Premier League
Arsenal boss Arteta admits, Man City;s Haaland is the best!
Erling Haaland’s incredible goal record at Manchester City sets him apart from all other players this season, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said ahead of Wednesday’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland leads the league’s goal-scoring charts with 32 goals, eight more than Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane in second and 12 more than Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who is third on the list.
The Norway international is only one short of breaking Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s record for the most goals scored in a 38-game Premier League season.
His total haul this campaign stands at 48 goals in 42 games across all competitions for City, including 12 in the Champions League.
“When you look at the numbers, there is no comparison with anybody else,” Arteta told reporters on Tuesday. “He (Haaland) is able to produce that as well because the setup is done in the right way for him.
“Even with him they have the capacity to play in a different way.”
Arsenal play away to City on Wednesday hoping to regain their grip on the title race after securing draws in their last three games.
Asked how he would stop Haaland if he had to, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola divulged no team secrets, except to say it would be tough.
“What he has shown in his career, not just here, it would be difficult,” Guardiola said.
“But to be a team, to be as athletic as possible. When we played against him when he was at Borussia Dortmund, (the most effective way was) to have 70 to 80 (percent) of the ball, so he’s not involved as much as possible.
“If you have the ball you have more chances, but the game we will play (Wednesday) will be a lot of transitions and duels.(Arsenal) plan to play an aggressive game, almost man to man all around the pitch, that’s why the only man free is the keeper.”
Arsenal’s lead over City has reduced to five points after their recent slump and they have played two more games than Pep Guardiola’s side.
Asked how the north London team are planning to silence Haaland and curtail City, Arteta replied: “We are working on their threats as well as on their weaknesses, we know where they are. City start from the keeper, he is a threat with the ball.
“They can do various things, so many things that you have to adapt to, so you have to focus on certain principles.”
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions but have not won at City in the league since 2015.
City are unbeaten in 16 games in all competitions since losing to Tottenham Hotspur in early February, with 13 wins and three draws during that run.
-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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