Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has insisted that Darren Bent remains an important player for the club, and hailed the striker after he bagged an equaliser against West Brom on Sunday.
The Scottish coach decided to start Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke up front against the Baggies at Villa Park, however the England international came off the bench to cancel out Shane Long’s opener.
Lambert has insisted that Bent is an important man at the Midlands club, and the player took the news of missing out on a starting place well.
“He was great. There was no problem. I just named the team and that’s the team I picked,” he told Sky Sports after the 1-1 draw.
“It was a world-class substitution! I need everyone, it’s a collective thing, I never look at individuals. The goal was brilliant, it was a world-class finish.
“He was fine at full-time. I spoke to him in the dressing room as well. He was totally fine, totally, no problem, none.
“We played a world-class game in the first half and I thought we might even have gone a goal up before half-time.
“But I’m absolutely thrilled with their efforts. It was outstanding after playing 120 minutes the other night. They were excellent and kept on going.
“I thought we left ourselves a little bit open at times but I credit the team as they gave me absolutely everything.
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“West Brom are a good side and they’ve started the season really well, but we’re doing just fine at the moment,” he concluded.
West Ham are the heavy favourites to land Yaya Toure this summer, and one journalist has even claimed it’s a done deal already.
What’s the story?
According to Mootaz Chehade, writer for VAVEL, Yaya Toure will move to West Ham this summer to reunite with Manuel Pellegrini.
The bookmakers certainly agree with his judgement, with some places offering odds as low as 1/2 that the former Manchester City man joins his old manager at the London Stadium.
West Ham are of course desperate for some more quality down the spine of their team, and likely managerial appointment Manuel Pellegrini could be just the man to get Toure ticking again.
Too good to pass up?
At his best, Yaya Toure was truly one of this generation’s great midfielders. The Ivorian would simply glide past players with the ball at his feet, and his effortless but clinical finishing at Manchester City was a sight to behold.
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The colossal midfielder has of course dropped down a level since his incredible 2013/14 season, and played just 228 Premier League minutes for Pep Guardiola this season, although he still managed two assists.
Despite losing his pace though and seemingly his motivation though, Manuel Pellegrini can certainly get the latter of those back, as the 35 year-old played some of his best football under the veteran manager.
Pellegrini could even opt to use Toure how Steven Gerrard played his later years at Liverpool, deeper in midfield with more time on the ball to use his quality to pick forward passes.
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Either way, Toure is an instant upgrade on the struggling Cheikhou Kouyate, and being available on a free transfer it would be foolish for the Hammers not to take a punt on him.
So, West Ham fans, would you back the free signing of Yaya Toure this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
When considering that Lucas Perez scored seven times in 21 appearances for Arsenal last season, it is a surprise that he is still not at the club.
The Spaniard joined the Gunners off the back of a 17-goal season with Deportivo La Coruna, and impressed when given the chance to play for Arsene Wenger’s side.
That chance did not come around too often, however, and he eventually re-joined Deportivo on loan in the latter stages of last summer’s transfer window.
Perez, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has scored four times in 15 league appearances for Deportivo this season, but he is still contracted to Arsenal, and could yet form a career at the Emirates Stadium.
On Friday afternoon, Arsenal’s official Twitter account posted a video of a super goal that Perez had scored last season, and asked whether it was the Goal of the Year.
The video prompted a host of responses from Arsenal fans, with many claiming that Perez should have not been allowed to leave the club ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.
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A selection of the best Twitter reaction can be found below:
It was only a few months ago that Arsenal appeared on the verge of capturing the talismanic Uruguayan. Now instead he is firing one Arsenal’s Premier League rivals to the very summit of the division.
Seemingly out of the door for much of the summer, did Arsenal miss a trick with their cautious approach to the whole saga?
Arsenal have been flying so far this season, playing a brand of attractive football synonymous with the North London club, it is perhaps a little difficult at this stage to pick holes in the Wenger master plan.
However, when you look at their squad compared to their close rivals, you do notice a worrying lack of depth, something that in my opinion will halt their charge to Premier League honours this season. The rigours of a congested winter fixture list with the potential for injury and fatigue will in my opinion expose the ‘gunners’ and prove how short they are on genuine strength in depth. The coming few weeks will be a test of their credentials, and I would be surprised to see them come out unscathed.
In midfield Arsenal are largely set, the concern though is their options up front. Aside from an on form Olivier Giroud, who do Arsenal really have? An unproven kid in Sanogo and a totally unconvincing Nicholas Bendtner, this isn’t the squad of title winners.
This is why I think Arsenal missed out through lack of ambition in the summer. Luis Suarez and his agent did their level best to manoeuvre themselves away from Anfield, and if it wasn’t for a lack of persistence on Arsenal’s part they may well have got their way. A bid of just over £40m was insufficient to prize the unsettled star from Liverpool, but surely Arsenal could have done more?
We have seen the way clubs and players wrangle in the market to get what they want, Arsenal though seem somewhat adverse to getting their hands dirty, something that may well haunt them come May.
Since returning from his ban Suarez has lit up the Premier League, 6 goals in 4 games have been testament to his sparkling partnership with Daniel Sturridge. Indeed if Liverpool are to return to former glories, their ability to hang on to the mercurial talents Luis Suarez must surely be a defining factor. Technically gifted and full of running, Suarez isn’t your typical front man. Comfortable playing off the striker or as one himself, he offers Liverpool versatility and more importantly unpredictability in the final third. It is for that exact reason that he is such a menace to opposition defences.
Arsenal’s criticisms have usually been about the lack of end product, often overplaying and overpassing much to the frustration of their fans. Suarez is able to do all that but also know exactly when to pull the trigger, the perfect link between the Arsenal midfield and Olivier Giroud you would have thought.
The inability to bring in shouldn’t surprise anyone though, and overtures towards a revival in interest I would imagine will be unfounded. Arsenal for all their hype continue to show a lack of ambition in the transfer market, and as soon as form slips I am sure many Arsenal fans will look back to their pursuit of Suarez as a potential turning point.
Until anything else happens the capture of Mesut Ozil is nothing more than an anomaly, bucking the trend of parsimony displayed by Wenger and Gazidis for a number of years. In the end money buys you trophies, the most successful clubs in European football have on the whole spent big and until Arsenal realise this I think they will continue to fall short of the mark.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but an Arsenal side with Luis Suarez in it not only a much stronger one, but in my opinion a title chasing one.
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Recent results may mask the need for investment, but when it comes down to it Arsenal will struggle to end their trophy drought this year and in the main this is down to a summer of cautious spending.
Passing up on the opportunity to sign one of the world’s best is criminal and something Arsenal will live to regret.
Should Arsenal have been more assertive with Suarez?
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has confessed that Demba Ba could well leave the club in January.
The Senegal international is said to be frustrated with a lack of opportunities for the Magpies, with the African forward being used from the bench by the Sports Direct Arena side of late.
With negative comments in the press by the player’s agent, Pardew has stated that a £7 million buyout clause in Ba’s contract could cause problems when the transfer window reopens.
“There is that clause in his contract and it makes us vulnerable. It’s still open in the next window,” Pardew told reporters, published on BBC Sport.
“‘I have spoken to Demba [about his agent] and told him I was disappointed with some of the comments around him. Sometimes it’s out of his control and out of my control.
“But we know each other well enough, and I’ve got no problems with him, because he is a team player who wants to do his best for the team. He has always been like that.
“I just think the agent stuff was people saying things they shouldn’t say, really. It doesn’t really affect myself and Demba, because we’ve got a very good relationship,” he concluded.
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Ba has been left out of the largely fringe 19-man squad that will travel to Portugal to take on Maritimo in the Europa League on Thursday.
Many would agree that football is a rollercoaster of emotions, and that has certainly rung true for Southampton over the last few weeks.
The coastal club have been embroiled in a relegation battle for the majority of the campaign, but they had a glimmer of hope less than two weeks ago when they overcame Bournemouth 2-1 at St Mary’s.
The result put the club one point adrift of safety with three games left to play, and on Saturday it looked as though they were going to climb out of the bottom three.
Just before the hour mark, Nathan Redmond nudged the coastal club ahead against Everton and they were on course to claim all three points when Maya Yoshida was sent off.
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As the clock ticked down, Mark Hughes’s side tried to hold on, but it was not meant to be as Tom Davies struck an equaliser six minutes into injury time.
The result means that the Saints are now level on 33 points with Swansea City, who they face in midweek before taking on champions Manchester City on the final day of the season.
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On Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s side were restricted to a goalless draw by Huddersfield, who in turn pulled three points away from the drop.
Southampton fans posted their thoughts on the result via Reddit.
Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.Comment from discussion Huddersfield get a point against Man City.
According to Marca, via the Daily Express, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil is one of five January signings that Barcelona are intending to make when the transfer window reopens.
The German international’s contract expires at the end of the current season, and the 29-year-old is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club when the window opens on the 1st of January.
What’s the story?
It is being reported that Barcelona are preparing to make five signings in the new year at relatively cheap rates to bolster Ernesto Valverde’s squad.
Rather famously, Barca underwent a summer of vast spending – much of which was evoked by the departure of Neymar to PSG – accordingly they’re hoping to make financially shrewd deals in the upcoming window.
Is Ozil the right fit?
Since joining Arsenal from Barca’s arch rivals, Real Madrid, in the summer of 2013, Ozil has amassed 177 first-team appearances for the Gunners, scoring 36 goals. Last season was the German’s most prolific term from a goal-scoring perspective for the North London team, and he’s highly regarded for his tendency to create goals.
Real Madrid’s former playmaker, who is valued at £45m by transfermartk.com, has started this season in fine form having scored four goals and registered five assists in 16 league games for the FA Cup winners. There’s no denying that the German international provides an abundance of creativity, a quality that would augment Barcelona’s attack enormously.
Will Wenger let him go?
While the thought of losing one of their star players at a reduced fee may evoke concern among Arsenal supporters, the likelihood is that Wenger would rather see Ozil return to Spain in January – with Arsenal recouping some money – than see their number 11 join someone like Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer.
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It’s not often we get through a second round of the Capital One Cup without seeing a Football League minnow conquer a top-flight giant, but it appears normal service may have been resumed this year, with just newly promoted Crystal Palace being the only Premier League casualty of the round.
Ian Holloway’s Palace fell to League One Bristol City in a 2-1 loss at Ashton Gate to add more misery on their poor start to life back in the top flight. Goals from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Scott Wagstaff secured City’s place in the third round for the first time in 10 years.
There were convincing wins for Aston Villa, Stoke City, Southampton, Norwich City, Sunderland and West Brom as superiority appeared to get the better of their lower league opponents.
Liverpool, perhaps the only ‘dead-certs for a convincing victory’ of the round, eventually managed to see off Notts County at Anfield after they squandered a two goal lead, forcing them to rely on extra-time goals from Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson to prevent the tie from going to penalties.
Everton, Newcastle and Hull City all made hard work of their ties, though. The Toffees had to rely on Marouane Fellaini’s extra-time winner to edge past Stevenage 2-1 one, while a Robbie Brady goal in extra-time saw Hull victorious against League One side Leyton Orient. Newcastle endured a frustrating evening at Morecambe and, if it wasn’t for the Ameobi brothers popping up with a goal each in the final five minutes of normal time, boss Alan Pardew may have been left embarrassed.
Peterborough put a show on at London Road, thrashing fellow Championship side Reading 6-0, much to the delight of talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham who felt it neccessary to tell his listeners that teams can learn fom Peterborough’s style of football. Typical Durham.
Millwall continued their torrid start to life under former West Ham captain Steve Lomas as manager, going down 2-1 at the City Ground in extra-time. It appears even wearing their own kit can’t help them at the moment.
Harry Redknapp’s QPR suffered another early round defeat, their fourth consecutive loss to lower league position in this competition, this time losing 2-0 to League One side Swindon. Owner Tony Fernandes may want to get the cheque book out again after that showing. Reluctantly.
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Elsewhere, there were victories for Cardiff City, Watford, Burnley, Leicester, Derby County, Leeds, Huddersfield and West Ham, while Fulham, Tranmere and Birmingham all relied on the dreaded penalty shoot-out to beat Burton Albion, Bolton and Yeovil respectively.
Arsenal will receive a major boost next week when Jack Wilshere starts training with a football again. The England midfielder, 20, has not played for 13 months owing to ankle, foot and knee injuries. But he is close to completing a fitness regime designed to prepare him for full training and first-team football.
Wilshere is set to start another specially designed programme which will for the first time include extensive ball work, and Arsenal hope he will return to first-team action by the end of next month. The news will be welcomed by manager Arsene Wenger, who has cited Wilshere’s pending return as one reason why he did not sign a central midfielder despite the loss of Alex Song to Barcelona.
Arsenal will be further lifted by the pending return of Bacary Sagna, 29, four months after he broke his leg against Norwich. The France right back is expected to resume full training by the end of the month.
Wenger made three major signings this summer in Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud at an outlay of around £40million, but that expenditure has been offset by the key departures of Robin van Persie and Song, who between them have allowed the club to recoup £39m.
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It feels as if Massimiliano Allegri has taken Juventus almost as far as he can take them and it is reaching the stage of the Italian’s career where the money and scrutiny of the Premier League begins to look appealing.
London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal certainly hope so; both the Blues and the Gunners have been linked with a summer swoop for the 50-year-old Italian, who led Juve into the Champions League final last season.
With a stark choice to make – he could also stay at Juventus – between two teams within the same city but who run their operations in the polar opposite way, we’re asking you which way he should go.
Should Allegri plump for the riches but instability of Stamford Bridge or the task of taking over from a legend in Arsene Wenger with a squad that could use major surgery?
Let us know by voting in the poll below and keep your eyes peeled for the results…
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