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BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson has ripped into Arsenal in his latest set of Premier League predictions, and while he has tipped the Gunners to see off Newcastle United at the Emirates on Monday night he has been far less impressed with their form on the road.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the former Liverpool player believes that Unai Emery’s men will take all three points against the visiting Magpies, but he took the opportunity to also speak about the north London outfit’s sketchy away performances and results.

While only Manchester City and Liverpool – the latter only by goal difference – have better records on their travels in the top flight this term, Arsenal find themselves as the 10th-best team when they aren’t on their own patch.

Their displays away clearly haven’t gone unnoticed by Lawrenson, who told the BBC: “It is a worry the Gunners are so different on their travels, though. What that basically says is that everything is good at home when they have loads of the ball and that is the strength of the team when they are going forward – like they should be on Monday.

“But, when they are away, and under the cosh more, they can’t seem to cope with that. They don’t seem to be able to pick up points on a regular basis, and their results in Europe have been disappointing too.

“Unai Emery has made plenty of changes after replacing Arsene Wenger as manager but in that regard, it is still ‘same old, same old Arsenal’.”

Have Premier League grounds become “lifeless tourist attractions”? Decide for yourself by watching the video below…

Emery won’t want to see this

The Spaniard has clearly made plenty of changes since replacing the experienced Frenchman at the helm last summer, but one thing that hasn’t drastically improved is club’s away form.

The 47-year-old will be well aware of that and will know that a big improvement is needed next term, but he still won’t be happy to see his reign compared to Wenger’s in a negative sense nearly a year after the managerial change was made.

Whatever the case, Arsenal need to find a winning formula on the road if they want success in the Premier League and in Europe in the future.

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Newcastle United’s youngsters suffered their worst defeat of the season with a thrashing at home to Manchester United, the Red Devils running out 5-0 winners.

United raced into a three-goal-lead before halftime thanks to a brace from Nishan Burkart and a goal for Taith Chong. Mason Greenwood then scored a brace of his own in the second-half including a 25-yard-free-kick which nestled in the top corner.

The Magpies’ chances of automatic promotion have now been dealt a significant blow – they now have just one game left. Southampton though have two games left and are two points ahead of Newcastle, meaning that they are the favourites for going up automatically.

The Toon, however, are guaranteed a playoff spot and Ben Dawson’s side deserve great credit for a season which has been disrupted by Peter Beardsley’s time as Under 23s manager coming to an end because of bullying.

The new manager has seen players such as Callum Roberts, Ellias Sorensen, Owen Bailey and Mo Sangare come to prominence for the Magpies’ second string.

Sean Longstaff was also part of the Under 23s but made the step-up to the first team and made a real impact on Newcastle’s survival bid, before having his season cruelly ended by injury.

This result therefore was just a blip in the season and Newcastle certainly have some talented young players who all may have a future in the first team.

Fans though have had a mixed reaction to the result with some believing the academy needs a complete overhaul.

وجه أسطورة منتخب فرنسا ونادي باريس سان جيرمان، يوري دجوركاييف، نصيحة لمواطنه الشاب، كيليان مبابي، قبل التفكير في الرحيل عن ملعب “حديقة الأمراء” خلال العامين المقبلين.

ويمتلك مبابي عقدًا مع باريس سان جيرمان حتى يونيو 2022، ويريد النادي الفرنسي تمديده لسنوات أخرى رغم عدم موافقة اللاعب الذي يحلم بالانتقال إلى ريال مدريد.

ويرى دجوركاييف أن مبابي ستأتي له فرصة الاحتراف الخارجي بعيدًا عن فرنسا بالمستقبل، لكن عليه تحقيق أولًا لقب دوري أبطال أوروبا مع باريس سان جيرمان.

اقرأ أيضًا.. إيتو: يجب على مبابي الانتقال إلى برشلونة وليس ريال مدريد

وتحدث بطل كأس العالم 1998 عن وجهة نظره والتي نقلتها صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الكتالونية، وقال: “اعتقد أن مبابي سيحظى بفرصة الاحتراف في المستقبل، لكنه الآن جزء من مشروع كبير في باريس سان جيرمان، فهو يدخل موسمه الرابع وما زال لاعبًا شابًا”.

وتابع: “لا أعتقد أنه سيبقى هنا لمدة 10 سنوات، مستقبله مرتبط بالفوز بالألقاب في جميع أنحاء العالم، وهو أمر لم يتمكن سوى قلة قليلة من اللاعبين في فرنسا من تحقيقه”.

وأضاف: “في الموسم الماضي، كانت أمامه فرصة للفوز بدوري أبطال أوروبا، لكن لسوء الحظ، لم يحدث ذلك ولكن أمامه هذا الموسم ليحقق البطولة”.

وأتم تصريحاته: “بالنسبة لي، السيناريو المثالي هو الفوز بهذا اللقب ثم توقع لفريق كبير ليبقى الجميع سعداء”.

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West Ham United fans on Twitter have been reacting to a pivotal injury update from under-pressure manager Manuel Pellegrini this week.

The veteran gaffer revealed in his pre-Leicester City press conference that Jack Wilshere is nearing a return to senior action and striker Marko Arnautovic is back after missing last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United through injury.

He also proclaimed that likely to be out for the London Stadium clash with the Foxes on Saturday afternoon are Manuel Lanzini, Samir Nasri and Javier Hernandez.

Some supporters were fuming after this news, not even happy about the comeback of the Hammers’ Austrian talisman and summer 2018 signing Wilshere.

The crucial club update came as the Irons prepare to face off with Brendan Rodgers’ men, hoping to bring an abrupt end to a sour European dream-smashing run of three losses in a row in the Premier League on the day they’ll unveil their new pitch-surrounding carpet in Stratford.

Below is a list of the best negative reactive Tweets from members of the Claret & Blue Army to the latest injury news from east London…

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

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According to The Chronicle, Isaac Hayden has confirmed that he intends to leave Newcastle in the summer due to ongoing family issues, and Magpies fans have been quick to react to local journalist Lee Ryder’s Twitter post on the subject.

The midfielder has forced his way into the side this season and played a key role in the Toon’s push towards safety from a central midfield position.

The 24-year-old has made 23 appearances and Rafa Benitez clearly now sees him as a key part of the starting XI. As per The Chronicle, the former Arsenal player expressed his desire to leave last summer, but due to the club failing to find a replacement he ended up staying.

He was then sent off in his first appearance away at Cardiff City, leading to strong criticism from Newcastle fans with some suggestions that he did not care about the club.

Injuries, however forced Benitez to bring him back into the first team and he has since put in some excellent performances leading to many of the St James’ Park faithful now thinking totally different of the former England Under-21 international.

أشادت جماهير آرسنال الإنجليزي بأداء مُحترفنا المصري محمد النني لاعب وسط الجانرز، بعد مشاركته في مباراة دوندالك في الدوري الأوروبي.

الجانرز انتصر على دوندالك بثلاثة نظيفة في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما مساء أمس الخميس على معلب “الإمارات”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات في اليوروباليج (طالع تقرير المباراة).

النني لعب كأساسي في مباراة الخميس، بعد غيابه عن مباراة الأحد الماضي، وخاض المواجهة بأكملها وحمل شارة قيادة الفريق لاول مرة خلال مسيرته مع ارسنال منذ الدقيقة 74 بعد خروج تشاكا. شاهد ملخص لمسات محمد النني في مباراة أرسنال ودوندالك

النني قدم أداءً جيدًا، وأشادت جماهير ارسنال بما قدمه في وسط الميدان اليوم. بطولات رصد ردود أفعال جماهير آرسنال والتي جاءت كالتالي:

البداية مع مشجع كتب: “لكي نكون مُنصفين، النني لاعب مُنظم ولا يستحق أي قلة احترام”.

وكتب آخر: “لقد حصلنا على أداء متوازن من قائدنا الجديد محمد النني”.

وغرد مُشجع: “النني كان صلبًا اليوم، هناك الكثير من الأسباب التي تجعلك متفائل بالمستقبل في ظل تواجد أرتيتا كمدرب”.

وكتب أحدهم: “النني كان رائعًا اليوم”.

وغرد آخر: “النني لعب مباراة جيدة اليوم، آمل أنّ يحل محل تشاكا، وأرتيتا سيرى النور!”.

ووجه آخر طلب لـ ميكيل أرتيتا مدرب الجانرز، مُغردًا: “النني هو لاعبنا الرئيسي في خط الوسط، يجب أنّ تبدأ بيه يا ميكيل”.

وكتب آخر: “النني بشكل أفضل في مباراة اليوم في هذا المركز”.

وغرد مُشجع: “نحن لا لم نُهزم في أي مباراة لعبها النني حتى الآن هذا الموسم”.

ونواصل مع التغريدات، حيث كتب أحدهم: “أداء النني كان ثابتًا، إنه يُثير إعجابي في كل مرة”.

وكتب آخر: “النني لم يلعب لنا أي مباراة سيئة ولو لمرة واحدة مُنذ مجيء أرتيتا”.

وكتب مُشجع: “النني قائد وأفضل لاعب مصري في الدوري الإنجليزي”.

ونختتم بمُشجع كتب: “النني مرة أخرى لعب بشكل جيد، يجب أنّ يلعب بدلًا من تشاكا”.

To be fair, kola played well and Elneny is a tidy player, he doesn’t deserve any disrespect. — XhakaLacaDingdong (@DingdongLaca) October 29, 2020

We’ve got ourselves a new Mr. Consistent in Mohamad Elneny #ARSDUN #UEL — JusticeForAFCBell (@Kirk_Hamid) October 29, 2020

Elneny was solid too. A lot of reasons to be hopeful for the near future. @m8arteta is a boss. #Arsenal — EB Christen (@ebchristen) October 29, 2020

Elneny was class, he should be in there and not Pepe. https://t.co/v9DDsymVlR — Efetobore👑 (@TherealuncleEfe) October 29, 2020

fajr play to mohamed elneny he had good game i hope he will replace xhaka and arteta will see the light. — qaliil (@qaliilAFC) October 29, 2020

Elneny is our key man in the midfield @Arsenal, he need to start @m8arteta — johanes (@JohanesOlum) October 29, 2020

If he hasn’t gone 360° he won’t release the ball. Elneny played better in that position. — The CEO (@akindadawale) October 29, 2020

I don’t think we’ve lost a match that Elneny started this season… 😁 — Kabedi (@KaBediHaiOne) October 29, 2020

Elneny has been consistent impresses me every time — El Capitán (@KaptainSaveAH03) October 29, 2020

Elneny hasn’t played bad for us once since arteta came in please tell me where this agenda is coming from — Davetheconeboy (@ConePeps) October 29, 2020

Elneny captain. The best Egyptian in the league. — kiri ke kanan (@MrRiffy) October 29, 2020

Elneny again playing well nothing crazy just doing his job. He starts over xhaka and even Nelson can start over Ceballos and play that 10 role I truly feel that arsenal have creative players that’ll slot in at ten — mark (@goodridgeAFC87) October 29, 2020

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Southampton’s stellar run of form continued with a 3-1 win over a lacklustre Wolves at the weekend, with goals from Nathan Redmond (2) and Shane Long enough to ensure that all three points remained at St Mary’s Stadium.

Long’s sudden return to form was hardly the biggest talking point of the day, though, with Redmond finally able to apply the lethal finishing touch(es) that his high-energy performances have been missing in 2019.

Make no mistake, the former Norwich man has been fantastic under Ralph Hasenhuttl, as have many of his teammates, but he has struggled to strike consistency in front of goal, with just three league goals to his name in 32 appearances prior to Saturday.

It seems like the winger has had ‘potential’ for a while now and, at 25-years-old, should be reaching his peak in the next couple of seasons, although he will have to register far more performances of the calibre he produced against Wolves if he is to do that.

A brace was enough to earn the speedster a spot in Garth Crooks’ team of the week and the BBC pundit praised his performance while simultaneously expressing his frustration at Redmond’s major shortcoming.

“This lad scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season in the victory again Wolves – another team suffering from an FA Cup semi-final hangover – but it should have been his 17th and 18th.

“Redmond has all the right pieces of the jigsaw but sadly not all in the right places. Ability, pace and vision are essential components of any forward but if Redmond could add finishing with any kind of regularity to his repertoire then he’d be at a top four club.”

Indeed, the number 22 gets into all the right places and does all the hard work creating the chance for himself or others but cannot find the end product often enough.

However, his display last Saturday showed how lethal he can be when he’s got his shooting boots on – if he can bring them more often then he’d become a real threat for the Saints and perhaps even land himself on the radar of some of England’s top clubs, as Crooks says.

Presently, Redmond finds himself trying to make the same improvements to his game which Raheem Sterling has had to on his way to becoming one of the first names on the team sheet at Manchester City.

The England international, who also netted twice at the weekend, had all three of the attributes which Crooks applied to Redmond – ability, pace and vision – but couldn’t get the goals his hard work deserved. Now though, the wide man is one of the best in Europe in his position and is in with a shout for the PFA Player of the Year gong.

Sterling is an expert at getting into the right places, creating that extra yard of space between he and his man before receiving the ball and then he’s either gone in a flash or it’s in the back of the net.

A Southampton fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the Saints in the video below…

The intelligent number 7 is reaping the rewards of Pep Guardiola’s system, which plays to his positional strengths, in a similar way that Redmond is flourishing under Hasenhuttl’s high-tempo approach.

Instructed to hunt down defenders relentlessly, the 5 ft 8 Southampton ace’s speed and tenacity will inevitably get him into more goal-scoring positions so, if he is to become the player that Crooks thinks he can, he must start taking them with the frequency Sterling does.

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Tottenham scraped past Manchester City in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, but how can they cope in the second leg if Harry Kane’s injury is as bad as first feared?

On the chalkboard

Mauricio Pochettino and the Lilywhites made it two wins from two in the new stadium on Tuesday, capitalising on some bizarre selections from Pep Guardiola as Son Heung-min scored the only goal in a 1-0 win.

The Spaniard left Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane on the bench until the final moments of the match, and while Pochettino outthought the City boss on the sidelines, his players outfought the men from Manchester on the pitch.

No one fought harder than Kane, who was the subject of targeted fouling by the Cityzens throughout the evening, and he eventually paid the price when he appeared to roll his ankle in a challenge with Fabian Delph.

So what can Pochettino and his side do if their talisman misses the next leg? Here are three things they could try…

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

The straight swap

The first and most likely solution may also be the least inspiring if truth be told; setting up in an almost identical fashion at the Etihad Stadium but with Fernando Llorente up front.

Llorente would give the team a focal point to hold the ball up and escape pressure, but kicking long balls at a target man seems extremely desperate for a side that have just shown they can go toe to toe with England’s best.

However, if City commit their full-backs too high and too often then Llorente could be a crucial presence, as his flicks down to the wings for the likes of Son and Dele Alli to sprint on to could be what finds that all-important away goal.

The diamond

The second option is another formation Pochettino is familiar with – the 4-4-2 diamond, but with an extra injection of pace up front.

In fact, this system may actually be more effective without Kane if the boss decides his side should play on the counter-attack, as a strike force of Lucas Moura and Son would surely find a way through as City commit more and more numbers forward in the second leg. Don’t forget Lucas has already produced one epic striker showing in Manchester this season.

This would leave Harry Winks dictating play from the base of midfield, with Moussa Sissoko and Christian Eriksen presumably the men doing the dirty work either side of him. Alli of course, with his endless industry and knack of producing moments of magic, would play in the number ten role.

The false nine

Finally, and what is without a doubt the most intriguing possibility, Pochettino could take a page out of Jurgen Klopp’s book and use Alli in the Roberto Firmino role.

The Brazilian plays as a centre forward for Liverpool but is dubbed the “false nine” due to his tendency to drop into midfield, link-up play and leave space for his wingers to exploit, something Kane already does often but not quite to the same degree.

If there’s anyone in world football that comes close to replicating Firmino’s unique combination of versatility, durability, work ethic, flair and of course goals, it may just be Alli, and the 22 year-old would afford space to speedsters Lucas and Son to counter-attack by pulling the centre backs out of position.

So, Tottenham fans, what do you think should be the strategy if Kane is ruled out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

If there’s one thing Liverpool have been brilliant at this season, it’s keeping out goals, and that means those who do get past the Reds defence should find themselves in prestigious company.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have conceded just 33 goals in all competitions so far this season, making Liverpool one of the best teams in Europe defensively, and one player who has managed to break through the backline and add to that tiny tally is Napoli winger Lorenzo Insigne.

The Italian international handed Liverpool one of their few defeats this season in the Champions League group stage as Insigne scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against the Merseyside club, and the Napoli star could one day be seen wearing the Red of Liverpool.

According to Corriere dello Sport via the Mirror, Liverpool are leading the race for the signature of the Italian attacker, with PSG, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan also reportedly interested in Insigne.

The 27-year-old has been one of Serie A’s most lethal finishers in the past few years, scoring 76 goals in 300 appearances for Napoli, and a move to Liverpool could take both the club and player to the next level.

Although Liverpool’s attacking trio is already world-class and hard to rival in European football, the addition of Insigne would make the Reds stand out from the pack in both England and on the continent.

Insigne’s notorious pace and fine finishing will make the Reds one of the most dangerous sides in world football and will cement their status as one of the elite teams in Europe.

The Italian might have already damaged Liverpool this season, but if he was to join their ranks there is no question that Insigne would take Klopp’s side to the next level.

Liverpool fans, would you take Insigne as a summer signing? Let us know!

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Derby County are currently leading the race for Aberdeen’s Graeme Shinnie according to Football Insider. However, Sheffield United are also showing interest.

What’s the word?

Shinnie is out of contract at Aberdeen in the summer and a host of clubs in Scotland and England are chasing the midfielder, says Football Insider.

But last weekend it was reported that the Scot would choose between Sheffield United and Bristol City as his next club.

Both teams have made offers for the player but it’s now their Championship rivals Derby who are in pole position to sign him.

Shinnie has caught the eye with his performances in the SPL and made his Scotland debut last year.

Perfect ingredients for Wilder

Scottish football may not be at its peak but Shinnie would be a shrewd signing for Sheffield United if they were to take their interest forward.

He’s a typical Chris Wilder player and would fit the mould at the club perfectly. He is currently captain of Aberdeen and would, therefore, bring leadership qualities to a Blades squad which already includes the authoritative Billy Sharp.

Wilder is a manager who knows how to drive 100% out his players and in Shinnie he’d have no trouble in instilling this, such is the 27-year-old’s character.

The Yorkshire club’s system involves some players having to bolster versatility and this is another key ingredient Shinnie can add to the squad.

Primarily a midfielder, he can also play at left-back, an area of the squad that could do with improving with Enda Stevens taking the brunt of the responsibility at left wing-back.