Great Bukayo Saka news for Gunner’s supporters

Arsenal have closed in on a Champions League place by beating Chelsea and much to Pep Guardiola’s disappointment, even he admits the Gunners will take one of the cherished and lucrative European qualification places. Playing Mikel Merino as his main striker paid off for Mikel Arteta once again with a fine headed goal which was […]

Arsenal have closed in on a Champions League place by beating Chelsea and much to Pep Guardiola’s disappointment, even he admits the Gunners will take one of the cherished and lucrative European qualification places. Playing Mikel Merino as his main striker paid off for Mikel Arteta once again with a fine headed goal which was the first time Arsenal had scored from a total of 98 corners.

More good news for supporters comes straight from the lips of the Arsenal manager when he said this week that Bukayo Saka has a good chance of playing after the two-week international break. He has been out of the squad since suffering a hamstring injury in December. Answering a direct question Arteta said, “He has a good chance of playing in two weeks, yes.”

 

United’s forward wish list and those unwanted

Finance will be supplied to Ruben Amorim in the summer to allow him build his own dressing room with players he wants and not just those he inherited from previous manager Eric Ten Hag. That brings back into play Sporting CP’s Swedish international Viktor Gyokeres who is high on Amorim’s wish list. (Gyokeres is pronounced Yorkeresh).

Three other forward players are on United’s list: Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and on-loan Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen. United scouts have also been watching Ipswich striker Liam Delap who has emerged as top quality this season and is likely to leave Portman Road if Ipswich are relegated.

• Nigeria revive W’Cup hopes with historic win over Rwanda
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INEOS boss Sir James Ratcliffe, who is overhauling United’s financial situation, confirmed that both he and Ruben Amorim had inherited players they do not want including Antony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelhof and 37-year-old Jonny Evans who is of interest to two Championship clubs.

**Napoli, managed by Antonio Conte, are ready to offer striker Rasmus Hojlund an end of season return to Serie A with Victor Osimhen making up part of the deal. Danish international Hojlund has scored only 13 Premier League goals since joining for £72 million in 2023.  

 

Chelsea anxious for Palmer’s return

I am still waiting for news of Cole Palmer’s training session muscular injury which he sustained 24 hours before Chelsea met Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. There is no doubt he will miss England’s two international matches and Morgan Gibbs-White has taken his place. Enzo Maresca says he hopes Palmer will return for the first game after next week’s break and despite his drop-off in form he is an integral part of the Chelsea team although he hasn’t scored now in ten games. If things go to plan, Chelsea have 12 matches remaining for this season in all competitions but that does not include the FIFA Club World Cup starting in June.

 

Nuno Espirito says Elanga is “unstoppable”

As Nottingham Forest continue to cement their position in the league table, coach Nino Espirito Santos has singled out Anthony Elanga for high praise. Nino said this week, “He deserves it. He has been helpful all season – not only the goals and assists but his defensive work and commitment too. When he gets one-on-one, he is unstoppable. He is versatile enough to occupy the three forward positions, left, central and right.” Elanga’s recent success has taken the Swedish winger to five goals and eight assists and even Manchester United must be questioning why they sold him.

 

United’s Antony enjoying success in Spain

Manchester United’s unwanted winger Antony is enjoying a new lease of life with Spanish La Liga club Real Betis. The Brazilian is very keen to end his association with United and wants to make his Spanish connection permanent. After a successful spell under Erik Ten Hag at Ajax the Dutch coach brought him to Old Trafford but the deal never worked out and Antony failed to live up to his previous reputation.

He has scored 4 goals and made 5 assists in 11 games for Betis and the club wants to sign him after his current loan deal finishes in June.

My sources close to Antony tell me that he wants to stay in Spain and that Betis rivals Real Sociedad are also interested in taking him. United would be willing to sell him because their current financial position is not good but they stand to lose a huge amount and receive nowhere near the £82million they paid for him in 2022.

 

Who masterminds Brentford’s excellent set-pieces?

Thomas Frank has done a remarkable job coaching Brentford and they are sitting in 11th place in the league and only eight points outside a European qualification place. Watching training is always a guide to how well a team is going to perform and I was interested to note that the Bees secret weapon is their set-pieces. Frank hands over to set-piece coach Keith Andrews who puts his team through their training over and over again and their win away at Bournemouth proved how effective they have become in scoring from such positions. Their two goals against Bournemouth came from a corner and a throw-in. Defender Nathan Collins credits Andrews with providing the motivation to score from set-pieces. He says, “Keith is very strict. Off the pitch he is very jokey and a good laugh but when we are training he is on it, he’s doing his work and is very serious and structured. When he is on the sideline his voice is loud and we can hear him and we listen.” Against Bournemouth Yoane Wissa headed in Bryan Mbeumo’s corner and the second was volleyed into the net by Christian Norgaard from a long Kevin Schade throw in proving how successful their set pieces have become.

 

Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood in hot water

Former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood’s career is still problematic and after an impressive run, he has been sidelined at Marseille by Brighton’s former coach Roberto De Zerbi. Greenwood made an impressive start to his French Ligue 1 career and he outscored everyone except PSG’s Ousemane Dembele who is leading the race for France’s Golden Boot this year. Greenwood has scored 15 goals in Ligue 1 after being sold last year. However, De Zerbi said his current attitude is not what he wants and he has suffered a drop in form and my sources claim that the staff at Marseille are worried about his ‘nonchalance’, ‘attitude’ and ‘lack of effort’ which is similar to his report card at Old Trafford. De Zerbi said, “No one can have more respect for him than I do. But that doesn’t change anything. I expect more from him. He has to do more because what he is currently showing is not enough.”

There could be a silver lining for Manchester United because if Mason is sold, they will be entitled to an extra payment based on the sale contract between the two clubs.