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“I completely understand the question and why you ask it, but you already know the answer: these conversations I have never shared, not about Trent, not about any others, about what I talk to them about,” said Slot. “It was a conversation as many others we had, me and Trent, so let’s leave it at that. I can tell you he is playing on Sunday and hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year, because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. I see him on the training ground every day working his ass off. He is fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday.
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“If it would destabilise players at Liverpool if other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem because if you play at one of the biggest clubs in the world everybody is always – for 12 months long – talking about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs. That happens so many times for our players, so if that destabilises them then we really would have had a problem, not only now but in the last six months because there were some talks about our players in the last six months and I don’t think it destabilised them at all.”
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With Chelsea faltering over Christmas and Manchester City looking too far back and still in semi-crisis, it seems like Arsenal represent the biggest threat to Liverpool in the title race. An impressive 3-1 win at Brentford on New Year’s Day kept the leaders in sight and the Gunners could close the gap to just two points by winning at Brighton on Saturday evening. The snag for Arsenal is that Liverpool will have two games in hand by then and the first of those is at home to ailing Manchester United on Sunday.
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Nottingham Forest won’t end the weekend as Liverpool’s nearest challengers in the table as they’re not playing until Monday. But a victory at Wolves could move them second if Arsenal fall to defeat at Brighton.
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The top-flight action kicks off with Tottenham v Newcastle at 12.30pm on Saturday, a game surely destined to give the weekend Premier League goal tally a shot in the arm. We’ll have build-up, team news, managers chatting, transfer news and much more as the day goes on. Let’s do this.
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main events
Pep Guardiola's interesting body language by Simon Hattenstone.he says it's in the Manchester City manager's saliva that we begin to understand his quest for perfection and its recent unraveling.
Ed Aarons
Manager Mikel Arteta says signing a new striker in January does not guarantee his side will win the Premier League, but he has left the door open for additions this month.
Arsenal face Brighton on Saturday night and will be back with Germany striker Kai Havertz, who missed the win against Brentford due to illness. However, Arteta has rejected suggestions that he needs to strengthen his frontline, with Gabriel Jesus having returned to form in a timely manner with six goals in his last four games.
“Just signing someone is not enough, that's for sure,” he said. “That sign has to score, so how many goals?'' It takes a lot, and if you sign that sign and score 20 goals from here to the end, what better chance do you have? Maybe so, I don't know, but I'm very happy with the players in the team and the number of goals we scored, more than enough to win the Premier League, the numbers too, but in reality someone is doing more, so we has to be better, that's life. ”
Still, when asked whether supporters needed to be realistic about who they could sign in the mid-season transfer window, Arteta added: “That market is obviously much more limited than the summer market, but I don't know, but people's expectations and dreams have meaning.” Good. “
Arteta also admitted that Arsenal must maintain consistency if they are to beat Liverpool in the title race.
“Last year we were the best team in the league and we broke various records, but we haven't won any big trophies yet, so something is missing. It's very small things, specific games and We can pick up on certain situations, but in the end we're so close that we just have to flip the coin to the other side to make it happen. It only happens if we do what we can control; the rest is out of our control.”
Slott reacts to Madrid's Alexander-Arnold's approach
Arn Slott was speaking ahead of Liverpool's home game against Manchester United on Sunday, but he has not made any concrete statements about Trent Alexander-Arnold's future. The Reds manager said the defender has committed to Liverpool considering an approach from Real Madrid but has not turned up and the right-back will not be sold in January. Select it here. The slot begins by asking whether all stories have a destabilizing effect.
“I totally understand that question and why, but you already know the answer. These conversations are ones I've never shared, whether it's about Trent or about anyone else. is what we’re talking about with them,” Slott said. “That was a similar conversation with me and Trent and a lot of other guys, so let's leave it at that. I can tell you he's playing on Sunday and hopefully he'll have the same performance as he's had the last six months. I hope he shows, because everyone knows he's in season Because I saw how good he was in the first half, how much he was here, how much he did. I want to win here. I saw him working hard every day on the practice field. I'm watching him. He's committed to us and he's going to play on Sunday.
“We would have a real problem if there was a destabilization of players by other people talking about Liverpool players, because if you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world If you're there, it's because everyone is talking about you all the time – over a 12-month period – sometimes even during matches.''Relationships with other clubs. It's happened many times with our players, so if it destabilized them, we would have had a real problem, not just now, but over the last six months. Because there's been some talk about players in the last six months and I haven't done any of that. I think that made them a little bit unstable. ”
tom garry
Arsenal news from WSL writer Tom Garry.
The Arsenal team returns to training today after their winter break, but as before Christmas, Renée Sleggers will continue to take charge of the team on an interim basis. The process to appoint a long-term head coach for a WSL club is still ongoing.
Arsenal currently sit third in the WSL and are already seven points behind leaders Chelsea after just 10 games.
To give these top-class fixtures even more special meaning, our writers have chosen several angles.
The 10 Premier League matches to be played this weekend/Monday are as follows: Fun fact: Bournemouth could finish fifth if everything goes well. Manchester United could finish with just four points from the drop zone.
Saturday
12:30pm Spurs vs Newcastle
3pm Bournemouth vs Everton
3pm Aston Villa v Leicester
3pm Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
3pm Man City vs West Ham
3pm Southampton vs Brentford
5:30pm Brighton vs Arsenal
Sunday
2pm Fulham v Ipswich
4:30pm Liverpool vs Manchester United
Monday
8pm Wolves v Nottingham Forest
The strange case of Dani Olmo is unfolding. For those of you who have been following, Barcelona lost their second appeal to register the player for the remainder of the season on Monday after failing to meet La Liga's wage cap. They remain hopeful of finding a solution for the rest of the campaign – Olmo can't kick the ball for them until something changes – but if they don't get a result, Manchester City City and Manchester United have their ears on the wall. Found it.
But what is the Spanish player himself thinking as he twists his thumbs on the sideline? Now we know a little more, as his agent Andy Barra told Givemesport:
“It's a stressful situation for Dani, as it is for other players. But he's a great player and a person, and he's trying to stay calm. Of course, Dani is a winner. I love playing games, not watching them. We negotiate with every club. No. Dani is a Barcelona player and he wants to be a Barcelona player. He has worked hard in his life to be in Barcelona. It was his first and last desire. That's a choice! Dani, his father, my family, we're not thinking about other options.”
And in response to the talk surrounding City and United in particular, Barra replied: As strange as it may seem, I believe in President Laporta and Deco and I believe they will find a solution for Dani. It's a huge club. I believe that Barcelona will finalize everything and make it happen. La Liga should help them, rather than the reports that Dani will not be able to join the national team, but I am sure that he will be at Barça for many years. He is happy at the club and Dani also has a desire to be there. ”
It may have been interesting in the sense of a car crash, but Wayne Rooney Plymouth's Doctor will never see the light of day.
With Bukayo Saka sidelined, the obvious solution for Arsenal is to get busy in the transfer market. Today's Rumor Mill points out two potential targets for the Gunners, but what is Darwin Nunez doing on social media?
preamble
Chelsea faltered at Christmas, Manchester City still in semi-crisis after looking too far into the pastArsenal appear to be Liverpool's biggest threat in the title race. An impressive 3-1 win over Brentford on New Year's Day kept them at the top of the table, and the Gunners could close the gap to just two points with a win against Brighton on Saturday night. The bottleneck for Arsenal is that Liverpool have two games remaining, the first of which is at home to struggling Manchester United on Sunday.
Nottingham Forest will not end the weekend as Liverpool's main challengers as they do not have a game until Monday. However, if Arsenal lose against Brighton, a win against Wolves could move them into second place.
The pinnacle of competition begins on Saturday at 12:30pm with Tottenham taking on Newcastle. This game is definitely destined to contribute to the Premier League goal tally over the weekend. We'll bring you a variety of information as the day progresses, including build-up, team news, manager chat, and transfer news. Let's try this.
Another issue for Arsenal chasing Liverpool is injury concerns. And that's not what you want when you're facing a jam-packed January schedule with nine or more games. This is Ed Aarons.
