Pep Guardiola didn’t play his strongest team last weekend and left Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden on the bench. As a result several issues were highlighted and Guardiola plans to act quickly. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was sitting in the stands making notes and he could see quite clearly how much City need Harry Kane. You could almost imagine him adding extra £’s to Harry’s value. City were toothless upfront and need a new striker. At the back Benjamin Mendy was cruelly exposed and he is clearly lacking the qualities he possessed when first arriving from Monaco four years ago. He has suffered several debilitating injuries that have seriously affected his performances. Time and again he was left standing as Tottenham went past him. Last season he played at left wing-back and therefore he had another defender behind him. Last weekend Lucas Moura ran rings around Mendy and when Son scored his goal it was because he was unchallenged after running down the wing. Both Aleks Zinchenko and Joao Cencelo have both performed with distinction at left back and will provide the long term answer. Mendy will almost certainly be moved out during this season.
Verane travelling to Southampton
Raphael Verane trained with Man United for the first time on Monday. Ole Gunner Solskjaer will include him in the squad travelling to Southampton on Sunday. The £43million signing also performed gym work at United’s Carrington training complex on Sunday. Verane will probably be in the squad in place of Brandon Williams who could go out on loan during the transfer period. My tip is that Brandon will go to Norwich to join Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour. Both Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard should be available. Lingard has impressed Solskjaer with his work in training and following a very successful loan period at West Ham however his future is still uncertain. The manager said, “Jesse has reinvented himself and he has come back as the man that we know.” Cavani returned after being given extra time off for personal family reasons. Andreas Pereira has possibly played his last game for United and is strongly linked with a move to Brazilian club Flamengo but his £20 million price tag is a problem.
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Fans already frustrated with Arteta
With things looking grim at Arsenal, it seems that big players are no longer are attracted to the Gunners especially as they cannot offer Champions League football. After finishing eighth for two consecutive seasons it also appears the club still won’t even look at anybody deemed to be expensive. I can tell you for certain the fans are already getting restless and Mikel Arteta is living on borrowed time. He has to deliver results. Many fans have been calling for Antonio Conte to replace Arteta. The former Chelsea manager who won the Serie A title last year with Inter Milan is currently available after leaving the Italian club. Conte has refused to join Arsenal in the past because he did not feel the club was committed to success and refused to bring in expensive signings. The game against Chelsea on Sunday will again provide a stiff test for Arteta’s tactics and test his current squad.
Tuchel the master tactician
Chelsea showed last weekend why many people, including myself, think they can win the Premier League title this year. Manager Thomas Tuchel is showing just how good he is at tactical planning. Bringing in Trevor Chalobah after two seasons of carefully preparing him for the first team showed what a good job Chelsea have done. As a contrast, Pep Guardiola however is not showing his renown tactical mastery. Manchester City were predictable against Tottenham using their usual false number nine, but Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Ferran Torres and Kevin de Bruyne all tried it and failed to make an impression. Opponents know what to expect from Pep’s teams these days. Against City, Nino instructed his team to sit back and strike on the break from the back. Pep’s team panicked and started hitting long balls from 30 metres out and that failed because it is not what City are good at. I can also reveal that another young Chelsea player is being groomed to break into the senior ranks. Faustino Anjorin has come up through the Academy and watching him train at Cobham it is clear to see that this boy, an attacking midfielder, has talent in abundance. He is definitely one to watch.
President of Rwanda furious with Arsenal loss
It wasn’t a pretty sight for Arsenal fans to witness their comeback game being very firmly ground into the dust losing 2-0 to Brentford. Big fan President Kagame of Rwanda vented his anger by taking to Twitter where he said, “We must NOT excuse or accept mediocrity. A team has to be built with purpose to win win win. I am sure we all know on whose shoulders the heaviest burden rests. Arsenal fans don’t deserve to get used to this…NO!”
Rwanda’s tourist board has a £30 million sponsorship deal with the Gunners which is why you see “Visit Rwanda” on the players’ shirts.
Coutinho for sale on the cheap
Barcelona’s financial problems are so great that Philippe Coutinho’s agent has offered him to three Premier League clubs. Kia Joorabchian has been in touch with West Ham, Leicester and Wolves to test their interest. The deal is a loan period for this season with his new club paying 60% of his £7.7 million wages. Barca would pay the other 40%. Barca have drastically cut the wages of Gerard Pique and are negotiating with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Spurs fans turn on Kane
Who would have thought that the Tottenham supporters would turn on their own Harry Kane. They are tired of him talking only of leaving. Despite wanting him to stay with the club, last weekend the crowd were singing “Are you watching Harry Kane” as they reminded their prolific striker what he is missing. What did impress Kane, who was in the ground, was the motivation the Spur’s players displayed as they fought with relentless passion for their new manager Nino Espirito Santos. From Pep Guardiola’s point of view, he saw how urgently he needs to sign Kane to give him that potent threat which Sergio Aguero has taken with him.
Three unwanted players to leave Chelsea
The transfer period can work well for some players and be brutally cruel to others. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has told three stars their days at the club are over and they should find other employment. Having paid £97.5million for Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea are now organising a clearout. They are still chasing Seville’s centre back defender Jules Kounde but the 22-year-old will not come cheap and has a £68million clause in his contract. Seville are tough negotiators and expect that amount of money to be put on the table before they start talking. The three unwanted players are 31-year-old Danny Drinkwater who has endured a miserable time since joining from Leicester in 2017. Tiemoue Bakayoko and Ross Barclay are the other two who are surplus to requirements. Barclay has a lifeline because West Ham failed to sign Jesse Lingard and Ross is a good attacking midfield option. The Hammers are still chasing Lingard and they have registered interest in Barclay. The update on defender Kurt Zouma leaving the Blues is that West Ham have told me they are refusing to meet his £120k a week wage demand and are looking elsewhere. Chelsea are willing to let him go for £20million. Tammy Abraham has signed for Roma for £34million and has already taken a medical in Italy and will be leaving this weekend.
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