Arsenal fans reminisce about now or never 2016 moment

Arsenal fans have been reminiscing over the Gunners’ last-minute goal against Leicester City that saw the Foxes lose 2-1 at the Emirates in 2016.

Arsene Wenger’s side were in hot pursuit of the east Midlands outfit in the race to win the Premier League title as the victory brought them within two points of the champions in waiting.

Despite the result, Leicester went on to win their first Premier League title in one of the greatest sporting stories of all time.

The tweets came about as playmaker Mesut Ozil celebrated his 31st birthday on Tuesday, with his assist for Danny Welbeck’s winning goal labelled as a “now or never moment for Arsenal” by the commentator on the day.

Fans were full of nostalgia as they posted their memories of the day.

One supporter said that he thought his side were set to win the league after the match, while another said that he remembers screaming his lungs out when Welbeck’s effort hit the back of Kasper Schmeichel’s net.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Arsenal fans:

Sheffield Wednesday’s Cameron Dawson confident in Garry Monk’s ability

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Following their Carabao Cup exit to Everton on Tuesday evening, backup goalkeeper Cameron Dawson has put his faith in new appointment Garry Monk, via quotes from Yorkshire Post.

What’s he said?

The Owls boss fielded eight changes for the game against the Premier League outfit as they brought a strong-looking side to Hillsborough.

It was former Blades forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin that scored a brace to banish Wednesday from the competition, but there was a positive in the sense that they were the only two goals in the tie.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The south Yorkshire club recorded more shots than their top-flight opposition too.

One player that was gifted a chance to feature was shot-stopper Dawson, who has only played 43 matches in around six years at the club.

Despite it being just his first appearance under the 48-year-old, the former England U19 international was quick to throw support behind Monk, he said:

“He has brought a bit of structure and got his ways across quite quickly.

“He has his philosophies and the lads have really taken it on board and are trying to learn his ways. It’s been very positive in general.

“Everyone has been kept involved and has a role to play. It really is about the team and pulling in the same direction under this manager and, hopefully, that breeds results.”

“He has been great with all the lads and we know what we need to do as players and as a team really and how we go about things.”

Philosophy

The mantra applied by Monk at Hillsborough is clearly ringing in the ears of their players already and he’s barely been at the club a month let alone a couple of weeks.

He’s previously said how he will be adaptable based on the players he has at his disposal, and that’s been clear to see in just three matches.

On Tuesday night, he reverted to a 4-4-2 system, which he is familiar with from his time at Birmingham, in order to accommodate both Sam Winnall and Atdhe Nuhiu – a switch from the 4-2-3-1 formation he had opened with in his two league matches.

The Owls are crying out for some stability having gone through 15 managers in just two decades, maybe Monk is the man to offer that based on Dawson’s encouraging comments.

Arsenal fans delighted as Hector Bellerin is named captain on Thursday

It was a big win for Arsenal against Standard Liege in the Europa League last night.

The Gunners ended up being 4-0 winners thanks to a brace from Gabriel Martinelli, plus goals from Joe Willock and Dani Ceballos. They now top their group after two games, having scored eight and conceded none.

Watch the Flying Pig tear into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jesse Lingard following Man Utd’s limp draw with Arsenal in the video below…

It was also a special day for Hector Bellerin as well. The Spain international was making his first start of the season after returning from injury. Not only that, he was given the captain’s armband in the absence of Granit Xhaka.

Of course, the Switzerland international was recently appointed as skipper of the Emirates outfit, a decision that did not go down too well with the club’s fans.

In contrast, though, there was a far more positive reaction to the 24-year-old being given the responsibility against the Belgian side.

The supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold gives Serge Aurier update

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Football.London’s Tottenham Hotspur correspondent believes that Serge Aurier has a future at the club despite his failure to seal a move away from the club.

What’s he said?

Gold believes that Aurier was for sale in the summer, though no club came forward with a bid for the Ivory Coast international.

Spurs, of course, sold Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid in the summer and opted against buying another right-back to replace him.

Nevertheless, Mauricio Pochettino opted to start Davinson Sanchez at right-back against Arsenal due to the injuries sustained by both Juan Foyth and Kyle Walker-Peters, leaving Aurier, a specialist in the position, on the bench.

And Gold believes that he could still be integrated into the first-team in the coming weeks and months.

Speaking in a Q&A (13:09, Thursday September 4th), he said: “Aurier has been training with the first team. It’s not like he’s been excluded.

“Whether he’s first choice is another thing but if Kyle Walker-Peters is not fit enough for the Palace match I’d be surprised if the Ivorian isn’t given some game time. Spurs were willing to let him go this summer but no serious offers came in for him.

“The one main window that is still open is the Portuguese one, which is open until later this month, but whether a move to somewhere like Benfica or Sporting Lisbon appeals to Aurier is unclear and whether they could afford him.

“Aurier was on the bench against Arsenal and although Davinson Sanchez was preferred, I’d be surprised if Pochettino continues with that experiment despite telling me his performance was “great”.

“The Spurs boss just wanted to get to the end of the transfer window and now all the players’’ minds are on Spurs for the coming months and that includes Aurier.”

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Get him in the team

Spurs need to get Aurier back into the XI.

Against Arsenal, they desperately lacked a specialist full-back on the right side, with Sanchez enduring a torrid afternoon.

With Walker-Peters still just 22 and Foyth nominally a centre-back, restoring Aurier to the first-team makes all the sense in the world.

Of course, the international break means that there will be no Premier League football this weekend but when Spurs face Crystal Palace, Aurier should be starting.

Sanchez is not good enough in the position, and fitness doubts could continue to hang over both Foyth and Walker-Peters; the Ivorian is the sensible choice.

[ad_pod ]

Leeds fans rally behind Patrick Bamford despite goalless outing

[ad_pod ]

Leeds bounced back from their defeat against Swansea before the international break to come away from Oakwell with all three points on Sunday.

They returned to the top of the table courtesy of goals from Eddie Nketiah and Mateusz Klich but although he didn’t score himself, Patrick Bamford still earned praise from the Leeds fans.

They took to Twitter to hail his impact despite being withdrawn from the action after 70 minutes.

Bamford has now gone goalless in his last two matches but that doesn’t appear to have caused much concern.

One supporter claimed he made former Leeds man Aapo Halme look silly whilst a further fan suggested he was class.

Another individual hailed him as someone that was becoming indispensable to the team.

The 26-year-old has so far netted four times in seven matches this season and is proving his worth after a 2018/19 campaign where he sat out 22 matches through injury.

Bamford has seemingly relished the opportunity of becoming Leeds’ main striker following the departure of Kemar Roofe but after his goal, Nketiah will surely be breathing down his neck.

Here’s the best of the reaction from social media.

[ad_pod ]

Austin departure may usher in Adams arrival at Southampton

According to The Daily Echo, Southampton striker Charlie Austin will be allowed to leave this month, with Premier League outfit Wolves and Championship side Aston Villa interested. 

The 29-year-old has played 16 Premier League games so far this season, more than he managed in the entirety of the 2016/17 and 2015/16 seasons. While he has only managed two goals, he looks poised to play the most games he has in one season in the league for The Saints, which is 24.

However, while he has been slightly more reliable than he has in some seasons at St Mary’s, he is obviously not deemed a necessity at the south coast by manager Ralph Hasenhüttl. For a manager with such an attacking philosophy, perhaps the former QPR forward just is not fruitful enough in front of goal, with the Austrian preferring Danny Ings and Shane Long.

However, one thing that this does suggest is the potential arrival of target Che Adams. The Birmingham striker has been linked with a move to St Mary’s before the end of the month, and the departure of Austin could be ushering in that move. The manager may have felt that there were currently too many strikers at the club, and has therefore decided to trim the fat slightly before a new signing. Being seven years younger than Austin, many Southampton fans would see the prolific Championship scorer as an upgrade.

Since moving from QPR in January 2016, Austin has played over 50 league games for the club, managing 16 goals, but his time could be coming to an end.

Leeds’ Marcelo Bielsa can inspire Leeds with unpredictable changes

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Ahead of Leeds’ clash with Wigan in the early weeks of the season, Marcelo Bielsa disclosed his entire team before the game had even taken place.

Fortunately for the Whites, it didn’t serve as a negative as they came through the clash to take all three points.

It was a rather bizarre move from Bielsa who looked to have made Leeds a rather predictable outfit.

Reveal your side and you’re on the end of benefitting the opposition’s preparations significantly.

Whether or not the Argentine is merely playing mind games is unknown, but certainly on the field of play, Leeds have proved unpredictable at times this term.

That isn’t a bad thing either because the Yorkshire side are up at the top end of the table, largely thanks to Bielsa’s methods.

We may only be a matter of weeks into the new term but Leeds are serving up the unpredictable with their systems.

It’s clear their favoured formation is a 4-1-4-1 and indeed that has been used with regularity this season. However, there’s also been other formations at play which could prove vital in their quest for promotion.

If Leeds remained with the same formation they’d arguably be easier to work out, especially with Bielsa already having a year at Elland Road under his belt.

Yet, against Brentford a week and a half ago, they showed what they were capable of in a different sense.

It wasn’t a swashbuckling performance like we saw in a 3-0 win at Stoke last weekend as instead they struggled for opportunities, conjuring up just eight key passes.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It took for Bielsa to move to a 3-4-3 formation as Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa was introduced. A similar system was adopted in the League Cup against Salford whilst a third and rather surprising one was brought in against Stoke in the next round.

Bielsa decided to play a 3-3-1-3 style as Helder Costa started at wing-back, a role Jack Clarke has also performed in this term.

It represented a vast change from Bielsa but because of its unpredictability, it may just catch the opposition out, as it did against the Bees.

When it comes to achieving promotion, making cunning tactical tweaks may prove the difference.

Simply changing from the norm when they beat Brentford and adopting a different method versus Salford proves it can still spark a winning formula.

[ad_pod ]

Celtic: Expert makes Kyogo Furuhashi claim

Injury expert Ben Dinnery believes Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi could be out for four weeks with his current muscle problem, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Ange’s comments

Furuhashi injured his hamstring in the final game before the winter break against St Johnstone and missed Celtic’s first game back against Hibernian on Monday evening due to injury alongside Albian Ajeti, Christopher Jullien, Karamoko Dembele and David Turnbull.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-copy/” title=”Celtic updates!! (Copy)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The 26-year-old, who has contributed to 21 goals in 26 games as a Hoops player, is expected to be out for at least a couple more weeks, Ange Postecoglou confirmed.

That means he is at risk of missing the Glasgow derby against Rangers on February 2, in what could be a crucial fixture at Celtic Park with Postecoglou’s side currently four points adrift at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

The Latest: Dinnery reacts

Dinnery was talking to Football Insider regarding Furuhashi’s injury. This is what he had to say in reply, believing the Japan international could ultimately miss four weeks of action and urged Celtic to be cautious when it comes to a return.

“There are high re-injury and recurrence rates with these injuries.

“That first month is where we see the highest recurrence rates, so we need to be very careful.

“When you suffer a setback, typically you are looking at how long you’ve spent on the sidelines previously and then adding to that.

“He was injured in the Boxing Day fixtures and he’s just returned, so we’re talking a couple of weeks there.

“If he’s been back on the training pitches for around 10 to 14 days, the assumption is it’s a fairly low-grade tear.

“It’s really unfortunate but maybe we’re looking at that two to four week period that he might miss.

“It’s one of those injuries where it makes sense to take a little bit more time with it. The longer you take, the more likely you are to stay fit afterwards.

“Around 40 per cent of all muscle injuries are hamstring injuries. Around the winter months, we see very high prevalence because of the schedule.

“There is likely fatigue involvement, so with Kyogo, we’re looking at maybe early February before he returns.”

The Verdict: Maeda set for first Glasgow derby?

Should Dinnery’s prediction prove accurate and Furuhashi’s absence stretch to four weeks, he will miss the meeting with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.

That could mean that new signing Daizen Maeda will get a first Glasgow derby start, and he proved against Hibernian he is more than up to the task when it comes to leading the line.

It took the 24-year-old just four minutes to score his first Celtic goal, and if he can continue his positive start, you’d expect him to feature ahead of Giorgos Giakoumakis and the injured Furuhashi and Ajeti against Rangers.

In other news: Transfer request submitted – Celtic handed boost as news emerges on possible 5th winter recruit. 

Rangers beast set for new contract

A key Rangers update has emerged on Ibrox shot-stopper Jon McLaughlin, regarding his future at the club…

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, the Gers are close to agreeing a new contract with the goalkeeper as they look to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of the campaign.

The report does not claim how long the extension will be, but a deal is seemingly on the verge of being completed for him to remain in Glasgow.

Delight

Rangers fans will surely be delighted by this news as McLaughlin is a reliable operator who is a useful player to have in the squad. He has not let the club down whenever he has played this season and could remain as a dependable number two next term.

The 34-year-old has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.82 in the Premiership in the current campaign, saving 64% of the shots against him and making one penalty save from the sole spot-kick he has faced. This shows that he is a solid player at this level who is able to step in and perform when needed.

Allan McGregor’s contract at Ibrox expires in the summer and it remains to be seen whether or not the veteran, who turns 40 next week, is willing to extend his career. This means that pinning down the current number two to fresh terms could help to keep some continuity in the ranks if the ex-Hull stopper moves on, rather than leaving Rangers in the lurch between the sticks come the summer.

The Gers have been linked with a swoop for Benjamin Siegrist of Dundee United and the shot-stopper could come in to compete with McLaughlin. This could create a level of competition similar to what Van Bronckhorst currently has with his two goalkeepers at Ibrox this term, with both players battling for the number one jersey, which is why this update will come as a big boost for the head coach.

Therefore, fans will surely be delighted with this news, as it means that Rangers could be set to have a strong goalkeeping department next season instead of losing both of their first-choice ‘keepers and being left scrambling around to bring in two new additions. The Gers now need to ensure that they can get a deal over the line for Siegrist, or an alternative target, if McGregor decides to hang up the gloves in the summer.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can jettison Rangers liability in swoop for “phenomenal” 18y/o with a “big future”…

Celtic dealt huge injury setback

Celtic have been dealt a huge injury setback ahead of their upcoming Scottish Premiership clash.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Scotsman, who claim that Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side will be without at least seven first-team players for the trip to St. Johnstone on Sunday, with David Turnbull, Jota, Albian Ajeti, Giorgos Giakoumakis, James Forrest, Karamoko Dembele and Christopher Jullien all looking to be sidelined due to injury.

A further report by the same publication went on to state that both Joe Hart and Kyogo Furuhashi – who missed the 0-0 draw against St. Mirren earlier in the week with knocks – could also miss out at McDiarmid Park this weekend, as the duo do not appear to have recovered from their respective injuries.

Postecoglou will be fuming

Considering the sheer number of injuries he is having to deal with at present, the news that none of his previously injured players look set to make a return to action this weekend, while both Hart and Kyogo also remain doubts for the fixture, is sure to have left the 56-year-old manager fuming.

Indeed, should attacking midfielder Turnbull, left-winger Jota, centre-forward Kyogo and goalkeeper Hart all be missing on Sunday, the Greek-Australian coach would be unable to select his best, fifth-best, 10th-best and joint 13th-best performers respectively in the top flight of Scottish football so far this season – of players who remain within his first-team squad.

And, when taking into account just how much Postecoglou’s depleted Celtic side struggled to break down St. Mirren on Wednesday evening, should the manager once again be unable to call upon any of the aforementioned players, it would not appear to bode well for Celtic’s chances of picking up all three points against Callum Davidson’s side.

This could potentially bring disastrous ramifications to the club’s Premiership title hopes this season, as dropping more points on Sunday could well see the Bhoys fall further behind their Old Firm rivals – who currently top the league standings by six points.

In other news: Ange can finally axe “horrendous” £20k-p/w Celtic flop by unleashing 18 y/o sensation

Game
Register
Service
Bonus