The chalk and cheese nature of Arsenal’s tactical identity serves as a clinical football prescription, allowing them to alternate between defensive suffocation and offensive fluidity as they head into the business end of the season. In the span of four days, Mikel Arteta’s team played two distinct styles of football against Everton and Bayer Leverkusen, to keep their hopes of a climax finish to the season alive, and while critics may choose boring for the former, they can’t deny it’s the opposite for the latter. This is down to lessons learnt from past seasons and how different teams set up…
Author: Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
When Chelsea appointed Liam Rosenior as their new manager back in January, he emphasized the fact that the team is in the perfect condition to compete, and he doesn’t need any time to get going. Just over two months later, the world champions have exited the Carabao Cup while losing both legs of their semi-finals with Arsenal, a team they held to a draw while playing more than 60 minutes with 10 men under Enzo Maresca in October. They have also been dumped out of the Champions League by PSG in an 8-2 aggregate score, a team they beat by…
UEFA has confirmed that the planned La Finalissima match between Argentina and Spain will not take place. The fixture, which was set to bring together the Copa América champions and the European champions, was originally scheduled for Qatar. However, the ongoing political situation in the Middle East forced organizers to abandon the plan. The cancellation is a disappointment for fans worldwide, who had anticipated a rare showdown between two of football’s most decorated national teams. Subsequent attempts to secure a new venue failed, as the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) could not reach an…
Max Dowman became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at 16 years and 73 days, but that wasn’t even the highlight of a cameo that will forever linger in the memory of fans around the world. “People will say in years to come that I was there in their stadium that day when that kid scored that goal in THAT context”, said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after his team beat Everton 2-0 to stretch their lead at the Premier League summit. It was a game Arsenal did not look like winning, after throwing all they had at Everton, who…
Former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández has made striking revelations about the failed attempt to bring Lionel Messi back to Camp Nou in 2023, claiming that club president Joan Laporta was the decisive factor in halting the move. In an interview with La Vanguardia, Xavi explained that talks to re-sign Messi began soon after the Argentine superstar lifted the 2022 World Cup. He personally reached out to Messi in January 2023, and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner expressed enthusiasm about returning to the club where he became a global icon. Negotiations reportedly advanced quickly, with Laporta even engaging Messi’s father and…
England defender Kyle Walker has announced his retirement from international football, bringing an end to a distinguished career with the Three Lions. The 35-year-old right-back earned 96 caps in 15 years, representing his country at five major tournaments, including the 2018 World Cup semifinal and the Euro 2021 final. Walker, who made his England debut in 2011, became a mainstay in Gareth Southgate’s squad thanks to his pace, versatility, and defensive consistency. His final appearance came in June 2025 in a friendly against Senegal, marking the close of an era for one of England’s most reliable defenders. At club level,…
Arsenal survived one of those nights at Brighton Probably one of the ugliest anyone has seen Arsenal played since they came off the bench under Mikel Arteta, but the fact that they came out unscathed is a testament to how much they’ve learnt from their past failures. Not every matchday do you see Arsenal complete 101 defensive actions. Brighton had them all night, but the defence would not be breached. Even when they had David Raya beaten thanks to an error of his own making, Gabriel was there so smother. The Brazilian, alongside Piero Hincapie and Jurrien Timber were just…
Michael Carrick finally suffered his first defeat as Manchester United interim coach in his 11th game in charge of the club as interim coach over two stints, following a 2-1 defeat at 10-man Newcastle United on Wednesday night. William Osula’s late solo goal condemned his team to a first defeat despite playing the whole of the second-half a man up, after Jacob Ramsey’s red card before half-time made it appear they could make it three straight wins. Anthony Gordon won and converted a penalty moments after the dismissal, but United fired back before halftime, as Casemiro headed home Bruno Fernandes’…
The Champions League round of 16 draws and the road to the Budapest final have been confirmed in Friday’s event in Nyon, Switzerland, and while some teams received favourable draws and others didn’t, there is never a guarantee of a spot in the next round. In the Champions League, winners are not forged on reputation but what they put forward in the present, and the stories of those who have built a pedigree in the competition are enough testament, that nothing is assured. The search for evidence of this wouldn’t take us that far. Who knew Bodø/Glimt, for instance, would…
Eddie Howe and why the Newcastle United project is not taking off? It’s been well over four years since the Newcastle United takeover by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a deal that sent expectations skyrocketing across the black-and-white side of Tyneside. Yet, the intervening years have largely yielded anti-climax. Compared to other transformative takeovers in Premier League history, Newcastle’s project is faltering. This is despite the fact that they ended a long-awaited trophy drought with the Carabao Cup on March 16, 2025. Their success has not been linear, at least not to the level expected of…