Dimitri Payet has scored five times direct from free-kicks this season in the Barclays Premier League, but he says he doesn’t even practice them in training anymore.
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“But they have had an opportunity that, without any doubt, Arsenal have missed”.
Pearson was sacked after masterminding the Foxes’ great escape last season. “I don’t think you can question the quality and ability of the players he’s signed, but it’s games like this where you need a bit more resilience”, he said of Arsenal’s perceived weakness.
Arsenal last won the title in 2004 and Allardyce said: “They won’t get a better time to win the league than this season”.
Thanks to West Ham striker Andy Carroll, that won’t be happening.
Allardyce, assisted by Pearson when in charge of Newcastle, said: “I know Nigel extremely well”.
Arsenal were 2-0 up with just a few minutes to half-time and it looked like we were cruising to an easy three points. “We made it more hard today”. The second half was not much better as we allowed Carroll to score a third and then we were always on the backfoot.
‘It’s up to Roy now, but if you put the ball into the box when Andy is there he usually gets it. And now he’s fit we hope he’ll stay that way for years’. There are also clubs chasing us, so it is important to finish as high as we can.
The relegation trapdoor is not completely nailed down on bottom club Villa but after an eighth consecutive league defeat, 2-1 at home to Bournemouth, they can start making plans for life in the Championship.
With Arsenal now effectively out of all competitions, as it’s nigh impossible for them to claw back an 11 point deficit with seven games go, Gooners can instead eye the illustrious honour of goal of the season- a trophy fans across the world dream about.
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If Carroll could build on his success and build up a head of steam in the remaining weeks of the season, he may stand an outside chance of being named in Hodgson’s squad for the tournament in France and being handed a first England cap since October 2012 in the final warm-up matches after the end of the domestic season.
