As the climax to a thrilling season fast approaches there is still much to fight for at the top and bottom of the Premier League. This week saw an exciting draw between Leicester and Everton with honours even at the end of the night. Leicester have pulled slightly away from the bottom leaving Everton in a perilous position and losing their long standing top flight status. Can Big Sam Allardyce save Everton from the drop? He has done it before, several times. With potential earnings of £3million if he can preserve the Toffees Premier status he faces a daunting challenge. Walking into a fractured dressing room, dealing with a club hierarchy which has fallen completely apart this fiery coach faces games against Manchester City, Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham. Can he do it? I doubt it this time but “Fireman Sam” will be up for the fight. Who wins the title is definitely between Manchester City and Arsenal whereas at the bottom I think realistically the relegation battle is between Leicester, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Southampton. Leeds will no doubt have a tough time getting past Man City this weekend with Leicester facing Fulham and not many clubs come away with points from Craven Cottage. Probably the biggest fight is between Nottm Forest and Southampton on Monday. Defeat for either club could mean the end of Premier League survival. It is, as the saying goes, all to play for.
Arteta will have a busy summer
Mikel Arteta put forward a five-phase presentation when he was interviewed for the job as Arsenal coach. He has never explained what those phases are but says the squad is now in phase three after three years. Challenging for top spot this season presumably was phase three and after leading the title race for so long Arsenal will be able to attract Europe’s and South America’s top players to the Emirates Stadium this summer. Champions League football is a formidable carrot.
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Manchester City are determined not to drop any points in their remaining games which will automatically make them champions. It is, as they say, City’s title to lose. Arteta has never had the depth in his squad that Pep Guardiola enjoys and that is why he will be a busy manager this summer. Arsenal sources have told me they are confident of signing Declan Rice from West Ham and Arteta has been promised the £80million to make that happen. They also plan to bring in two more defenders, one midfielder and a forward. Much depends on who they can sell. Arteta knows he needs more muscle in midfield and defence and the way in which Haaland and Rodri ran over the Arsenal players proved that point. Thomas Partey is their strongman but he has been off form lately. If Everton are relegated Amadou Onana would be a good addition with his energy levels. Likewise if Southampton go down, which is almost certain, Belgian 19 year-old Romeo Lavia could be sold. Arteta has spent around £300 million since joining in 2019 and the club owes about £180 for past transfers. Kieran Tierney and Emile Smith Rowe look particularly vulnerable to being sold and loan players Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Folarin Balogun, Nicolas Pepe, Ainsley Naitland-Niles and Cedric Soares will be on offer. Maitland-Niles has already announced his intention to move on this summer after a loan period with Southampton.
Both William Saliba and Bukayo Saka have yet to agree new contracts and Arteta dare not let them leave such is their importance to his plans. Saka has been offered £200k a week which trebles his current deal but other clubs would be willing to pay him more.
Pochettino to change the Blue’s squad
Mauricio Pochettino’s move to take over at Chelsea was one of football’s worst kept secrets but when he does finally arrive his work will be cut out to end the Blue’s dismal run of performances. The loss to Arsenal on Tuesday displayed everything that is wrong with Chelsea when they allowed Martin Odegaard to score two almost identical goals…the defence was in disarray, players out of position and guilty of ball watching. Pochettino plans to reorganise the squad. Not one Chelsea forward has hit double figures this season and finding a new striker is his first priority. A central defender is his second focus and hiring another goalkeeper is essential in his planning. Chelsea and RB Leipzig agreed £50million for Christopher Nkunku before last Christmas and Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl said “The signs are very, very clear that he’s moving to Chelsea.” Despite an injury prone season he has managed 18 goals in 30 matches for the Bundesliga side. Another indication that the striker is on his way to London came from Leipzig boss Marco Rose who said after Nkunku scored again at the weekend, “That winning goal should give him a boost for the next few weeks – for his last few weeks with us.” I discovered that one of the Chelsea directors talked with Jose Mourinho to see if he was interested in coming back to the club for a third time. He thought about it and decided that staying with Roma was his best option although he is aware that both Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr club are watching him and could make an approach for his services.
Levy dare not sell Harry Kane
It is almost unthinkable but Harry Kane might have to resort to tough tactics if he wants to join Marcus Rashford at Manchester United. United fans were singing “Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June” when the two teams faced each other. Some are even suggesting that Harry might have to threaten strike action to get away from Daniel Levy, the tough talking, hard negotiating Spurs boss who the fans are blaming for the club’s miserable performances this season. At one point during the game against Newcastle it seemed that the whole mass of Spurs fans were chanting, “Daniel Levy get out of our club.” If Levy were to sell Kane he would be hated even more and that is Harry’s problem. How do you get away from a club who keep you in chains despite common knowledge that this brilliant striker deserves better than the current disaster that is Tottenham? Most of the staff at the club believe Harry has five good years left at the very top of his profession and a £100 million price tag would be a bargain. Levy cannot allow Harry to enter the final year of his contract with the possibility of a rival London club signing him for nothing if it expires and they have already offered him around £20 million a year for a fresh deal.
Isak is the new Thierry Henry
Who would disagree that Alexander Isak is the star discovery of the season for Newcastle? He made a run from midfield to connect with Joe Willock’s wonder pass and left Tottenham’s Ben Godfrey for dead as he went on to score. Coach Eddie Howe immediately drew comparisons with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Howe said, “I can see comparisons with Henry. Everyone is different, there are no two players the same, but I think he has some of the characteristics that Thierry possessed. He’s certainly got the speed and is similar in build and frame. His footwork for the assists against Everton was truly remarkable. The amount of turns, twists and stepovers he did displayed an incredible piece of skill. He has incredible ball manipulation.” Isaak wears the No14 shirt as a tribute to his idol Henry.