean Walsh

Tottenham Hotspur managing director of football Fabio Paratici has discussed the decision to part ways with head coach Antonio Conte.

Spurs reached a mutual agreement for Conte to depart the club on Sunday night following a disappointing run of results.

Conte oversaw exits in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League this season despite high hopes of ending the club’s 15-year trophy drought.

In his personal life, Conte lost three close friends – Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, former Italy colleague Gianluca Vialli and Serie A legend Sinisa Mihajlovic – while he had to undergo emergency surgery on his gallbladder at the start of February.

Speaking to Tottenham club channels, Paratici leaned on these reasons as to why Conte’s reign ended so sourly.

“About Antonio, we know how difficult this season was for him personally. Gian Piero died, Vialli and Mihajlovic [died], the surgery, the club supported him a lot about this and everyone was close with each other. But we arrived to this mutual agreement, and I think the decision we made was the right decision to everyone,” Paratici said.

Paratici went on to talk about interim manager Cristian Stellini – Conte’s former assistant who took charge of Tottenham in his absence this year – as well as speculation over a permanent successor.

“So Cristian managed the team even when Antonio was sick this season and was good. He has a lot of experience as a second and even first coach in the past. We have Ryan Mason who can help him a lot because he’s been part of this club for a long time, he knows everything about this club and this kind of group of players. So I think we are really, really confident that these two persons can do a very good job,” Paratici continued.

“The players doesn’t have to change a bit, the style of training. So change everything when you have just 10 games to go I think would be really difficult to the players.

“I would like to see, not just this season but even last season, when we came here we speak about ‘rebuild’ a bit. We started to play Conference League, starting not so good. Then at the end of the season we achieved a big result to get Champions League.

“Then this season, we played Champions League, we passed the group, it was a good achievement for us. And then we get out against Milan.

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“I think about growing up, the team and the club. The pathway for the club was good about results in that way. And then of course we are disappointed because we can be better in the FA [Cup] against Sheffield [United]. Every time you lose one game, you regret it.

“Of course we are focused and looking forward about being better arriving at the end of the season and the next season better again.

“The Premier League always is tough, so we have a lot of teams and clubs [who are] really, really prepared…but we fight, we like that. So we will fight to achieve our target, we are prepared to fight until the end of the season. We have to be focused on the last part of the season.

“We don’t speak about other coaches or follow the speculation in the media because this is just speculation. We are focused and now concentrating on helping Cristian and the staff, the players.

“I think today we have to be focused on our squad and our manager because it’s an important moment.”

Paratici is one of 12 former Juventus officials who were due in court this week regarding the club’s financial mismanagement, though a date for the hearing has now been pushed back until May.

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EPL

Bruno Fernandes disagrees with Cristiano Ronaldo’s assessment of Roberto Martinez

Published

20 hours ago

March 28, 2023

Sean Walsh

Bruno Fernandes has revealed he does not agree with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo regarding the impact of new Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez.

The former Everton and Belgium boss was named as the surprise successor to Fernando Santos following the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

While Martinez has been known to coach attacking and entertaining football, his teams are often characterised by their haphazard and sloppy defending – almost the inverse to how Portugal played under Santos.

Ronaldo, who scored four goals in two games for Portugal this month, was quick to tell reporters of the positive impact Martinez has had on the team.

“It’s a new chapter for everyone, for the players, the staff and the country. We feel good energy. It’s a breath of fresh air,” the Al Nassr forward said.

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But when speaking to Portuguese channel RTP3, Fernandes simmered Ronaldo’s excited judgement.

When asked if he agreed with Ronaldo’s comments, Fernandes replied: “No, it’s just a new coach with new ideas. There is no breath of fresh air at all. It’s just a transition period.

“The atmosphere in the national team has always been good. There’s never been anything that wasn’t fresh of the air, so I think it’s just new dynamics, new coach, and you have to assimilate his ideas.”

Portugal have made a perfect start under Martinez’s management, securing a 4-0 win at home to Liechtenstein before beating Luxembourg 6-0 on the road.

Fernandes and Ronaldo’s recent careers have been intertwined due to their prominence with the Portugal national team and their 15-month spell together at Manchester United.

Upon Fernandes’ arrival in England, the Old Trafford faithful devised a chant which referenced his arrival ‘from Sporting like Cristiano’.

The duo didn’t quite hit their best heights in tandem while at United, and Ronaldo’s bitter exit in November 2022 was followed by the two appearing to be on frosty terms ahead of the World Cup.

But Ronaldo dismissed this suggestion at the time, telling the press: “My relationship with him is excellent.”

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EPL

Premier League clubs keen to sign wantaway Lorient star Enzo Le Fee

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2023

Tom Gott & Graeme Bailey

A number of Premier League sides are monitoring Lorient midfielder Enzo Le Fee after he confirmed his desire to leave the club this summer, 90min understands.

The 23-year-old has dazzled this season for Lorient, impressing both defensively and in attack and chipping in with four goals and five assists in 28 games.

90min reported in November that Leicester had begun tracking Le Fee as they prepared for the departure of Youri Tielemans, and sources have confirmed to 90min that the Foxes are by no means alone with their interest.

Both Fulham and Wolves have voiced an interest in Le Fee while one source also named Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham as admirers of the France Under-21 international.

The interest in Le Fee has follows the midfielder’s public admission that he does not plan to extend his contract, which expires in the summer of 2024, and his desire to secure a move away from Lorient this summer.

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“It’s time for me to leave,” Le Fee told Le Telegramme on Monday.

“I have a special bond with the club and that’s why I wanted to extend my contract at the start of the season. I waited for a contract offer from Lorient until December. It never came. Now, I don’t expect anything from the club and I won’t extend my contract.

“I hope to leave this summer so that my transfer will bring money to Lorient.”

Before that interview, Le Fee told L’Equipe of his desire to finish the season strongly to boost his chances of a summer transfer.

“I’ve never wanted to leave Lorient through the back door,” he stressed. “We’re having a very good season and I know these last few months are very important if I want to join a big club.

“I am someone who likes challenges, risks too. I want to show that I am capable of playing at the highest level.”

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