By contrast, Wenger is once again under pressure in the Emirates Stadium hotseat, with Tuesday’s defeat to Olympiacos leaving Arsenal’s hopes of Champions League progression hanging by a thread.
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And Van Gaal said: “He is fit enough”.
“They need to bounce back and this is a good platform for them to do it”, admitted the Frenchman. “Arsenal, though, have a few really good forward thinking players at any given time and are capable of beating anyone on their day”. If we play our game then we have every chance to win the game.
There was one piece of good news for Jose Mourinho this week: The Chelsea manager will not face any Football Association action over the comments he made to then-club doctor Eva Carneiro during a touchline incident in August.
After another series of mixed results in the Champions League, the Premier League’s leading clubs will find themselves under close scrutiny this weekend.
Chelsea on Saturday hosts a Southampton side sitting a point higher in the league.
The run of nine years without a trophy was particularly irksome, and, even though Arsenal have enjoyed success in the FA Cup in recent years, glory in the Premier League and the Champions League seems beyond them at present.
However, he was less sure when asked if he could have stayed at a club for so long without winning a title.
Manchester City look vulnerable after their blistering start to the season, missing the creative force that is David Silva as well as captain Vincent Kompany, while star striker Sergio Agüero struggles to find the back of the net with any regularity. Knowing how things have gone this season, it’ll probably end up 0-0 just to spite us but it should still be a tight affair.
Conceding two late goals meant that Newcastle still have only their local rivals Sunderland beneath them at the bottom of the table, neither side having yet won in the 14 games between them.
“He is someone we followed very closely”, England coach Roy Hodgson said of Ings, who is likely to partner Daniel Sturridge up front in the Merseyside derby against Everton on Sunday with Christian Benteke still nursing an injury.
Daniel Sturridge will attract most of the headlines after his excellent brace inspired Liverpool to a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa this afternoon.
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“The goals they give away…” Fans are expected to display banners at matches.
