Is Arsenal’s defeat against Fulham the beginning of a repeat of last season’s scenario and a waste of the opportunity to win?
The defeat that Arsenal suffered against Fulham, 1-2, on Sunday, brought back doubts about the ability of Spanish coach Mikel Arteta’s team to achieve the dream of winning the English Premier League, which has been absent since 2004.
A win would have put Arsenal in first place, but a defeat pushed them back to fourth place, and with the winter transfer window open; Arteta must strive to strengthen his team if he wants to remain in the title race.
Arteta admitted that his team gave the worst performance of the season and that he could not repeat the humble performance he showed against Fulham if he wanted to compete for the league title, after Arsenal wasted an early lead to lose for the second match in a row and end the year in fourth place after being in first place.
Arteta said: “It is a painful and sad day; This is the summary from my point of view… We simply were not at the required level. We couldn’t control the live play. “It was easy (for Fulham) to win the first and second balls and have a chance to run, and we conceded two goals that way.”
He added: “What happened in this meeting cannot be repeated.” If you do that; You will never have the opportunity to reach the goal you want.”
Arsenal achieved 40 points after 20 matches, only two points behind leaders Liverpool, before the latter faced Newcastle United.
Arteta said: “It would have been a good way to end the year at the top of the league, but these are marginal matters.” We want to win matches. We have a chance to be the best in the league with these players. So; They are very good, and we will continue to work with them.”
Arsenal’s defeat by Fulham raised doubts about the team’s ability to compete for the title (Reuters)
Declan Rice said; Arsenal’s star midfielder said his team needs to build a stronger mentality in matches so that its chances of competing for the title are not affected. While the victories of defending champion Manchester City and the surprise of the season Aston Villa over the past two days may put pressure on Arsenal, Rice said that his team does not panic, and explained: “When you lead 1-0, you need to have more control, and to be more confident.” You have more self-confidence. You must have more desire, and the mentality must be better. “We need to ask more of each other.”
He added: “In this league there is no room for chaos. There are a lot of good teams around you, and we want to get to the top of the table. “It is a difficult thing to deal with now.”
Aston Villa raised its score to 42 points, equal to Liverpool, the leader on goal difference, while City ranks third with 40 points and has a game in hand.
Rice said: “There is a lot of media saying: Arsenal will win the league this year, Arsenal is better this year… and so on. But we don’t interfere with that; We’re just trying to take each game as best we can and one game at a time…we’ve done a really good job. There has been a bump in the road, but there is no room for worry. There are still a lot of games left, and we have to stay positive. “This is not the time to be negative.”
Arsenal is still in the fight for the title; But he needs to recover quickly, and he is facing a period to repair the gaps. The league competitions will resume against Crystal Palace on January 20.
At a moment when Arsenal was declining, Manchester City returned strongly in a scenario similar to last season. Perhaps the most important moment in City’s victory over Sheffield on Saturday was related to a player who did not participate in the match. It will be a New Year’s gift.
When Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne started warming up; City fans applauded loudly.
City was not at full strength during the first half of the season, and the team suffered from a series of negative results during the period leading up to Christmas, achieving only one win in 6 league matches, but signs of return began to appear, and City was no longer only two points behind the leaders, And in an ideal position to compete to win the title for the fourth time in a row.
De Bruyne’s return to City’s ranks will make the team stronger in the second half of the season (Reuters)
With the return of De Bruyne; The king of assists, and with Norwegian top scorer Erling Haaland soon to return and recover from his physical problem, it will be difficult to stop Manchester City in the new year.
One of the most prominent features of the twentieth round before entering the new year was the return of Tottenham. Who started the season leading for 10 stages; To the march of victories. Many praised Tottenham’s performance, led by its Australian coach, Ange Postecoglou, but they beat Bournemouth even though they were not the better team.
Bournemouth’s players may be wondering why they left Tottenham Stadium with nostalgia after losing 3-1 despite their dominance in the match, a situation that Postecoglou’s team has been exposed to repeatedly this season.
Tottenham suffered from the absence of a number of its key players due to injury, and there appeared to be some disharmony between the elements of the starting lineup against Bournemouth, but the group that played the match did its best to achieve points and reap the benefits of the decisive final touches. Defender Ben Davies said: “Overcoming difficulties is always a sign of a good team. It’s not about the football level; But it was through the fighting and the spirit that we showed.”
till then; Argentine Mauricio Pochettino appeared; The Chelsea coach, who said last month that his players were “weak” after the humiliating 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United, is more optimistic after two consecutive victories in the English Premier League, the last of which was a 3-2 victory over Luton Town on Saturday.
“There were a lot of good matches,” Pochettino said. Players advance in level. we are happy. It’s only a matter of time; “It’s not a magic game that you’re going to touch and start building a team.”
Chelsea is still in the middle of the table, but playing two upcoming cup matches, at home against Preston North End in the third round of the FA Cup, and the first leg in the League Cup semi-final away from home to Middlesbrough, constitutes an opportunity to give a start to his wobbly first season. Under Pochettino’s leadership, there is a greater sense of progress.
in contrast; Luton Town manager Rob Edwards held his head high despite the loss after seeing his team; The newcomer to the English Premier League, he is close to making a dramatic comeback against Chelsea, where he scored two goals before the end and almost snatched a draw against the big-spending team.
Edwards said that his players had improved since the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last August, and he was confident about the rest of the season. Despite the team’s current position within the Premier League relegation zone.
He added: “I think this just shows the maturity of the players and the belief in their abilities, and I hope this allows everyone to believe that we are moving in the right direction with our work… I am really looking forward to the second half of the season.”
till then; Manchester United’s level continued to fluctuate this season, after the team lost to its host Nottingham Forest on Saturday 1-2 in its ninth league match out of 20 it played, leaving it in seventh place in the standings, 11 points behind the leaders.
United achieved bad numbers; It lost 9 times in the first 20 league matches during one season for the first time since 1989-1990, which is the same number of defeats it suffered throughout last season in the first season of Dutch coach Eric Ten Hag, who said: “We performed higher than expected last year.” This year, we are performing less than expected so far… We have to raise the level and progress. “I must lead this process.”
United, which exited the Champions League and League Cup, collected 31 points, and is ranked third in the list of lowest-scoring teams behind Burnley and Sheffield United. Regarding that, Ten Hag said: “The ranking does not lie, but you saw that we competed against Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa, and are capable of winning.” Overcoming the strongest teams when we are complete. “I still believe in our ability to improve our position.”
2024-01-01 16:48:00
#SaintGermain #includes #Brazilian #defender #Peraldo #years
