Arsène Wenger, Christian Benteke, Saido Berahino, Roberto Pereyra, Robert Snodgrass and John Stones.
Composite: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian, Getty Images
Saido Berahino misses a chance at goal during the defeat to Bournemouth.
Photograph: Daniel Hambury/PA
PA Wire
Christian Benteke celebrates after opening the scoring at the Riverside.
Photograph: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images
2016 Getty Images
Chelsea’s Diego Costa scores with a bicycle kick against Swansea City.
Photograph: Athena Pictures/Getty Images
2016 Athena Pictures
Arsène Wenger pleads for patience over new signings, John Stones progresses under Pep Guardiola and the question of brilliant goals versus dangerous play
1) Wenger pleads for patience over Pérez and Mustafi
Gone are the days when Arsène Wenger could take a new signing and integrate him slowly to afford a gentler introduction into a new world. The story of Robert Pirès starting with a watching brief as Arsenal met Sunderland in the kind of attritional battle that looked to the new man like a horror show remains an instructive one. Against Southampton the striker Lucas Pérez and the defender Shkodran Mustafi were plonked straight into a tense Premier League encounter and looked – perhaps understandably – a little offbeat. Wenger reflected that both had some nerves and were short of match fitness, as well as the obvious sense that partnerships have had no time to gel yet. Wenger is pleading for patience as they settle in. Mustafi looked small for a centre-back and hesitant at times. Lucas was eager, got an assist but was not sharp enough to make a significant impact. “Let’s not judge too quickly,” Wenger said. “Let’s give them time.” It was interesting, with that in mind, to see the third member of Arsenal’s major summer newcomers’ band on the bench. Granit Xhaka had been praised for his impressive show at Watford last time outbut was left out against Southampton as the old partnership of Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin excelled. The balance between the two, blending Cazorla’s trickery with Coquelin’s tackles, seemed natural as the pair played increasingly important roles as the game went on. Wenger will probably feel compelled to play Mustafi regularly, with the Germany international having to adapt through game time given the centre-back injury situation. But with more options in midfield and up front, Xhaka and Lucas can expect to be rotated in and out as the Arsenal manager looks for his strongest team. Amy Lawrence
2) Pulis faces further Berahino frustration
Saido Berahino had two golden chances at Bournemouth and the West Bromwich Albion striker could not take them. According to Tony Pulis, he would have scored two seasons ago but these days so much at the club is spluttering. “Saido has to understand that you can’t switch it on and off,” Pulis said. “He has been pulled from pillar to post with all the speculation [about his future], people blowing in his ear, and unless you are mentally and physically on it … This is a great league and you’ve got to be prepared for it. Saido has to get himself back down to that.” It is impossible not to feel Pulis’s frustration as he continues to lament an underwhelming summer transfer window and waits for the club to be taken over by a Chinese company. The travelling Albion fans chanted that his “football is shit”. Pulis needs Berahino to get back on track. David Hytner
3) Snodgrass gives Hull added zest
Like a man who glimpses death rediscovering his zest for life, it is perhaps not a surprise that Robert Snodgrass has started this season in such fine style. When Hull City were last in the Premier League, Snodgrass was 40 minutes into his debut after moving from Norwich City when a knee injury put him out for a little over 15 months. Returning in time to help them back into the top flight, Snodgrass was one of Hull’s few fit players for the season opener against Leicester City, in which he scored before helping himself to a hat‑trick for Scotland against Malta, then at the weekend whipped home a free-kick to grab a late, late point against Burnley. Mike Phelan said after the game that Snodgrass had considered retirement during his long spell on the sidelines – but now he is playing like a man just glad to be back on a football pitch. Despite their good start, Hull still have an uphill task to survive this season and they will need Snodgrass to keep at something close to this level to manage it. Nick Miller
Midfielder
Robert Snodgrass
Appearances4Goals2Shots10Shots on target40%Offsides1
4) Are Liverpool so fragile their fans’ chants could put them off?
A 4-1 win against the league champions and, ultimately, a win that was as comfortable as that scoreline suggested, theoretically should be good news all round for Liverpool but Jürgen Klopp was irked by one development. “Please don’t sing my name before the game is decided,” he said after imploring the home crowd to pipe down in the second half. “Immediately when the Kop started singing my name they [Leicester] were alone in front of Simon Mignolet. It’s a little like celebrating a penalty before you have scored.” He might well have a point; this is a theme for Klopp, having chastised himself for prematurely over-celebrating during the first game of the season against Arsenal, but one does wonder slightly about a team whose manager seemingly thinks they are so fragile that they can be distracted by fans singing the manager’s name. He’s probably just being overcautious but if they are so put off it also might explain why Liverpool are so infuriatingly inconsistent. What might Klopp have made of the Manchester City fans who cried “Olé!” in the 34th minute of the derby on Saturday? Nick Miller
5) Leicester hope for champions’ reaction in Europe
The Champions League commences this week, and Leicester City need to rediscover last season’s knack of imposing themselves on opponents quite quickly. The consensus at Anfield was that the Foxes went to ground. “We didn’t really turn up,” Danny Drinkwater said. “We weren’t at our best,” Kasper Schmeichel admitted. “We didn’t reach the standard we know we can achieve.” The question now is whether the same sort of thing is going to happen in Europe, or whether Leicester have been subconsciously saving their best for the Champions League. “Last season when we lost we always had a good reaction,” Claudio Ranieri said. “I am waiting now for a good reaction. I think our mental energy will return much quicker because everyone wants to play in the Champions League. I don’t think we can blame the Champions League for defeat at Liverpool, we were very well prepared for the match but we lost control. I am an honest man and Liverpool played better than us with great spirit. Now we much react and regenerate the batteries for the game in Bruges.” Paul Wilson
5) Stones progresses from colt to junior thoroughbred
It is not hard to see why some seemed to feel unduly enraged by John Stones’s occasional mistakes last season, even to experience a little gleeful schadenfreude at the spectacle of this skinny, elegant, brilliantly confident young steer occasionally ending up flat on his face. Nobody likes a smart arse. As working titles go for a three-volume history of English football’s self-immolating distrust of fancy dans, risk taking, big ideas and all the rest, you could do much worse. Talent will out, though, and at Old Trafford on Saturday Stones confirmed his progress under Pep Guardiola from colt to junior thoroughbred. It is a brilliant fit, a manager whose notion of team building has been based around ball-playing defenders, who is so passionate about taking risks in possession he could even defend with absolute conviction Claudio Bravo’s debut caperings; with a genuinely fine young English defender at just the right point in his career. Against Manchester United, Guardiola continually leapt up on to his touchline to talk to Stones, who had a game of two halves: unruffled, kit immaculate, disturbed only by his own goalkeeper in the first half; and just about convincing as a last line against the aerial assault in the second. Quite where the next three seasons under the eyes of the high consul of anti-hoof might take him remains to be seen. But more, not less, of the most Stonesy bits of Stones can only be a good thing. Barney Ronay
Defender
John Stones
Appearances4Shots blocked4Clearances23
6) Benteke seems key to Pardew’s Carroll-esque creation
When Alan Pardew relived Christian Benteke’s first goal for Crystal Palace, as he recalled the cleverly angled Wilfried Zaha cross that preceded the £27m striker’s header, one comparison proved irresistible. “I knew Christian would score,” said Palace’s manager. “I used to get the same feeling with Andy Carroll.” As Newcastle United manager, Pardew never quite got over Carroll’s £35m departure for Liverpool but now Benteke’s arrival from Anfield – and a somewhat Carroll-esque experience – promises to transform Palace’s landscape. “I know my strengths and weaknesses and I feel like I can score a lot of goals in this team,” Benteke said after Saturday’s 2-1 win at Middlesbrough. “We can play long balls, we can play short passes and our wingers can get behind defenders.” Zaha, Andros Townsend and, when fit, Yohan Cabaye will be integral to such varied gameplans but Benteke seems key to Pardew’s creation of the type of three-dimensional team he once envisaged constructing around Carroll. Louise Taylor
7) Imbula still short of proving his worth for Stoke
Porto are one of European football’s most canny recruiters. So when they forked out a club record fee to sign Giannelli Imbula from Marseille in 2015, it was a loud endorsement of the French midfielder’s potential. The eagerness with which they moved him on to Stoke City in January also spoke volumes – and not only about the Portuguese club’s ability to turn a quick profit. Imbula, 23, needs to prove his worth in the Premier League. He excelled in patches last season and the hope was that he would do so more consistently this term on the back of a good pre-season with Stoke. However, the campaign has not begun like that and on Saturday, when Tottenham Hotspur’s midfielders constantly breezed past him with ease, he was the worst performer in a Stoke display that began brightly but ended up an ominous shambles.Paul Doyle
8) The curious case of brilliant goals versus dangerous play
At the weekend two exceptional pieces of athleticism were seen as first Laurent Koscielny then Diego Costa scored bicycle kicks in crowded penalty areas, both crucial in earning their teams points and both moments to make you gasp and applaud. There was a third in the Championship, too, as Rudy Gestede performed similar aerobics to help Aston Villa to a point against Nottingham Forest. The odd thing about all three is that in each instance the scorers could well have taken a defender’s head clean off and, indeed, Costa did seem to catch Kyle Naughton with a following-through boot. Of course, neutral spectators appreciate and applaud the skill required to perform such feats, and things such as this are at least part of the reason we love this sport that, like few others, combines physicality with technique in moments such as this. However, it is strange that, seemingly because they are scoring brilliant goals, they are let off what would be an instant free-kick for dangerous play in basically any other circumstance. It is doubly weird in a season when referees are clamping down on the heinous sin of pushing and shirt-tugging in the area that a boot travelling at great speed should not be similarly penalised. This is not to say any of these three should have been disallowed, and that the referees involved were wrong, but it does represent a curious inconsistency. Nick Miller
9) Pereyra has added real poise to Watford’s team
Walter Mazzarri’s Watford showed they can do more than just battle in their 4-2 win over West Ham United. Troy Deeney’s equaliser just before half-time was reminiscent of a Pirlo or Pirès and Odion Ighalo looked back to his chopping best. Watford may always have been able to play but now, with the arrival of Roberto Pereyra, they have added real poise to the team. The Argentina international,signed for £10.4m from Juventus this summer, scored on his debut two weeks ago and secured an assist on Saturday. He is lithe, comfortable with both feet and technically excellent. “He’s an extremely important player,” Mazzarri said after the match. “I wanted him at the club from the moment I arrived and I am very happy we have signed him. He’s a great player, he has great attributes but also I’m pleased with how much he ran in the game.” It sounds as if he might be cut out for the Premier League, then. Paul MacInnes
Pos
Team
P
GD
Pts
1
Man City
4
7
12
2
Chelsea
4
5
10
3
Man Utd
4
4
9
4
Tottenham Hotspur
4
5
8
5
Liverpool
4
2
7
6
Arsenal
4
2
7
7
Hull
4
2
7
8
Everton
3
2
7
9
Middlesbrough
4
0
5
10
Watford
4
-1
4
11
Crystal Palace
4
-1
4
12
West Brom
4
-1
4
13
Swansea
4
-2
4
14
AFC Bournemouth
4
-2
4
15
Burnley
4
-2
4
16
Leicester
4
-3
4
17
West Ham
4
-4
3
18
Southampton
4
-3
2
19
Sunderland
3
-2
1
20
Stoke
4
-8
1
No comments:
Post a Comment