Premier League
Arsenal dent Man Utd top-four hopes with 3-1 win
Arsenal dealt a blow to Manchester United’s hopes of a top-four Premier League finish as Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka struck in a 3-1 win on Saturday that revived the home side’s chances of Champions League football next season.
Arsenal were rewarded for their blistering early pace as Tavares tapped home in the third minute after United goalkeeper David de Gea pushed away a curling effort by Saka, following some poor defending by the visitors at The Emirates.
Saka doubled the Gunners’ lead from the penalty spot after a foul on the winger in the build-up to a strike by Eddie Nketiah that went in but was ruled out as offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
United’s sluggish display overshadowed fleeting moments in which they threatened and was another reminder of the challenge facing incoming manager Erik ten Hag, though the visitors got one back as Cristiano Ronaldo swept in Nemanja Matic’s cross.
The Portuguese forward’s 100th Premier League goal came after a traumatic week personally after the death of one of his newborn twin babies.
In a show of support, Arsenal fans gave the United number seven a round of applause in the seventh minute, as Liverpool supporters had done in their fixture on Tuesday which the Merseyside club won 4-0.
United improved in the second half but their woes deepened as skipper Bruno Fernandes hit the post with a poor effort from the penalty spot following Tavares’ handball, before a 70th-minute thunderbolt from Xhaka sealed the win for the Gunners.
That came after a fine save by Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale to push Diogo Dalot’s effort on to the post — the second time in the game the player hit the woodwork — on a frustrating day for United, who also had a Ronaldo strike ruled out for offside.
“It’s a big performance in a game that had everything. We created chances, we had to suffer, there were moments when we lacked energy and they were on top, we were efficient in the boxes, we had luck,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told BT Sport, adding that the fight for fourth place was going to be tight.
“This is going to be a rollercoaster – today it went in our favour,” he said.
Xhaka said he was delighted to have scored his first goal for the club since Boxing Day 2020.
“Very happy for the three points and secondly very happy to have helped the team with a goal… it’s good to do it front of the fans. But the most important thing was the three points,” the Swiss midfielder said.
The win lifted Arsenal to fourth place on 60 points, three ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who take on Brentford later on Saturday. United are sixth, with interim boss Ralf Rangnick facing a tough task in his final four games.
United have now lost four straight away league games for the first time since a run of six matches between December 1980 and March 1981. They will aim to break that losing streak against Chelsea on Thursday. Arsenal travel to West Ham United next weekend.
Rangnick said United’s top-four chances had effectively ended
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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