All posts by h716a5.icu

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Hold the press, Shkodran Mustafi could still leave Arsenal this summer.

The Germany international has been the subject of heavy criticism since arriving from Valencia in a big-money deal, and was the target of boos from Arsenal fans on the club’s pre-season tour last month.

The 27-year-old’s high-profile mistakes have certainly not endeared him to the Emirates faithful, and it appears Unai Emery has similarly been left unconvinced.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Arsenal boss admitted he had spoken to Mustafi on a few occasions this summer to outline how he has the possibility to leave the club, with many foreign transfer windows still open until the end of August or beginning of September.

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After hearing Emery’s update on Mustafi’s future, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter.

Many supporters of the north London side hailed the club’s new ruthless approach when it came to under-performing players and pointed back to how things were different under Arsene Wenger.

Indeed, some fans hailed Emery for “saving” the club and insisted they were “moving in the right direction” under the Spaniard.

Check out some of the reaction of Arsenal fans below:

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Loads of Liverpool fans on Twitter have unexpectedly called for the club to appoint Jose Mourinho as Jurgen Klopp’s successor following comments this week from the German in his home country which suggest he could leave the role in 2022.

That is the date when the 52-year-old’s contract with the Merseyside outfit is due to expire, and it would also take him up to seven years – the same time he managed at previous clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.

In quotes from Bild, as translated by The Mirror, when asked what is next in his career he said: “I hope to continue like this, but in two, three years I don’t know what may happen.

“Maybe I’ll retire!

“It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, however, but if that were the case, you wouldn’t be surprised.”

Those words have obviously got Liverpool supporters talking about who could potentially replace Klopp when he does eventually go, and Mourinho was a surprise name on quite a few lips.

Given he has managed Chelsea and arch-rivals Manchester United – and been sacked by both in the previous four years following some poor performances and results – it is a surprise that the Anfield faithful would want him, with one even describing him as a “perfect fit”.

Of course in addition his style of play is seen as more defensive and conservative than Klopp’s sometimes gung-ho approach, although you can’t argue with his haul over honours over the years – including three Champions League trophies, one Europa League success and three Premier League titles.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Having impressed on his Aston Villa debut against Everton last week, Frederic Guilbert was handed another chance to shine against Crewe Alexandra in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

And the 24-year-old bagged his first goal for the club in the latter stages – scoring Villa’s fifth of what proved to be a 6-1 win in the second-round match.

Guilbert did not actually start the League Cup clash but was introduced just before the interval as a replacement for Matt Targett.

And according to WhoScored, as well as scoring, the full-back had a pass success rate of 100%, which is extremely impressive for a player in his area of the field.

Overall, it was a very positive night for Villa boss Dean Smith, who was able to hand a number of fringe players some first-team minutes.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The club’s supporters absolutely loved what they saw from Guilbert – and a selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

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Spicy, eh? It’s just a shame the hardman facade was ruined by a friendly message from Arsenal’s Lacazette in the comments section – you know, the guy who helped fell your side…

Call us old fashioned but isn’t it a bit weird when players from sworn rivals communicate publicly straight after a game? At least pretend like you want to two-foot each other into oblivion.

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[ad_pod ]Early last month, as a new season honed into view with pristine hope and fresh impetus, Manchester United’s Brazilian midfielder Fred publicly declared that, after a year of struggle adapting to the Premier League, people could now expect an improvement in his performances.It was a commendable, resolute statement. “Now I’m more used to the league and I’ve been working hard.”I’ve talked to the manager and backroom staff, and this season is going to be better than last season. I’m sure it is going to be very successful.â€Unfortunately, in order to atone for a significantly disappointing introduction to English football – that saw him selected for only 1533 minutes and be so consistently ineffective that he ended up a peripheral, almost forgotten figure come May – it is necessary for the 26-year-old to be granted game-time and so far that has not been the case.In United’s four games to date Fred has not even made the 16-man squad.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Determining why this is leads us only to speculation. Perhaps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not rate the player capped 11 times by the Selecao? Such a notion, however, is negated by the fact that Solskjaer recently decided to retain his under-whelming player and this despite Fiorentina showing a serious interest ahead of the European transfer window deadline.

Maybe, then, he has failed to impress in training? On this only those inside the Man United bubble know for certain and, besides, some doubt is cast here because the Reds have hardly been fluid, creative and wonderful in central areas on match-day; their opening rout of Chelsea an exception.

Since then the dramatic dip in form of Jesse Lingard has been widely highlighted, while United failed to break down ten-man Southampton in their last Premier League outing. They could have done with a player of Fred’s energy and astute passing that afternoon.

Especially as he is now ‘more used to the league’. Incidentally, on a related matter, Fred recently hit the headlines when he liked an Instagram post insisting he was better than the out-of-sorts Lingard.

Will Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last the season? Fans wonder if he’ll even make it to Christmas in the video below…

Given United’s midfield toils therefore it is a stretch to imagine Pogba, McTominay, and Matic pulling up trees at Carrington while Fred languishes in their shade and thus we are back to square one. Perhaps after all Solskjaer’s calm explanation that his languishing outcast is simply being reserved for when fixtures come thick and fast rings true.

Yet if the present and future of Fred is unclear what we do know is that to this juncture he has been a colossal anti-climax. Indeed, the extent to which he has disappointed has flown under the radar somewhat, largely due to the more high-profile flopping of certain team-mates, as the tweet below nails.

It was all so different when he joined in the summer of 2018, with bonuses that could still take his fee ultimately past the £60m mark.

Then he was a marauding, exciting talent capable of bossing centre-circles through clever movement and the shrewd retention of possession. Then he interested Manchester City after impressing in both Champions League games against them for Shakhtar Donetsk.

For a while Pep Guardiola even reportedly considered him the ideal eventual replacement for his ageing midfield dynamo Fernandinho.

United could sure use that Fred right now. Instead they only have a flop whose name is hardly met with resounding enthusiasm on the rare occasions when it’s read out prior to matches. Will this change?

The rest of this campaign will determine that, one way or another.

Leicester City tried and failed in an attempt to sign a Harry Maguire replacement, according to reports.

Championat claim (via Sport Witness) that the Foxes attempted to go after Solomon Kvirkvelia from Lokomotiv Moscow; however, it is claimed by his agent that the player rejected the club.

Mamuka Dzguheli, Kvirkvelia’s agent said: “Leicester offered €10m for Solomon but he rejected it because he wants to become a champion with Lokomotiv. He said he wanted to stay at the club for the time being.

“He feels he has a debt to pay to the club and the staff. He believes he will still get great offers after the end of this season.”

The Georgia international joined from Rubin Kazan in 2017.

With Leicester selling Harry Maguire for a world-record transfer fee for a defender (£80m), there was much anticipation to see whether they would reinvest that money into finding a new centre-back. Despite showing interest in Nathan Ake and James Tarkowski (Leicester Mercury), it was claimed that they were priced out for either defender, with Bournemouth and Burnley asking for £75m and £40m respectively.

Eventually, the club opted to stick with Caglar Soyuncu, who they bought the previous summer from Freiburg. And so far, it has paid off. The Turkish defender has played every game this season and averages a healthy 7.28/10 rating on WhoScored – the fourth highest of the entire squad. Additionally, he has averaged 4.5 aerial duels won per game, the highest in the squad.

Kvirkvelia is clearly a top player in the Russian Premier League – he played every league game last season and had an average rating of 6.99. However, at 27 years of age Leicester already have younger options who are similarly inexperienced in the Premier League.

With Leicester having four decent centre-backs in their ranks, failing to sign Kvirkvelia is not the end of the world, as Soyuncu has really stepped up to the plate.

Leicester also have Filip Benkovic at their disposal. In the Croatian and Soyuncu, they have two young centre-backs for the future; if they signed Kvirkvelia – who is hardly young at 27 – that may have prevented them from developing.

Leicester fans, how do you feel about missing out on Kvirkvelia? Comment below!

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A number of Aston Villa fans have insisted that Frederic Guilbert was the club’s best player in Monday’s Premier League clash with West Ham United.

On Tuesday afternoon, Villa asked the club’s supporters to pick their Man of the Match from the league affair – offering Bjorn Engels, Tyrone Mings, Marvelous Nakamba and John McGinn as the four options.

However, a number of the fans have claimed that Guilbert was the team’s star man in the goalless draw with Manuel Pellegrini’s side – and they have a point.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, according to WhoScored, the 24-year-old made four tackles, won three aerial duels and had one shot during an all-action performance.

Guilbert was actually replaced in the latter stages with Keinan Davis thrown on in an attempt to win the match.

However, the Villa supporters still insisted that the 24-year-old should have picked up the team’s MOTM award. A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Arsenal face Aston Villa on Sunday in their sixth Premier League game of the season as they look to recover from three games without a win. One battle in particular against the Villans will need to be won if they wish to pick up a positive result.

On the chalkboard

The Gunners have made a mixed start to this campaign, winning just two of their first five games but losing only once.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, have seen little return on the £133.7m they spent during the past transfer window. They have been defeated in three of their first five games back in the top flight, with just one victory coming their way so far.

With the pressure beginning to rise on Dean Smith, the Midlands side will be desperate for a good result. While there will be key duels all over the pitch, one battle, in particular, could decide the game.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Midfield battle

Last season, there were just two Villa players who registered a higher average WhoScored rating than John McGinn’s 7.28, and one of them is no longer with the club. This term, he leads the way among his team-mates with an average of 7.41. His importance to the side cannot be understated.

In the middle of the park, he will be facing Matteo Guendouzi, whose early form this season recently earned him a call-up to the France U21 squad.

It is likely to be a bruising contest, with the two not accustomed to shirking a tackle. The 17-time Scotland international has averaged a huge four per game this term and, although Guendouzi has made two less per match, it is not a number to be sniffed at.

The Arsenal man needs to be wary of McGinn’s attacking influence, too.

He has scored one goal and made another so far this term, meaning he has contributed directly to 50% of his team’s four strikes. His 1.4 key passes and 1.4 dribbles per game indicate that he will be looking to make his presence known going forward.

Guendouzi has been beaten by those running at him two times per game this campaign, which is amongst the highest 20 in the league. McGinn will need to make sure that is a problem once again at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

But if the former Hibernian man can be kept under wraps, it will dramatically increase the possibility of Emery and co getting the result they need. Guendouzi seems like the man for the job, but it will no doubt be a tricky one.

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In today’s Everton roundup, we take a look at the news doing the rounds regarding the Toffees. Marco Silva says he will not hide after losing at home to Sheffield United, Djibril Sidibe is ‘pushing’ Seamus Coleman out of the side, and Jamie Redknapp believes Everton are missing Idrissa Gueye too much this season.

Redknapp believes Gueye is a huge miss

Report: Pundit Jamie Redknapp believes the club are missing defensive midfielder Gueye after letting him go to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. Redknapp said in his Daily Mail column: “No player in the Premier League made more tackles than Idrissa Gueye’s 142 last season.

“I look at Everton now and can see how much they are missing the defensive midfielder who joined PSG for £30m in the summer. The fans at Goodison Park are passionate and want to see good performances. Saturday was not that.”

Verdict: Gueye was one of the stand out performers for Everton last season, as the club finished eighth. As Redknapp stated, Gueye made 142 tackles in the season and considering the Toffees have conceded nine goals already, perhaps he is being missed as heavily as Redknapp believes.

Now at PSG, the Senegal international has continued this wonderful defensive form, completing 3.5 tackles per game and two interceptions per match for the French champions (as per WhoScored).

Although his replacement, Fabian Delph, has averaged an impressive four tackles per game, Andre Gomes has just 1.5 and Gylfi Sigurdsson just 0.8, which perhaps vindicates Redknapp’s view.

‘I will not hide’, says Silva

Report: Just days after the dreadful performance against the Blades, Marco Silva told the press: “It is not the moment for anyone to hide.

“I said it inside the dressing room, too (after the Sheffield United defeat), there is nowhere we can hide, we have to show stronger character, personality.

“It is a moment for us to go and play football and to take responsibility as well… I am always here for our fans, I will not hide, no one can hide.”

Verdict: Silva has become desperate to change things around once again, as he has now conceded nine goals and scored just five in the Premier League. To add insult to injury, the Toffees have now let in at least two goals in five of their last six games, which even includes conceding two to League One side Lincoln City.

Last season, Everton ended up finishing eighth, but even after acquiring Moise Kean, Alex Iwobi and Fabian Delph during the summer, there is still a feeling that there is an impending doom over Silva’s job. Currently, it seems the Portuguese manager is just a couple of bad results away from departing Goodison Park, and with Manchester City up next, things are not looking good for the Everton boss.

Sidibe is ‘pushing’ Coleman out of the side, says SilvaReport: When Silva was asked about his right-back options, the Toffees manager stated Coleman “knows” that he faces competition for his spot from Sidibe, as reported by the Liverpool Echo. Silva said: “He is pushing, he is pushing,” when asked if the 27-year-old is set to come in.The boss added: “You are talking about an experienced player. He didn’t do the pre-season with us but he is the type of player who you don’t have doubts about his quality. He’s been champion of the world, he has played at a high, high level in the Champions League, all these things.”If you can see him playing in some games in pre-season then it is a little bit different but he is pushing, he is pushing. He always come here to work hard and get his space in the team. Seamus knows he has a player there trying to get his place in the starting XI, trying to get his place, so it is good for us.”Verdict: Sidibe joined Everton on loan from AS Monaco this season, with the club short on right-back options. The Frenchman did play in the League Cup against Lincoln, although he has yet to make an appearance in the Premier League.Coleman, on the other hand, has played each of the six games so far, averaging an admirable 6.70 performance rating, making it tough for Sidibe to come in over the Irishman.Indeed the Frenchman, who is known for his speed and versatility, has a World Cup medal after playing for France during the summer of last year. He has also totted up a decent goal tally for himself, netting six times in 114 games for Monaco.Right now it is hard for Coleman to be taken out the team, as he has started the season relatively well. However, with Sidibe on Merseyside until the end of the season, it will be worth giving him some minutes during domestic cup ties.

It was a busy summer for Arsenal in the transfer window.

No less than six new faces joined the Gunners. But, whilst five of them are still with the club and will play this season in England, one will spend it away from the Emirates Stadium.

William Saliba, an 18-year-old French centre-back, signed for the north London outfit in July for a fee in the region of £27m, but he was sent straight back out on loan to former club Saint-Etienne.

Unfortunately, he has been unable to play for the Ligue 1 outfit so far this season due to injury. Until Sunday, that is, when he made his first appearance of the campaign against Nimes, albeit from the bench. Although he can hardly take too much credit, playing just one minute, it did coincide with Les Verts’ first clean sheet of the season.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Arsenal supporters have been keeping an eye on the defender, and they were quick to react to his taste of action of the term. They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.