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Southampton’s spectacular run of form continued with a brilliant 3-1 win over Wolves, who appeared to be suffering from their FA Cup heartbreak, with goals from Nathan Redmond (2) and Shane Long enough to ensure all three points remained on the south coast.

The performance was the latest in a sequence of stellar showings from the Saints, who now look certain to avoid relegation despite the dire mess they were in when Ralph Hasenhuttl took over before Christmas.

One man certainly won’t be pleased with his efforts considering the extremely high standards he sets for himself these days.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is just one of many beneficiaries from Hasenhuttl’s arrival at St Mary’s Stadium, with the Dane having been handed the armband on a permanent basis by the former RB Leipzig boss having previously deputised as captain for Ryan Bertrand while the left-back was injured.

A recent interview with the 23-year-old on Southampton’s official website offered an insight into why Hasenhuttl made that decision, with Hojbjerg’s excellent attitude evident in this excerpt:

“I don’t do very much, but what I do has to be the best possible.

“I don’t like the word perfectionist, because it can sometimes be overdone and overthought, but to be the best you can be and still have an edge is very important. That creates who you are.”

Indeed, the former Bayern Munich man has hardly put a foot wrong in 2019, although he will have been highly frustrated with his sloppy display in the middle of the park on Saturday.

Usually a reliable distributor of the ball, Hojbjerg was well below his 83% passing success average for the season, registering 65% accuracy against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, and also took a team-high three unsuccessful touches.

A Southampton fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the Saints in the video below…

Regardless, he was always on the ball and looking to be involved, with 62 touches to his name, but he was uncharacteristically wasteful on Saturday and, on another day, that could cost his team. There is no doubt that the number 23 will be keen to get back to his best when the Saints travel north to face Newcastle this weekend.

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Tottenham Hotspur lost ground in the race to qualify for the Champions League on Saturday, as they lost 1-0 to AFC Bournemouth.

And fans were left disappointed with the performance of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris at the Vitality Stadium.

Spurs went down to 10 men in the first half, as Heung-Min Son lashed out at Jefferson Lerma by pushing him to the ground and was shown a red card.

Juan Foyth was introduced as a half-time substitute and was dismissed just minutes after coming on, reducing Tottenham to nine men.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side did their best to earn a hard-fought point in the second half but their resistance was ultimately broken in injury time, as Nathan Ake headed home from a corner.

Fans, though, were disappointed with the performance of their captain, first for seemingly abdicating his responsibility as a skipper, as his team-mates lost their heads, and then failing to save Ake’s header.

The France international was left rooted to his line as the Dutchman saw the net ripple.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

To call tonight’s game against Napoli as the biggest match of Arsenal’s season might seem like a stretch, but it certainly feels like it.

A 2-0 win last week against the Italian giants has set the Gunners up for a brilliant opportunity to not only knock out one of the competitions biggest teams, but to establish themselves as the club to beat in the Europa League this season, but it won’t be an easy task.

Sure going into the game in Naples with two goals is a great advantage for the Gunners, but this is Arsenal we’re talking about, and mistakes are bound to happen tonight.

We have seen the club crack under the pressure of playing a big side on the road this season already, with Unai Emery’s side going from 1-0 up to 5-1 down against Liverpool in December as an example, and Arsenal will know that Napoli are almost guaranteed to get goals tonight.

Clean sheets away from home are rare for Arsenal, with their first in the Premier League coming last Monday against Watford, and this weakness on the road will lead to Emery facing an uphill battle tonight in Naples, but all is not lost.

Arsenal’s record against Italian teams is fairly good, winning against the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli in recent history and only losing twice to sides from the country, one of them being their opponents tonight.

Last season, the Gunners went to Milan the underdogs and ended up walking away as 2-0 winners at the San Siro, and although the environments between the iconic Milan stadium and the San Paolo, the history backs Arsenal to get something from Naples in their biggest game of the season.

Arsenal fans, can the Gunners progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League? Let us know!

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According to L’Equipe, West Ham United are considering a summer swoop for Saint-Etienne midfielder Yann M’Vila.

M’Vila moved to Saint-Etienne from Rubin Kazan in January 2018 and has made 30 Ligue 1 appearances for the French club this term.

The 28-year-old has a contract with the Ligue 1 side until the summer of 2022, but L’Equipe have reported that West Ham are interested in a swoop.

The Frenchman has experience of the Premier League having turned out for Sunderland on loan during the 2015-16 campaign.

The West Ham fans have been on social media reacting to the transfer report and it would be fair to say that there are a lot of mixed opinions on the subject.

Indeed, whilst a number are against the Hammers moving for M’Vila, others feel that the midfielder could turn out to be a decent signing for the capital outfit ahead of the 2019-2020 season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be viewed below:

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Granit Xhaka has claimed he is willing to forget winning the Europa League if it means Arsenal finish in the top four of the Premier League, per the London Evening Standard.

The Gunners are in the quarter-finals of the competition and face Napoli on Thursday, protecting a 2-0 lead, while they currently sit fourth in the league.

What’s the word?

Arsenal are currently fourth by virtue of goal difference, as they sit level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea, but they do have a game in hand.

Unai Emery’s side are subsequently well-placed to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish but they can also achieve qualification by winning the Europa League.

Arsenal won the first leg 2-0 and must simply avoid defeat in Italy to qualify for the semi-finals. The Gunners will play either Villarreal or Valencia in the last four if they get there.

But Xhaka insists that the club’s focus should actually be on the top four instead of Europe.

He said: “I think we want to stay in the top four — we want to be back in the Champions League.

“For me, the Premier League is first and after if you can go to the final and take the Europa League, of course, it is nice as well, but for us it is the Premier League first.

“We are now in fourth place — two points over [Manchester] United, one game less than Chelsea and one point behind Tottenham — and they play against Manchester City this weekend. This can be a big weekend for us.”

Idiocy

Xhaka might not be an idiot but he’s doing a pretty good impression of one with this.

Arsenal do not have the luxury of picking and choosing how they qualify for the Champions League.

They have a difficult Premier League run-in, which includes away games against Wolves, Leicester City and Burnley. Arsenal’s record away from home this season, as has been well publicised, is woeful.

But in the Europa League, Arsenal have done remarkably well to reach the quarter-finals and are just four games away from qualification to the Champions League.

Picking one over the other – particularly when the choice Xhaka has made is as difficult as it can be – is nonsensical.

Arsenal fans had better hope, ahead of Thursday, that no other players have the same attitude as the Swiss.

Oh dear Liverpool: when Divock Origi is your backup for the Champions League you know it is time to invest.

Look away now Liverpool fans: Roberto Firmino is a doubt for the Champions League clash against Barcelona after suffering a small muscle tear in training last week.

The Belgium forward has been tipped to step in if Roberto Firmino misses Liverpool’s huge trip to Camp Nou to face Barcelona on Wednesday.

The Brazilian was rested during last week’s 5-0 battering of Huddersfield Town after suffering what manager Jurgen Klopp called a “small muscle tear”.

Understandably the Liverpool boss is hopeful that the star forward will be available to play in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in Catalonia, for what might be their best shot at European glory, despite reaching the final last year.

In the disastrous case of Firmino’s absence though, Origi has been nominated as the man to replace him, according to Anfield legend Mark Lawrenson.

“No Roberto Firmino would be a massive miss for Liverpool , he is the common denominator in the front three,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“He just dovetails brilliantly with the other two [Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah] and he’s such a clever player, too.

“…Origi gives Liverpool something different to what Firmino does. He has great pace does Divock and can play alongside that frontline. He can even drift off to the left if he’s asked too and we’ve seen that this season.

“I wouldn’t say missing Firmino ‘weakens’ Liverpool as Origi just offers something a bit different, but I’d like them to go to Barcelona with Roberto Firmino in the squad.”

Unfortunately, we would have to disagree with this hopeful statement. Missing Firmino seriously weakens the Liverpool attacking line-up, and it brings to light just how necessary it is for Klopp to invest in the summer to bring in a suitable replacement. Someone, maybe, more like-minded and with similar qualities as the Brazilian. Someone that isn’t Divock Origi.

It is not that Origi is a necessarily bad player. He is not particularly good, no – but he does a job off the bench. However, when you are asking him to start in a Champions League semi-final then you are setting yourself up for a fall.

Liverpool fans, do you think you need to sign a new striker in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

يشعر مهاجم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر يونايتد، ماركوس راشفورد، بالفخر بعد موافقة الحكومة البريطانية على خطته الجديدة لمساعدة الأطفال على محاربة فقر الغذاء.

وتحدث المهاجم مع رئيس الوزراء البريطاني، بوريس جونسون، يوم أمس السبت بعد فوز مانشستر يونايتد على إيفرتون في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، لمناقشة مساعدة الأسر الفقيرة في أشهر الشتاء.

يقود راشفورد حملة لتمديد مخطط الحكومة للوجبات المدرسية المجانية خلال العطلات لمساعدة العائلات المتعثرة، لا سيما تلك المتضررة من جائحة فيروس كورونا وإجراءات الإغلاق الأخيرة.

وكان راشفورد قد نجح في الضغط على الحكومة البريطانية في توسيع سياستها المتمثلة في توزيع وجبات مدرسية مجانية للأطفال خارج فترة الفصل الدراسي، ولكنه أطلق حملة في الشهر الماضي عبر شبكة الإنترنت مطالبًا فيها الحكومة بمد توزيع تلك الوجبات.

تمت الموافقة على الاقتراح في البرلمان البريطاني، ولكن هذا لم يحدث إلا بسبب الضغط المستمر من راشفورد، وخصص جونسون 170 مليون جنيه إسترليني لتوفير دعم إضافي للأطفال الذين يعانون خلال فترة أعياد الميلاد.

وأصدر راشفورد منشور عبر وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي جاء نصه كالتالي:

“أجريت محادثة جيدة مع رئيس الوزراء، لفهم الخطة المقترحة بشكل أفضل، أرحب بشدة بالخطوات التي تم اتخاذها لمكافحة فقر غذاء الأطفال في المملكة المتحدة.

لا يزال علينا الكثير للقيام به، وما يشغلني بشكل مباشر هو ما يقرب من 1.7 مليون طفل لا يحصلون على وجبات مدرسية مجانية، توفير العطلات والتأمين الصحي لأن دخل أسرهم ليس كافيًا، لكن الحكومة أظهرت نيتها الإيجابية اليوم.

فخور جدًا بحملتنا “US” كمجموعة من الشركات المحلية والعاملين في المجال الخيري والمتطوعين والمعلمين والأخصائيين الاجتماعيين، معًا استطعنا إظهار مدة قدرتنا على إظهار الرحمة والعطف على من يعانون من الأطفال.

ما حدث اليوم يجعلني فخورًا لما وصلنا إليه بعد الاتفاق مع الحكومة البريطانية، اعتبرها أعظم لحظة في حياتي لقد غمرني فيضًا من التعاطف والتفاهم خاصة وأننا لن نتخلى عن أطفالنا لن نتخلى عن مستقبل هذه البلد”.

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Everton’s official Twitter account, somewhat strangely, decided to post a random image of Michael Keane on Monday afternoon.

Social media can be a dangerous place when teams or players are not playing well, but Keane has been impressive for the Toffees in recent months.

And it was therefore probably a safe post.

That said, it was still a little bit strange.

As it transpired, nothing followed, despite some believing that a contract extension would be announced.

It did give a good indication of how the Everton fans are feeling about Keane at the moment, though, and the reaction was positive.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

It has been a strange season for the Toffees for a number of reasons, but they have won five of their last seven in the Premier League and will be looking to put another three points on the board when they head to Tottenham Hotspur on the final weekend.

A selection of the Twitter reaction, which saw a number debate what could follow before the end of the season, can be seen below:

Among those who will be shown the exit door this summer by Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle United, Christian Atsu should top the list.

Despite his final effort in a bright performance against Liverpool, he’s just been too inconsistent or ineffective going forward to be considered for next season’s team. Finally, it looks as if the Toon Army are moving on from such limited players. We hope.

Atsu has always struggled to rise through in the Premier League, underperforming in both his seasons with the Magpies and failing to do a whole lot of anything at either Bournemouth and Everton. Still, while letting him go won’t be that difficult, gaining a proper replacement could be tricky, considering how tight Mike Ashley literally always is with his cash.

Eugh.

However, much to Newcastle’s good luck, they have an in-house talent ready to fill in his shoes.

Rolando Aarons (yes, him again) has actually looked brighter in his short loan with Sheffield Wednesday than Atsu did the whole season. The 23-year-old put on some bright performances, impressing fans so much they want him to stay beyond the loan. However, the Magpies can’t allow that as it’s time for them to unleash the sizzling winger in their own system.

Obviously, it’s been frustrating for Toon fans to watch the former Bristol City youngster fail to deliver in black and white after THAT breakthrough performance against Manchester City in the cup all those years ago, but there is certainly a talent in there somewhere.

Aarons might’ve only scored and assisted 1 apiece in nine Championship appearances, yet showed encouraging signs with his electric flashes on the wings. Indeed, the left-winger is full of energy on the pitch, swirling past defenders with ease to panic opposition in the final third.

As a back-up for the likes of Ayoze Perez and Miguel Almiron, he could be perfect, if he can sort his fitness issues out. All of this after he arrived on a free from the Robins as a youngster, too. Great, isn’t it? If the Mags can sort him out, that’ll look like a great swoop.

The 23-year-old needs to focus on his delivery and final product, something Benitez can help him improve. Unlike Atsu, time is on Aarons’ side to climb through Newcastle’s ranks.

Newcastle fans, do you think Aarons should get more chances next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

قال خالد الغندور قائد فريق الزمالك الأسبق ومقدم البرامج الرياضية الحالي إن مرتضى منصور لن يبقى في منصبه رئيسًا للنادي طوال الوقت، مشيرًا إلى أنه ستأتي لحظة لن يتواجد فيها.

وأضاف الغندور في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة نادي الزمالك”: “القناة ستظل تدافع عن النادي والكيان، وكل رئيسًا لمجلس الإدارة سنسانده”.

وأردف: “نقول لمجلس الإدارة الحالي ورئيسه استمروا الفترة المقبلة، طالما تسير بشكل صحيح والقانون يسري على الجميع، نعمل من أجل الكرة ولا نريد أكثر من حقنا في كل الألعاب”.

وتطرق للحديث عن صفقات الزمالك الجديدة، قائلا: “حمزة المثلوثي تواجد في مصر وسافر في غفلة من الزمن، وسيعود خلال الأيام المقبلة”.

واستكمل: “المؤكد أنه في الفترة الحالية مرتضى منصور وأمير مرتضى يعملان على جلب الصفقات الجديد”.

واختتم: “نادي الزمالك يعمل على تجديد التعاقد مع فرجاني ساسي وأشرف بن شرقي، وهناك محاولات لجلب نبيل عماد دونجا، وبدأ التحرك اليوم”.